Governor Bebb Preserve (Blog Hike #001)

Trails: Chief Cornstalk and Serenity Trails

Hike Location: Governor Bebb Preserve

Geographic Location: west of Ross, OH (39.36875,-84.80365)

Length: 2.25 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: 1997, October 2002, June 2013

Overview: A double loop hike through beautiful, rural forest in southwestern Butler County.

Park Information: https://www.yourmetroparks.net/parks/governor-bebb-metropark

Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=130963
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From Ross, drive SR 126 west 10.4 miles to the park entrance on the left.  The entrance is a narrow, paved road marked by a large light brown sign. Turn left onto the park road and follow it past the field, covered bridge, and pioneer village to where the road forks at a stop sign.  Go to the left at this fork and park in the first parking area you come to, which is adjacent to a picnic shelter.

The hike: Having grown up only 15 minutes east of here, I took my first steps in a nature preserve on these premises.  My dad and I would drive out here on chilly, late winter days and go for hikes, sometimes on the trails, and sometimes not.  Today, only the stand of forest behind my house holds greater personal significance to me than this park.  Thus, hiking this trail at age 22 to prepare this blog entry was a trip down my short memory lane.

            Outside of its personal significance to me, this preserve, part of Butler County Metroparks, is named for governor William Bebb, Ohio’s 19th governor, who was born here in 1802.  Today, the land is wedged between farms to the north and west and roads to the south and east.  It is an excellent woodland in rural southwestern Butler County whose trails do not get very much traffic.  Of particular note are the large, mature pine plantings intermingled within the broadleaf forest. This hike is organized in two loops that interlink to form a figure-eight.  It takes you past several pine forests in addition to deciduous forest, creek, and pond habitats.

Trail entrance behind picnic shelter

            Begin behind the picnic shelter and pick up a spur trail as it heads steeply downhill. After leveling off for a short distance, you intersect the Chief Cornstalk Trail. This is our first of the two loops, and a left turn is required to begin following the Chief Cornstalk Trail.  The trail is unmarked except for some blazes for the American Discovery Trail. The official-looking emblems on white plastic triangles mark the course for a trail that stretches in segments across the entire country.            

Floodplain forest on Chief Cornstalk Trail

            The wide dirt trail enters a mature forest and is soon flanked by West Fork Creek on the right and the steep hill you just descended on the left.  In recent years much of the underbrush has been removed by man, making for a more open-feeling forest.  The trail follows the creek before turning left and ascending rather steeply to a fork in the trail.  Even though this trail is a loop trail, our hike only uses half of the loop-portion represented by the fork.  Turning right, the trail continues to ascend, though less steeply now, as it traces the edge of a small pine forest on the left.  There is a much larger and grander one later in the hike.

Blacktop road at end of first loop

            On the east side of the pine forest, the American Discovery Trail turns right as the Chief Cornstalk Trail goes straight ahead to close the loop.  Turn right here and ascend a small, steep hill through another small pine forest to come out at a dead-end gated blacktop road.  The American Discovery Trail continues straight ahead and eventually comes out on California Rd.  To complete the first loop of our hike, turn left on the blacktop road and follow it back to the parking lot where your car is parked, putting us half way through the hike.

            When you return to the parking lot, walk back to the main park road you drove in on.  A couple hundred feet ahead is a break in the wooden fence that marks the entrance to the pioneer village on the left.  Enter the pioneer village here.  The Serenity Trail starts behind the pioneer village just north of the entry point at a small wooden sign that says "Serenity Trail."

Trailhead: Serenity Trail

            The trail enters the woods and curves its way down one side of a ravine, using steps to aid the descent.  At the bottom of the steps, the trail reaches a bridge over a small stream.  On my most recent visit, the bridge was in poor condition, as it tilted at a large angle from right to left.  Plans to rebuild the bridge were being implemented while I was there.  Across the bridge, the trail curves sharply right and begins ascending the other side of the ravine. 

            The trail quickly comes to a wire fence, telling you that you are at the boundary of the preserve.  The trail curves left, keeping the fence on the right, and ascends out of the ravine with the aid of steps.  This was a scary part of the trail for me at age 10, as the steps seemed way too high for my short legs.  In reality, they are only a little steeper than average, if that.

Pond on Serenity Trail

            At the top of the hill, the trail turns left away from the fence, and soon another trail intersects from the right.  The trail going right is the return portion of the loop.  Continuing straight, the trail passes the first of two small ponds (this one filled with green algae) on the right, then turns left to skirt the pine forest, which we will see much more of later.  After a brief stint in the pines, the trail returns to deciduous forest and takes a sharp turn to the right.  For the next several hundred feet the trail stays along the rim of a steep hill on the left and the pines on the right.  In the winter, the park's picnic area can be seen well below you through the trees on the left.

            After crossing a hogs back between another pond (little algae in this one) on the right and a fence to prevent you from falling down the hill on the left, the Pelewa Trail comes in from the left.   The Pelewa Trail leads to the aforementioned campground and picnic area.  The Serenity Trail takes a sharp right turn and follows beside the meadow immediately on the left and the finest pine forest in the park on the right.  It passes the trail entrance from the campground, then reaches a shack that resembles a concession stand.  The unmarked Serenity Trail makes a sharp, easy-to-miss right turn into the pine forest at this shack.

Hiking through the pine forest

            The next several hundred feet is my favorite part of the hike.  The trail goes right through the heart of the pines, which tower some 70 feet overhead.  Stop in the middle of the forest to listen:  if you are alone, you will at most hear the whispering of the wind through the pine needles.  It is this section of the hike that gives the trail its name.

            On the other end of the pine forest, the trail reaches the T-intersection at the brink of a ravine to complete the loop.  Turn left here and retrace your steps back through the ravine to the pioneer village.  The last climb out of the ravine marks the final ascent of the hike.  You may wish to take a moment to view the outstanding collection of log buildings from around the area that has been assembled in this park.  From where the trail enters you must angle to the right to exit the village onto the main park road.  A short walk to the covered bridge on the left may be worth your time as well.  A right turn on the park road, then a left turn at the fork will return you to your car, completing this superb, but often overlooked hike.

Pioneer Village

Covered bridge at park entrance