Posted in Hiking, Northeastern Ohio, Park review

Mohican State Park: Gorge Overlook Trail and Swinging Bridge

We visited the newly opened Gorge Overlook trail and swinging bridge at Mohican State Park. The trail is a 2.5 mile loop that starts and ends at opposite ends of the Gorge Overlook parking area. The parking area has two observation areas for viewing the gorge formed by the Clear Fork of the Mohican River. The view from the observation area is spectacular. The parking area is relatively small and quickly filled on a sunny pleasant fall Saturday morning. The parking area contained a Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Park visit, Southwestern Ohio

John and Marion Becker Cedar Falls Preserve

We visited John and Marion Becker Cedar Falls Preserve in the late summer of 2020 and early spring of 2021. This Adams County preserve is owned by the Edge of Appalachia and was opened recently. The star attraction of the preserve is a fifteen foot waterfall named Cedar Falls - not to be confused with the other Cedar Falls located in Hocking County. When visiting Scioto and Adams County, we frequently stay at Shawnee Lodge in Shawnee State Park. The trailhead for the preserve is a half-hour drive Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Ohio Industrial History, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest: Hike to the Belgian Coke Ovens

On our recent trip to Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest, we sought to discover if there was a path through the main trails of this state forest leading to the ruins of a 19th century iron mining and refining operations. On prior trips we've enjoyed hiking to a variety of destinations in this off-the-beaten-track state forest. We even visited the remains of an old iron furnace and Belgian coke ovens left over from the regions 19th century iron industry. However, to visit these Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Northwestern Ohio, Park review

Wildwood Preserve in Metroparks Toledo

The Wildwood Preserve is a 493 acre park in the Toledo area. The total trail mileage in the park is about 9.4 miles. The trails include a couple of boardwalks, and one trail passes through a covered bridge. A few trails in the park feature unusually sandy soil because this area was once the shoreline of an ancient, glacial lake. The land making up the preserve formerly belonged to the Stranahan family (two brothers in this family founded the Champion Spark Plug Company in 1908). Park officials have Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Northeastern Ohio, Park review

Holden Arboretum: Canopy Walk & Emergent Tower

In mid-August we visited Holden Arboretum to see two new attractions - the Murch Canopy Walk and the Kalberer Emergent Tower. Located in Lake County, Holden Arboretum is the largest publicly-accessible arboretum in the state of Ohio. With 3,600 acres of gardens and forest and over twenty miles of trails there is much to see and do. This article discusses the new canopy walk and the emergent tower. For more information on Holden Arboretum, please see the posts about our earlier visits. Murch Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Wayne National Forest (Athens Unit): Wildcat Hollow

Wayne National Forest encompasses over a quarter million acres in southeastern Ohio; the national forest is divided into three units: Athens, Marietta, and Ironton (see the links at the bottom for more information on these units). Like all national forests, recreational use of the forest is only one of its purposes. Forestry officials are also concerned with conservation, timber harvesting, mineral management, livestock grazing, watershed protection, and wildlife management. Among the recreational Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Vinton Furnace State Experimental Forest: Watch Rock

Among the trails available at Vinton Furnace State Experimental Forest, there is one called "Watch Rock." If you look at the official map, there is a side trail to a "starred" feature that itself is called "Watch Rock". Since we were unable to find a description of what "Watch Rock" was, we could only guess. We figured it was a rocky promontory overlooking a scenic vista, but of course we didn't know for sure. To add to the mystery, during a previous hike we reached the end of the Watch Rock trail Read more ➜
Posted in Annual event, Hiking, Southeastern Ohio

53rd Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2018

We participated in the 53rd Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike on Saturday. This was our eighth time participating in this winter hike that runs from Old Man’s Cave to Rose Lake, Cedar Falls, and ends at Ash Cave for a total distance of 6.5 miles. A bus returns participants to the starting point. The weather for the winter hike was perfect, there was a nice base of snow throughout the Hocking Hills. Weather for the prior few weeks had varied above and below freezing creating huge icicles. Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Vinton Furnace State Experimental Forest: Arch Rock

The day after Thanksgiving Bob and I decided to hike to Arch Rock, one of Ohio's 80 or so natural arches. A natural arch is simply a hole through a rock outcropping that was produced by erosion. In some cases, the hole isn't that big. However Ohio does have a number of arches that are big enough for a person to stand beneath the arch with room to spare. Arch Rock is one of these larger arches. It has a 9.7-foot span with 8.25 feet of clearance. Getting Oriented As you approach the area Read more ➜
Posted in Park review, Southwestern Ohio

Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve

Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve is one of the more interesting geological sites in Ohio. There are six fault lines in Adams County. Surprisingly, one of these fault lines is visible within the preserve. In addition Adams County is one of the few places in Ohio where you can observe rock outcroppings made of dolomite (sometimes called dolostone). Dolomite and limestone are both said to be calcareous due to their high calcium content, and both are alkaline. They even resemble each other visually. Read more ➜