Carriage Hill MetroPark (Blog Hike #176)

Trails: Orange Trail et. al.

Hike Location: Carriage Hill MetroPark

Geographic Location: northeast side of Huber Heights, OH (39.87582, -84.09153)

Length: 3.6 miles

Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: June 2005, July 2016

Overview: A flat hike divided equally between tallgrass prairie and young succession forest.

Park Information: https://www.metroparks.org/places-to-go/carriage-hill/

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=940176
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Take I-70 to SR 201 (exit 38).  Exit and go north.  Take SR 201 north 0.8 miles to the reserve entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the reserve.  Stop at the visitor’s center to obtain a park map, then continue along the main park road to the parking lot for the Red Wing Shelter.  Park in the lot beside the shelter.

The hike: Situated immediately north of I-70 in extreme northeast Montgomery County, Carriage Hill MetroPark provides 900 acres of largely undeveloped land for public enjoyment.  Many years ago, all of this flat fertile land was being put to agricultural use.  In 1968, the land was donated to Five Rivers Metropark District to create the reserve.  The land still retains its rural character with an historic farm located in the center of the grounds.  The farm, complete with costumed interpreters, can be toured by visitors.

            While the restored farm is the reserve’s main attraction, several other parts of the park lure visitors to the flat lands of northeast Montgomery County.  The Visitor Center features a small gift shop that, as I can personally attest, contains a great old-time candy store.  The reserve also contains some picnic areas and Cedar Lake, a small lake that is stocked with fish.  A riding center and several miles of bridle trails that trace around the perimeter of the park complete the facilities.

            For hikers, the park features over five miles of trails open to hikers only.  All of the trails are flat and easy walking, and the extensive trail system makes many different loops possible.  This hike mainly follows the Orange Trail and explores all major points of interest within the bridle trail loop.

Trailhead near Red Wing Shelter

            Begin by following the blacktop path toward Cedar Lake.  Upon reaching the lake, notice the boardwalk straight ahead across the lake: it will be the return route.  The outbound route turns right and crosses the fishing pier.  On a nice day you will pass some fishers trying their luck in the lake.

Cedar Lake

            Where the blacktop path turns right and heads to a fishing parking area, continue along the lake in a park-like setting to reach the earthen dam that creates the lake.  Pay attention to the bushes beside the lake: I passed within inches of a squirrel that was almost completely hidden by the brush.  Turn left to cross the dam on a two-track gravel path.  At post #2 on the far side of the dam, stay to the right where a short trail around the lake exits to the left and returns to the Red Wing Shelter.  The trail junctions at Carriage Hill are marked with numbers, and trails are marked with colored dots painted on wooden posts.

            The trail continues along the old gravel road with the tallgrass prairie on the left and some young forest on the right.  0.15 miles from the previous trail junction, the Orange Trail heads into the forest on the right.  Turn right here and cross a wide wooden bridge over a small stream.  Immediately after crossing the stream, ignore a faint unofficial trail that exits left.  You are now heading south through the appropriately named South Woods.  The forest consists mostly of small maples with a dense understory.  Poison ivy is prevalent in the forest, but the trail is wide enough that it will not cause you problems if you stay on the trail.

Heading into the South Woods

            1 mile into the hike, you will be able to hear I-70 in the distance straight ahead.  Before you get too close to the noisy interstate, the Orange Trail takes a wide 180-degree left turn and begins heading north.  This trail is supposed to be open to hikers only, but evidence can be found that horses occasionally stray onto this trail against park rules. 

            At 1.5 miles you will reach another major intersection with the Yellow Trail going left and right.  Turning left will return to the lake, but this hike turns right to enter North Woods.  In very short order you will reach North Woods Pond, a small quiet pond in the middle of the woods.  A bench along the left (west) side of the pond would make a nice rest stop and allow you to observe the activity in the pond.  Fishing is also allowed in this pond, but its small size and distance from any parking area makes it considerably less popular than Cedar Lake you passed earlier.

North Woods Pond

            Take the trail around the right (east) side of the pond.  On the far side of the pond, reach post #10 and take the first trail to the right, which will once again put you on the Orange Trail.  This part of the Orange Trail makes a nice 0.8 mile loop through a prairie on the eastern end of the reserve property.  In only 0.1 miles, you will come to the edge of the prairie and the fork that creates the loop.  Arbitrarily, I chose to take the right trail and return on the left one.  Proceed around the edge of the sunny meadow.  During the summer, the green plants of the meadow will tower over your head, and insects such as butterfly and damselfly buzz around the prairie looking for pollen.

Purple coneflower in prairie

            At the far side of the loop, the trail comes out at a small pond.  You can look southeast across the prairie and see a working farm along Bellefontaine Rd. that is not connected with the park.  At 2.4 miles, close the loop.  Turn right on the entrance trail to return to North Woods Pond at 2.5 miles.

            Turn right at the pond, cross the stream that feeds the pond, and turn right to leave the pond area.  The Orange Trail now travels through the best, coolest forest of the hike.  Ignore the Yellow Trail that departs to the left, heading back to North Woods Pond.  At 2.7 miles, cross another stream on a wide wooden bridge and reach post #13 at the edge of the prairie.  Bear right and head into the heart of the prairie.

Tallgrass prairie

            What a large prairie this is!  To your left you can see several tenths of a mile down to Cedar Lake.  To the right you can see at least that far, all the way to the reserve’s north boundary.  Prairies this large are rare this far east, so enjoy the sweeping views.  After crossing through the middle of the prairie, the trail curves to the left and follows the west edge of the prairie.  Just before reaching Cedar Lake, the trail that encircles Cedar Lake comes in from the left.

            At 3.4 miles, the trail crosses the boardwalk over the shallow west end of Cedar Lake.  Take your time as you cross the boardwalk.  On a sunny day you will likely see some turtles sunning themselves on logs jutting up from the lake floor.  The far side of the boardwalk sits behind the Red Wing Shelter, indicating the end of the hike.