Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southwestern Ohio

Miller Nature Sanctuary

Posted on by Bob Platt

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 three natural stone arches and several seasonal waterfalls. If that’s not enough, its also a great destination for viewing spring wildflowers.

One of the preserve’s three, natural arches

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Posted in Hiking, Northwestern Ohio, Park review

Sears Woods

Posted on by Bob Platt

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.

View of the Sandusky River from the flood plain

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Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Shawnee Forest Day Hike Trail

Posted on by Deb Platt

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.

Wide path along the ridgeline

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Posted in Native American, Park review, Southwestern Ohio

Miamisburg Mound

Posted on by Bob Platt

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.

Miamisburg Mound viewed from the side with the stairs.

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Posted in Annual event, Past events

ODNR’s Natural Resources Park at the Ohio State Fair

Posted on by Bob Platt
This is describing a fair visit from 2014. The upcoming fair is being held July 26 – August 6, 2017.

Yesterday we went to the Ohio State Fair. The state fair is one of the largest in country and is held every year toward the end of July and the beginning of August at the 360 acre Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio. The original Ohio State Fair started in 1850 and today’s fair retains much of the early fairs agricultural roots.

The sky ride shortly after the fair opened

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Posted in Park visit

Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve: Pine Ridge Trail

Posted on by Bob Platt

We returned to Lake Katharine Nature Preserve in mid-May to walk the 2.5 mile Pine Ridge Trail. Among the attractions of Pine Ridge Trail are Lake Katharine itself, Rock Run creek, a cascading waterfall, large rock outcroppings and cliffs, a hemlock grove, and magnolia trees.

Bridge over cascade on Rock Run Creek

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Posted in Plants and trees

Basic Fern Identification

Posted on by Deb Platt

For some time I had been wanting to learn more about ferns, so I took advantage of a workshop on fern identification being held at the Wahkeena Nature Preserve in Fairfield County, Ohio. Wahkeena is a great place to learn about ferns since 29 species of fern grow there (Wahkeena’s official blog publishes a list of their local fern species). Naturalist Tom Shisler led the workshop which is called Focus on Ferns. In this post I’m going to introduce you to a number of common ferns found in Ohio by summarizing Tom’s presentation.

Cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum); it’s always a pleasure to encounter a large ground cover of ferns like these while hiking. The above photo was taken in while hiking in the Oak Openings Metro Park in the Toledo area.

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