Chalet Nivale Preseve is a 106-acre preserve in Adams County that is owned and managed by the non-profit organization, the Arc of Appalachia. The preserve contains two feeder streams that are part of the Scioto Brush Creek Watershed; these feeder streams are among the highest water quality streams in the state of Ohio. By protecting the woodlands around these feeder streams, their exceptional water quality goes on to enhance the water quality of Scioto Brush Creek.
Recreational hikers have three Read more ➜ Chalet Nivale Preserve
Chalet Nivale Preseve is a 106-acre preserve in Adams County that is owned and managed by the non-profit organization, the Arc of Appalachia. The preserve contains two feeder streams that are part of the Scioto Brush Creek Watershed; these feeder streams are among the highest water quality streams in the state of Ohio. By protecting the woodlands around these feeder streams, their exceptional water quality goes on to enhance the water quality of Scioto Brush Creek.
Recreational hikers have three Read more ➜ 
Chaparral Prairie is a 67-acres state nature preserve with a three-quarter mile loop trail. Located in Adams County, it preserves a rare prairie habitat. Prairies are defined by the type of vegetation that grows in them. In general these plants are drought-tolerant, fire-tolerant and shade-intolerant. They originated in America's Great Plains and moved eastward thousands of years ago during a centuries-long drought when this area was warmer than now. However as the climate cooled and normal rain 
Two thousand years ago, the Hopewell people built a massive earthwork enclosing a 40-acre hilltop in southwest Ohio. This earthwork which resembles a fort was later dubbed Fort Hill.
Today Fort Hill is a 1,200 acre preserve owned by the Ohio Historical Society and operated by the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. The preserve features 11 miles of hiking trails, a small museum, a parking area, picnic shelters, and rest rooms.
Fort Trail
We visited the preserve last September 
A huge rock hurtles through the empty void of space. Its been orbiting the sun for hundreds of millions of years. But this orbit will be different. This time its trajectory and the orbit of earth intersect. It will impact somewhere in southern Ohio releasing energy equivalent to a large thermonuclear weapon and creating a crater five miles across. Alert the governor, start evacuations! But wait, it's already too late!
It's too late because the impact occurred during the Permian Period 
In early September we visited Highlands Nature Sanctuary near Bainbridge, Ohio. The sanctuary is operated by the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. The sanctuary consists of over 2000 acres of land between Rocky Fork State Park and Paint Creek State Park. The main location contains a museum, three hiking trails, and several cabins that visitors can rent. We stayed at a cabin perched on a ledge overlooking the Rocky Creek gorge.
The preserve has roughly 14 miles of trails scattered