Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Autumn Visit to Char-Mar Ridge Preserve

Sunday we visited Char-Mar Ridge Preserve in Delaware County to enjoy the cool autumn weather and the last of the fall color. So without further ado, here are our pictures of Char-Mar Ridge. Additional information TrekOhio: Char -Mar Ridge Preserve — Our original article on Char-Mar Ridge. It includes information on the park's location. TrekOhio: Delaware County Parks & Nature Preserves Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Autumn Visit to Rock Stalls Natural Sanctuary

It was cool and sunny on Saturday morning so we decided to take a look at fall foliage at Rock Stalls. Rock Stalls is a privately owned nature sanctuary run by Camp Akita. It is open to the public, and we last visited the site in February. It is a box canyon crisscrossed by small streams. There are also several, seasonal waterfalls along the rim. We arrived early Saturday morning at the parking area which was completely empty. The descent to the floor of the canyon was colorful Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Autumn Visit to Scioto Trail State Park

Sunday was a cool and sunny autumn day. Bob and I decided it would be a great day to check out the fall color at Scioto Trail State Park. There are two sites at Scioto Lake where you can get a view of the surrounding forests from up high. One is the park's fire tower and the other is a place known as the Vista. In both cases there is parking right at the site, so you don't have to do any hiking to take advantage of the view. But of course if you decide to go to the fire tower there is a long climb Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Burr Oak State Park

We've visited Burr Oak several times over the years. On our first trip to Burr Oak we had scheduled a week of camping. In our family, this became known as the "Rain Drenched Burr Oak Camping Trip". On the plus side, I learned to cook meals over a camp stove in the rain. (Hint: use flint and steel to ignite the burner. Works better than rain-soaked matches). Our next trip, we stayed at the Burr Oak Lodge and then went hiking at Wildcat Hollow in Wayne National Forest. The Wildcat Hollow Read more ➜
Posted in Helpful hints, Hiking

Acquiring Ohio Topographic Maps

Topographic maps provide information on the geographic features and terrain contours of a given area. You can see where the lakes, streams, fields and forests are located. Brown lines depict changes in elevation and let you know where the ridges and hollows are located. As with a street map, roads, highways, towns, and villages, and political boundaries are also depicted. With a compass and a good topographic map, you can travel cross-country through areas without trails and reach Read more ➜
Posted in Central Ohio, Hiking, Park review

Sharon Woods Metro Park

Sharon Woods Metro Park is part of the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Park system in central Ohio. This Metro Park is 761 acres, and that's including the 320-acre Edward S. Thomas State Nature Preserve that's tucked inside it. The park features a 3.8-mile, paved, multipurpose loop trail. There's also an additional 3.35 miles of hiking trails. The trails pass through a variety of habitats, including woodlands, ravines, meadows, prairie and wetland. Sharon Read more ➜
Posted in Central Ohio, Hiking, Park review

Walnut Woods Metro Park

Walnut Woods is the newest Columbus area Metro Park. This 1,032 acre park is located southeast of Columbus near Groveport. We visited the Metro Park in March and again at the end of summer. The park is divided into three sections. The middle section is currently unimproved, with no trails. It has several lakes and ponds and a segment of Big Run Creek. It will eventually have a trail and areas for bird watching. The other two sections - the Tall Pines Area and the Buckeye Area have Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southwestern Ohio

Kiser Lake Wetlands State Nature Preserve

Kiser Lake Wetlands is a 51 acre state nature preserve in Champaign County. It is located in a corner of Kiser Lake State Park. We visited this preserve in mid-May. The preserve has a 0.6 mile boardwalk / trail system that interconnects with the 0.7 mile Red Oak trail in the park making a 1.3 mile loop. The trailhead is near the southeast end of the lake on Kiser Lake Rd (CR-19), not far from the main campground. A kiosk marks the trailhead. Nearby is a sign for the park's Red Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, History, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Zaleski State Forest: King’s Hollow Tunnel

Mineral, Moonville, Hope — all were towns active in Ohio's mining and iron manufacturing industries during the 19th century. They were connected by the Moonville rail line which passed through two long tunnels on the way to the iron furnace at Hope. The towns are long gone, as is the rail line, but the two tunnels remain and can be found in the Zaleski State Forest. The more famous of the two is the Moonville Tunnel which is the subject of numerous ghostly tales. We visited the Moonville Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Northeastern Ohio, Park review

Holden Arboretum

When I entered information for Holden Arboretum into our on-line guide, I was impressed by the size of this Lake County arboretum - 3,600 acres (14.6 km²) with 19 miles (30.6 km) of trails. I added it to my must-see list. Would it live up to its statistics? In mid-May, we visited Holden Arboretum. I'll spare you the suspense, my only regret about my visit, is that I didn't have a lot more time to explore this wonderful place. We parked by the visitors center. The visitors Read more ➜