In February 2014 we visited Greenville Falls State Scenic River Area, north of Dayton. It is a 92-acre park, owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources but managed by the Miami County Part District. The falls consist of a scenic, 20-foot cascade in Greenville Creek. The park also features ruins of historical interest, nearly a mile of trail, access to fishing spots, a limestone natural arch, picnic areas, kiosks, interpretive signs, and a port-a-potty.
Richard M. Albery, Sr. Read more ➜ Greenville Falls State Scenic River Area
In February 2014 we visited Greenville Falls State Scenic River Area, north of Dayton. It is a 92-acre park, owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources but managed by the Miami County Part District. The falls consist of a scenic, 20-foot cascade in Greenville Creek. The park also features ruins of historical interest, nearly a mile of trail, access to fishing spots, a limestone natural arch, picnic areas, kiosks, interpretive signs, and a port-a-potty.
Richard M. Albery, Sr. Read more ➜ 
On the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, the Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike set an attendance record with over 5300 people attending. Five hundred lucky people received a commemorative hiking stick. Bob and I just hiked the Old Man's Cave portion of the hike this year.
Officially the hike begins at 9 a.m., but many hikers arrive early.
Staff members of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) were on hand to give 500 lucky individuals a commemorative hiking stick. 
On New Year's Day we went on our first hike of the year: a birding hike at Blacklick Woods Metro Park. About twenty people joined a park naturalist, Colleen, for the two-mile hike. If you're beginning birders like us, it's really helpful to join up with a group such as this. On a number of occasions the naturalist or other members of the group pointed out birds that I'm sure I would have missed otherwise. We also learned some of the places that certain species of bird like to frequent, so when we 
At 320 acres Gifford State Forest is the smallest state forest owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The sign at the trailhead suggests that there are a total of 4.7 miles of trail. We hiked most of those miles this past July, and here's our report as to what they're like.
Getting oriented
Below is a tracing I made of the trail map provided in ODNR's brochure for this state forest. As you can see the trail is north of State Route 377 between McConnelsville and Athens. 
What's referred to as The Ridges is over 1000 acres of land owned by the Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. The university makes use of a number of buildings on this land to house administrative offices, an art gallery and an art museum, among other things. In addition the Ohio University has allowed non-profit organizations to develop a number of trail through the area. Among them are the Ridges Trail, the Athens Trail, the Ridges Cemetery Nature Walk, and the River Valley Nature Trail. Today I'll 
During a recent hike to Trimmer Arch, I was startled when my peripheral vision caught sight of "smoke" rising up around my ankles. When I stopped and looked down, I realized that it wasn't smoke, but instead clouds of spores.
These ripe spores were being released by ground cedar. The spores produced by it and other members of its family have an exceptionally high fat content. People have utilized these spores industrially over the years, and in this capacity they are referred to collectively 
Trimmer Arch is a classic, round-topped arch, the best such specimen in Ohio. It's located in Ross County within the Paint Creek Lake Wildlife Area. The interior opening of the arch spans 14 ft. (4.6 m) and rises 8.6 ft (2.6 m). Trimmer arch formed within a narrow outcropping that extends into a U-shaped ravine bounded by two streams. The rock itself is Greenfield Dolomite, a type of sedimentary rock that forms horizontal bedding planes one atop another like a stack of pancakes. Due the the thinness 
October is our favorite month for hiking. Below are some of our fall-color highlights for the month.
Mt. Gilead State Park
Salt Fork State Park
Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve
Delaware County
Paint Creek Wildlife Area
The Stone House Museum is located in Salt Fork State Park in southeastern Ohio. It was built circa 1840 in the Federal style, and it housed three generations of Benjamin Kennedy's family. In 1975 it was listed on the National Register of Historical Places, and in 1999 a charitable organization was launched to raise funds and to oversee the house's restoration. In 2003 the stone house was officially dedicated as a museum.
The Kennedys
With the intention of becoming a sheep farmer, 
This past weekend we decided to hike the 7.2-mile Day Hike Trail in Shawnee State Forest. The Shawnee State Forest is sometimes referred to as the "The Little Smokies of Ohio" because of its hilly terrain. Although much of the trail followed ridgelines along the top of hills, there was a lot of uphill/downhill hiking to get to those ridgelines.
The trailhead for the Day Hike Trail is just off SR-125 on the opposite side of the road from the Nature Center in Shawnee State Park.
There