The boardwalk at Maumee Bay State Park is one of my favorites in the state. When we are checking out various parks and preserves in the northwest corner of Ohio, we often stay at the lodge in Maumee Bay. And despite having hiked for much of day, about 40 to 45 minutes before dusk we will head out to the boardwalk for an evening stroll. More times than not, we will see wildlife not far from the boardwalk.
It looks like the fawn above is a little buck; you can just make out the beginning Read more ➜ Viewing Wildlife from the Boardwalk at Maumee Bay State Park
The boardwalk at Maumee Bay State Park is one of my favorites in the state. When we are checking out various parks and preserves in the northwest corner of Ohio, we often stay at the lodge in Maumee Bay. And despite having hiked for much of day, about 40 to 45 minutes before dusk we will head out to the boardwalk for an evening stroll. More times than not, we will see wildlife not far from the boardwalk.
It looks like the fawn above is a little buck; you can just make out the beginning Read more ➜ 
After stopping at a rest area while traveling westbound on OH-2, we were surprised to see a sign announcing a "Scenic Overlook."
Near the sign a paved trail led through the woods. Once we entered the trailhead, we soon realized this was a short, loop trail. There were benches located periodically along the trail.
The fence extended along the cliff's edge for some ways, so there were a number of opportunities to look at the Vermilion River below. While viewing the river, 
Geneva State Park is in Ashtabula County, Ohio and occupies two miles of the Lake Erie shoreline. The park is 698 acres in size. Overnight accommodations provided at the park include the Lodge at Geneva, cottages, deluxe cedar cabins, and campsites (both electric, and non-electric). The marina has a deli, a canteen and a fueling station You can also buy fishing licenses, bait and tackle supplies, or arrange for boat and trailer storage. Other features of the park include a sandy beach, an archery 
Blue Heron Reserve is a 160-acre park in the Sandusky County Park District. It has 2.9 miles of trail including a handicap-accessible boardwalk that makes up 5000 feet of the trail system. Within the park is a fen; this is a type of wetlands in which underground water bubbles up through calciferous rock until it reaches the surface. The wooded area of the park has a habitat reminiscent of the Great Black Swamp. The area also includes a pond and meadows. The many different kinds of habitats 
There are three river metroparks in the Toledo Metropark system, all of which lie along the Maumee River and are connected by the Towpath Trail. As the name suggests, the trail follows along the towpath of the former Miami and Erie Canal; this trail makes up a portion of the blue-blazed Buckeye Trail System. From east to west the three river metroparks are Providence Metropark, Bend View Metropark and Farnsworth Metropark. We decided to explore the Farnsworth Metropark by walking along the Towpath 
The full name of this preserve is the Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve. The research center studies the local "estuary," a word that usually refers to the region where fresh-water in a river mixes with the salt-water of an ocean. However in this case it is referring to a region where the fresh-water of a creek mixes with the fresh-water of Lake Erie.
The preserve is 572 acres in size, and it features hiking trails, an observation deck, and a handicap-accessible 
Headlands Dunes is a 25-acre preserve just to the east of Headlands Beach State Park. When I'm here I can hardly believe that I'm in Ohio... it's such a unique place. The sand dunes just off shore of Lake Erie are rare in Ohio because most of the area adjacent to the lake has been developed. Surprisingly a number of plants that originated on the Atlantic coast grow in this small nature preserve. It is thought that they reached this far into the continent thousands of years ago when the immense weight 
Headlands Beach State Park contains the largest natural sand beach in the state of Ohio. The beach located on Lake Erie in Lake County has a mile of beautiful sandy beach. The park is very popular with swimmers and sun bathers in the summer.
The park is located between two state nature preserves. Southwest of the park is Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve and to the east is Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve. From the beach you can see a breakwater extending north of Headlands Dunes 
Metzger Marsh is a 558 acre marsh bordered by Lake Erie, the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and a canal used by private watercraft. It is a site ideal for fishing and bird watching. It's located between Maumee Bay State Park and Magee Marsh Wildlife Area.
We ended a vacation day in northwest Ohio with a post dinner drive out to Metzger Marsh. From the entrance on Bono Road, we passed a parking lot and a boat launch. An access road - Metzger Marsh State Road, parallels the marsh 
Because Maumee Bay State Park is the site of one of our state's lodge and conference centers, it offers a number of recreational opportunities. But as a nature lover, one of my favorite activities there was walking the 2-mile boardwalk through a wetland bordering Lake Erie. We visited in May while staying in the lodge. Our strolls along the boardwalk were relaxing and peaceful. They were also an opportunity to do some birdwatching and to see other wildlife like deer.
We began the boardwalk