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 Read more ➜ Daughmer Prairie Savannah State Nature Preserve
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 Read more ➜ 
Our recent visit to Sears Woods featured large trees and a close-encounter with galloping deer.
Sears Woods is a 137 acre state nature preserve in Crawford County. It is managed by the Crawford County Park District. The Sandusky River flows through the preserve which features an old-growth beech and maple woodland. There are two trails: the 1.25-mile Hiking Trail that loops through the woods, and a smaller, mown-path through a meadow that's known as the Bluebird Box Trail.
At 
No one knows the their name. They left no written record. Today we call them the Adena Culture and we know they had a thriving civilization in Ohio between 1000 BC and 200 BC. They built hundreds of earthen mounds, probably as part of a funeral ritual. The largest of these mounds is a 65 foot tall mound situated on a hill overlooking the Miami River in Miamisburg, OH.
The mound was partially excavated and a bark covered skeleton was discovered. The Miamisburg mound has never been 
Lowe-Volk Park is a 38-acre county park located in Crawford County. The Sandusky River flows through the northern edge of the park. The park features a nature center, two miles of hiking trails, and a fishing pond.
The nature center contains many exhibits, classrooms, restrooms, and a nature viewing area for bird watchers. The staff also put on special events and educational programs.
In front of the nature center was a small garden planted with wildflowers.
We 
Last fall, we stopped briefly at the Shreve Lake Wildlife Area on our way to Killbuck Marsh. The wildlife area is a 228 acre site in Wayne County that's named after its 63 acre lake.
The wildlife area features a parking area at the lake with a fishing pier and boat launch area (boats with electric motors only). A latrine is available in warm weather.
The lake is popular with fishermen and features largemouth bass, bluegills, and crappies. The lake is also a stopover point 
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 
We've been going to Tar Hollow for many years. Its a great place for camping. The camp sites are usually not crowded (don't tell anybody), the area is very scenic, and there are many miles of hiking trails.
Tar Hollow State Park is a 604 acre park in Ross County. It is surrounded by the 16,354 acre Tar Hollow State Forest located in Ross, Hocking, and Vinton Counties. Traversing the park and state forest is the 21 mile red-blazed Logan Backpack Trail. Built and maintained by the Boy 
The same day we visited Clifton Gorge, we drove 40 minutes south to Spring Valley Wildlife Area. It was a gorgeous sunny, but cool day. A perfect day for a walk around the lake and marsh at Spring Valley.
Spring Valley is an 842 acre state wildlife area on the border of Greene and Warren counties. It features an archery range, as well as shotgun, rifle and pistol ranges. It also includes a 150 acre lake and marsh with a 2.5 mile trail around it, and an extensive boardwalk leading 
Liberty Park is a 1,908 acre park in Summit County. It features three trails totaling 3.3 miles, several sports fields, a half-acre dog park, and rest rooms. Summit Metro Parks plans to add a nature center in the future.
We'd planned a nice early spring hike in Summit County for the last Sunday in March, but Mother Nature had other plans. We'd driven to Summit County the prior day encountering rain most of the way. Overnight the rain changed to hail and then snow. We awoke to a cold,