Miami University Natural Areas: Bachelor Reserve North and Kramer Reserve Loops (Blog Hike #38)

Trail: Bachelor Reserve North and Kramer Reserve Loops

Hike Location: Miami University Natural Areas Trail System (MUNATS)

Geographic Location: east side of Oxford, OH (39.52249,-84.71446)

Length: 1.4 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: April 2004, June 2015

Overview: A pair of interconnecting loop trails, the first through young forest, the second through more mature forest.

Area Information: http://miamioh.edu/student-life/natural-areas/

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=717275
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From downtown Oxford, take SR 732 north to Sycamore Street, which is the last traffic light in Oxford.  Turn right on Sycamore Street, and take it east to where it ends at a three-way stop. Take a soft left at this intersection onto Bonham Road.  Take Bonham Rd. east 1.25 miles to a gravel parking area (in the shape of a circle) on the left.  This is reached just before Bonham Rd. curves sharply to the left.  Park in this lot.

The hike: The northernmost section of MUNATS is traversed by two interlinking trails, the Bachelor Reserve North Loop and the Kramer Reserve Loop.  The land containing the North Loop was obtained by the university many years ago with the rest of the Bachelor estate, which is located south of Bonham Rd.  The 0.8 mile North Loop passes through mostly young hardwood forest and reverting farmland.  It connects with the Kramer, Reinhart, and Pine loops of Bachelor Reserve, allowing the hiker to combine trails for a longer hike. 

            On the other hand, Kramer Woods was donated to the university more recently, in 1987, and is used in part for research in ecology. The 0.6 mile Kramer Loop is the superior of the two trails with its mature hardwood forest.  Both trails take the hiker through a number of creek ravines.  Since the Kramer Loop can only be accessed from the midpoint of the North Loop, one might as well hike both while in the area to see Kramer Woods.

Bonham Road trailhead: North Loop

            The North Loop departs the far end of the parking lot at a large brown sign announcing your arrival to MUNATS.  The dirt trail travels only a couple hundred feet through young forest before reaching the fork that creates the loop.  For no particular reason, I turned right here to hike the loop counter-clockwise.  The trail passes through more young hardwood forest before crossing a shallow creek ravine, with a short wooden footbridge at the bottom of the ravine to cross the creek. 

            After exiting the ravine, the trail enters a cedar thicket containing some very large red cedars.  On the other side of the cedars, the North Loop turns left where a connecting trail to the Reinhart Loop goes straight.  This intersection would be confusing if not for the brown sign directing you to the left.  The North Loop, like most trails in MUNATS, is very well marked at intersections.

Hiking through a cedar thicket

            Continuing around the loop, the trail passes an area where ditches have been dug along the side of the trail to keep it drier after a rain (they appear to be working well) and a vista overlooking a tributary of Harker's Run some 30 feet below trail level on the right.  The sides of the Harker's Run valley are dominated by large maple and oak trees, while the valley contains some nice sycamores. 

Bench overlooking Harker's Run tributary

            About 1000 feet from the previous intersection, the Kramer loop trail goes off to the right.  Turn right at this intersection, which is also marked with a brown sign.  The trail goes only a couple hundred feet before descending steeply down one side of a ravine, crossing the south fork of a small creek, and ascending up the other side.  The trail forks here to create the loop, and a large brown sign welcomes you to Kramer Reserve at this location.  Again, for no particular reason, I turned right here to walk the loop counter-clockwise.

            After using another wooden bridge to cross the north fork of the aforementioned creek, the trail turns gently left to follow along the boundary of the preserve.  The creek and the preserve's mature maple forest are on the left, while a cornfield is located over a fence to the right.  This continues for several hundred feet before the trail turns left to recross the north fork.

Hiking the Kramer Loop

            After crossing the creek, the trail passes the entrance to the ecology research area (entry prohibited), and turns left again to follow a low ridge between two drainages.  The forest here consists mostly of maple and beech trees, with an occasional sycamore.  There are some very large trees on this ridge.  Noteworthy are a large beech on the right side of the trail about half way around the loop and a very large oak just past that.  The forest changes to oak as the trail turns left at the southern end of the ridge to complete the loop. 

            After rejoining the outbound trail, turn right and retrace your steps along the 0.2 miles necessary to complete the loop.  This section contains the first major climb of the hike, which is the steep ascent out of the ravine that you descended into when starting the Kramer Loop.  Back at the North Loop, turn right to finish this loop.  The trail soon descends steeply into another ravine, using steps to aid the descent.  This is the most rugged terrain of the hike.  The trail crosses the creek at the bottom of the ravine on a narrow wooden bridge, then ascends steeply up the side for the other major climb of the hike.

Crossing a narrow bridge

            After crossing another narrow bridge, the trail follows along the hillside for a short distance before turning right to ascend gradually into a field.  About 100 feet later, on the other side of the field, the outbound portion of the loop rejoins from the left, and only 200 feet of level walking remain to complete this hike.