Last Saturday we participated in the winter hike at Clear Creek Metro Park. This 5,382-acre Metro Park is located on the border of Hocking and Fairfield Counties; it features 14 miles of hiking trails.
The day was cold, near freezing with an overcast sky. We arrived early about 9:20 AM for the 10 AM hikes and were greeted by park staff and volunteers who provided maps and routes for a variety of hikes. There were a variety of hikes available ranging from 1 to 7 miles and of varying Read more ➜ Clear Creek Metro Park Winter Hike – 2015
Last Saturday we participated in the winter hike at Clear Creek Metro Park. This 5,382-acre Metro Park is located on the border of Hocking and Fairfield Counties; it features 14 miles of hiking trails.
The day was cold, near freezing with an overcast sky. We arrived early about 9:20 AM for the 10 AM hikes and were greeted by park staff and volunteers who provided maps and routes for a variety of hikes. There were a variety of hikes available ranging from 1 to 7 miles and of varying Read more ➜ 
Ramser Arboretum is a 680-acre arboretum in Knox County that is privately-owned, but open to the public (except during deer-gun season). It features more than five miles of hiking trails that may be used by cross country skiers during the winter.
The entrance contains a gravel parking lot, picnic tables, a port-a-potty and a kiosk with information and post cards with a map of the trails. A relatively short drive from Columbus (30-40 minutes), Ramser is a nice spot for a walk in the 
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 
In reviewing 2014, we've come up with our annual TrekOhio highlights!
Best Hike of the Year
We've excluded the Hocking Hills Winter Hike, which otherwise would probably win best hike every year. Beyond this annual hike, below are our favorites for this year.
Deb: My favorite hike for the year was the one that we took at the Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve. Living miles from the ocean, it is easy to forget that Ohio has beach dunes, but thanks to Lake Erie, we do. The hike is very 
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. 
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 
We spent the Fourth of July weekend at Burr Oak State Park Lodge. While there we hiked what I'm calling the "upper loop." It is a 4.2 mile hike that begins at the parking lot where Mountville Road terminates at Burr Oak Lake. The terrain for this hike is hilly with a total elevation gain of 1,315.5 ft. During a portion of the hike there were glimpses of the lake through the trees.
Getting oriented
We traced our hike using the My Tracks Android app. Below is a map showing our route.
And 
Miller Nature Sanctuary is a well-hidden, state nature preserve in Highland County. It has three miles of trail that go past interesting geological features. It's named after Eugene and Henrietta Miller, the couple that donated the land. The preserve is located on Rocky Fork Gorge just upstream from Highlands Nature Sanctuary. The preserve's trails take you from the top of dolomite cliffs to the edge of the Rocky Fork Creek and back. In addition to cliffs and large slump blocks, the preserve includes 
Daughmer Prairie Savannah is a 34 acre state nature preserve in Crawford County. It features a gravel parking lot, a kiosk, and 0.5 mile mown loop trail. And it is a very unusual place.
When early settlers first arrived in Ohio, most of the state was dense forest. However, when settlers reached the Sandusky Plains, they encountered a vast expanse of grassland with trees scattered here and there. When the trees in a grassland are so widely spaced that the canopy never closes, the