Local Explorations
I’m so lucky to live in an area with incredible hiking and walking trails in local parks, reserves, fens, and wetlands, and forests. And to top it off, I’m less than a 2-hour drive from Hocking Hills, home to the Whispering Cave trail, recently crowned as the best in the country by USA Today. Forbes even listed it as one of the best places to travel in 2023. And let’s not forget about our rich heritage, including over 70 Indian Mounds in Ohio, with the granddaddy of them all, the Serpent Mound, the largest effigy mound in the world. If you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing the natural beauty of Ohio, let me introduce you to this wonderful state.
So with that being said, I enjoy exploring all the great things my state has to offer and have plenty to choose from.
Just a short drive from my front door offers some beautiful trails to hike and natural areas to explore. So today I am featuring 3 places in Fairborn, Ohio. All of them are very close to each other and on the small side so you can visit them all in one morning or afternoon.
Hebble Creek Reserve – Spangler Rd, Fairborn, OH
GPS: 39 49.974 -83 59.857
They’ve just put in a gravel parking space and there are a couple of short mowed trails. It’s a 78-acre wetland area with special plants and animals. A perfect place for birdwatchers, plenty to check out if you’re cool with getting a bit muddy and don’t mind going through the taller plants. Looks like they’re working on adding more paths to walk since they put in the parking area.
Pearl’s Fen – 4533 Byron Rd – Fairborn, OH
GPS 39.817646707595905 -83.98401820869843
A peat wetland with tons of different plants (like 170+) and wildlife. This 2 acre spot is packed with diversity, so just take a leisurely walk on the boardwalk, grab your camera or binoculars (or both), and soak it all in. The sunset view from the accessible boardwalk is totally stunning. It even hooks up with the Oak Quarry pike if you’re up for more strolling.
Oaks Quarry Park – State Rte 235 – Fairborn, OH
GPS 39.814651, -83.994988
An old limestone quarry turned into a park, how cool is that? This spot is part of the Beavercreek wetlands, a real gem.
If you’re into time travel, this is your chance to go way, way back – we’re talking 440 million years! Believe it or not, this place used to be an ocean and a huge coral reef. Now, you can hike awesome trails and even hunt for fossils to take home as souvenirs.
When the glaciers passed through here, they left all kinds of marks on the rocks, like grooves and slides. It’s like nature’s own rock art gallery, frozen in time since the ice age ended 14000 years ago.
This park covers a whopping 190 acres and has horseback riding trails as well as around 2 miles of hiking trails. Time to saddle up and explore!
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Just An Ohio Girl 