Angst Nature Preserve in Trenton, OH (Blog Hike #1035)

Trails: Big Bluestem, Snakeroot, and Ironweed Trails
Hike Location: Angst Nature Preserve
Geographic Location: west of Trenton, OH (39.48705, -84.51575)
Length: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: October 2024
Overview: A round-the-park hike through old farm land converted to new prairie.
Park Information: https://www.yourmetroparks.net/parks/angst-nature-preserve-metropark
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=974758
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming October 14)

Directions to the trailhead: From Trenton, take SR 73 west 3.4 miles to the signed nature preserve entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the preserve, and park in the only parking lot.

The hike: Opened only in 2021, Angst Nature Preserve is one of many recent additions to Butler County's system of MetroParks.  The cozy preserve protects 84 acres of former farm land, and some of the old farm structures still stand near the parking lot and trailhead.  The preserve exists thanks to the efforts of the Helen Angst family, the Three Valley Conservation Trust, and the Clean Ohio Fund.

            True to a nature preserve, the park is light on amenities: only a parking lot, port-o-let, and trail system grace the premises.  The preserve does offer 3 hiking trails, but they are laid out in consecutive loops so that you have to hike parts of the first 2 trails to get to the third one.  The hike described here follows the outer-most loop through the trail system, thus forming the longest possible loop while minimizing the need to retrace your steps.

Trailhead at Angst Nature Preserve

            Start at the information kiosk at the north end of the parking lot, where the entrance trail that serves all 3 of the preserve's trails heads north.  The old farm buildings can be seen to the left, and future plans call for converting some of these buildings into preserve buildings.  For the first part of this hike you want to follow the aqua-blazed Big Bluestem Trail, which means continuing north along the preserve's east boundary and ignoring other trails as they exit left.

Hiking along the preserve's east boundary

            After passing through a densely wooded area and crossing a small creek, you reach the preserve's rear prairie, which is my favorite part of this hike.  This prairie contains the loop portion of the Big Bluestem Trail, and you want to continue straight to begin heading counterclockwise around the loop.  Also known as turkeyfoot, big bluestem prairie grass surrounds the trail.  Future plans call for all of this preserve's old farm fields to be restored to this kind of prairie.  An innumerable number of grasshoppers hopped along the trail to avoid being crushed by my feet, and I saw a large number of common birds such as red-winged blackbirds while hiking here.

Hiking in the rear prairie

            The land slopes gradually from east to west, so you descend and then ascend while hiking around the Big Bluestem Trail's loop.  At 1.1 miles, you reach Trail Intersection #4, which is marked by a numbered wooden post bearing colored arrows.  To stay on the outer-most loop, turn right here to leave the aqua-blazed Big Bluestem Trail and begin the orange-blazed Snakeroot Trail.

Brushy woods on Snakeroot Trail

            The Snakeroot Trail winds back and forth as it re-crosses the small creek you crossed before.  The area around the creek features dense shrubby forest with honeysuckle everywhere.  Sycamore and black walnut are the most common trees in this forest, but some hedgeapple trees are also found here.  Also known as osage orange trees, hedgeapple trees typically mark old property or farm field boundaries, so finding these trees along an old farm field like this one is not surprising.

Old farm buildings near front prairie

            At 1.3 miles, you climb gradually away from the creek and intersect the Ironweed Trail at the edge of the front prairie; this point is marked as Trail Intersection #5.  Turn right to continue the outermost loop and begin heading counterclockwise around the Ironweed Trail.  Though the front prairie looks much like the rear prairie, traffic noise from SR 73 is your constant companion in the front prairie.  Thus, the hiking is not as pleasant.  At 1.7 miles, you close the Ironweed Trail's loop at Trail Intersection #1.  Angle right and retrace your steps out the entrance trail to return to the parking lot and complete the hike.

Shades State Park: Trails #1, #6, and Trail to Lover's Leap (Blog Hike #1034)

Trails: Trails #1, #6, and Trail to Lover's Leap
Hike Location: Shades State Park
Geographic Location: southwest of Crawfordsville, IN (39.93691, -87.07575)
Length: 1.9 miles
Difficulty: 8/10 (Moderate/Difficult)
Date Hiked: October 2024
Overview: A lollipop loop through and along deep rock-walled ravines.
Park Information: https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/shades-state-park/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=974371
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming date TBD)

Directions to the trailhead: From Crawfordsville, take SR 47 south 9.5 miles to SR 234 and turn right on SR 234.  Drive SR 234 west 4.9 miles to the signed park entrance on the left.  Turn left on the park access road, then turn right at the next Shades State Park sign to enter the park.  Pay the entrance fee and drive the main park road to its end at the large parking lot for the Hickory Picnic Shelter.  Park near the rear of this lot.

The hike: The steep rock-walled ravines that make Shades State Park famous among hikers today have been attracting people's attention for centuries.  Ancient peoples used the ravines as strongholds when attacked, and a government survey in 1815 used the series of natural springs in these ravines as landmarks.  In 1886, the Garland Dells Mineral Springs Association purchased the land and opened a health resort called The Shades.  The resort's name was short for "Shades of Death," a nickname this land earned probably because it was so unsuitable for food production.  In 1916, Joseph W. Fritz gained control of the Association, and in 1947 his heirs sold the land, which was bought later that year by the State of Indiana to form the state park.

            The steep ravines also ensured that settlers were deterred from trying to farm the land, thus guaranteeing the land's virgin timber was not clear-cut.  The big old trees still welcome visitors today, and the forest makes for great hiking.  On a personal note, with this hike I completed my goal of visiting and hiking in every Indiana state park.  While Indiana does not have many state parks, most of the parks it does have are fantastic, and I wished I had not waited so long to come here.

            In terms of amenities, Shades State Park offers a quiet 105-site campground and several picnic shelters, but the ravines remain this park's main attraction.  Hiking trails lead into all 6 ravines, and proving that you completed a difficult 4.5 mile hike known as the 6-Ravine Challenge earns you the right to buy a special sticker for $1.  The hike described here explores 2 of the park's ravines, and it lets you experience the scenery of the ravines without the difficulty of the 6-Ravine Challenge.

Trail at rear of parking lot

            From the rear/east side of the parking lot, head down the gravel road that leads to the Hickory Picnic Shelter, then angle right to walk between the picnic shelter and the playground to begin Trail #1.  The trail becomes single-track dirt as it continues east through ridgetop forest that features large beech and maple trees.  The terrain is flat and the hiking pleasant.

Sugar Creek, as seen from Prospect Point

            At 0.3 miles, you reach Prospect Point, which offers the best ridgetop view on this hike.  This point sits at the very end of the ridge, and Sugar Creek can be seen 140 feet almost directly below you.  No signs of civilization can be seen from this overlook, so take some time to enjoy this spot.

Steep stairs beside Silver Cascade

Top of Silver Cascade

            Trail #1 now turns south to tread along the edge of Sugar Creek's ravine.  At 0.4 miles, you reach a trail intersection.  All 3 trails at this intersection are called Trail #1, which is somewhat confusing.  You want to turn left and descend a long, steep wooden staircase to reach Silver Cascade.  Silver Cascade is a long cascading low-volume waterfall at the mouth of Red Fox Ravine.  A spur trail takes you to the middle of the waterfall, so the water cascades both above you and below you.  This is a very scenic spot, and I was amazed by the cool temperature of the ravine compared to the ridge.

Hiking up the ravine

            Trail #1 continues by heading up the creekbed in Red Fox Ravine.  The trail crosses back and forth over the creek, so you will likely get your feet wet and muddy here.  Some hemlock trees live in this ravine, and vertical rock walls rise on either side of the creek.  Though the going is challenging, this ravine is the most scenic section of this hike.

Devil's Punch Bowl

            At 0.7 miles, you reach a tight rocky spot in the ravine called the Devil's Punch Bowl.  Climb some wooden stairs to exit the bowl and reach a trail intersection.  Trail #1 continues across the wooden bridge to the right, and you could go that way if you wanted a shorter hike.  To also visit the Lover's Leap overlook, turn left and climb gradually to reach the parking lot for the Dell Picnic Shelter.  Turn left to walk around the cul de sac near this parking lot, then angle north to begin the Trail to Lover's Leap.

Lover's Leap Overlook

            The Trail to Lover's Leap heads out the northern edge of another ridge, and at 1.1 miles it reaches its namesake overlook.  Honestly, this overlook is underwhelming because trees obstruct any broad views, but I still enjoyed looking down into the ravine I had hiked up just a few minutes ago.  Retrace your steps to the Dell Picnic Shelter parking lot, then angle right to begin the combined Trails #6 and #9 as they head across a sunny earthen dam that forms a small pond.

Trail #6 in Red Fox Ravine

            At 1.55 miles, Trails #6 and #9 part ways.  Turn right to stay on Trail #6 as it makes a gentle entrance into Red Fox Ravine near the ravine's head.  The trail heads down the ravine, and while the going is not as wet and muddy as Trail #1 you hiked earlier, a few rugged areas still need to be negotiated.  At 1.8 miles, you climb slightly to intersect Trail #1.  Turn left to cross Red Fox Ravine on a wooden bridge, then climb slightly to close Trail #1's loop near the Hickory Picnic Shelter.  A left turn and short walk out the gravel road returns you to the parking lot to complete the hike.