Cox Arboretum: Yellow Trail (Blog Hike #32)

Trail: Yellow Trail

Hike Location: Cox Arboretum

Geographic Location: east side of Miamisburg, OH (39.65533,-84.22439)

Length: 2.4 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: May 2000, July 2016

Overview: A fairly easy loop trail through young broadleaf forest.

Park Information: https://www.metroparks.org/places-to-go/cox-arboretum/

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=797245
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: South of Dayton, take I-75 to SR 725 (exit 44).  Exit and go east on SR 725.  Take SR 725 a short distance to its intersection with SR 741 and turn left on SR 741.  Cox Arboretum is about one mile ahead on SR 741 on the left.  Park in the only parking lot.

The hike: Cox Arboretum is part of the Dayton-Montgomery County Park District, one of the finest urban park districts in Ohio.  The arboretum features a Visitor’s Center, a very scenic shrub garden, several wildlife ponds, and 2.5 miles of hiking trails.  The arboretum is located on the south side of Dayton, just off of I-75, and less than 1 mile from Dayton Mall, the major shopping area on this side of town.  It is very popular during good weather because of its scenery and location.  Expect large crowds if you go on a summer weekend.

            The arboretum's natural area features three overlapping trails; the short Red Trail, the Blue Trail, and the Yellow Trail.  The Blue Trail and Yellow Trail share the same treadway for about half of their distance, and all three trails start at the same place.  The Yellow Trail, which travels for much of its distance around the perimeter of the preserve, is the one described here.  In addition to this set of trails, a shorter trail through the wildflower garden is located about 20 yards off the west side of the entrance road.

            Getting to the trailhead is almost a hike by itself.  Start behind the Visitor Center and follow a blacktop path across a dike between two wildlife ponds.  Canada geese are a common sight in Cox Arboretum, and the ones usually seen near these ponds are not too shy of visitors.  Once across the dike, turn right and continue to follow the paved path up a small rise, past some small trees, and around the butterfly house. 

Information kiosk at trailhead

            The trail starts at an information kiosk behind (west of) the butterfly.  The blacktop ends here, and the graveled Yellow Trail that takes its place enters the woods. Colored dots on a wooden post indicate that this is the combined red-white-yellow trail. Continue straight as first the Red Trail, then the Blue Trail exit to the right.  The remaining Yellow Trail descends gently, crosses a bridge, then continues descending, but a bit more steeply.  The creek crossed by the bridge now parallels the trail on the right. 

            In a couple hundred feet, the Yellow Trail reaches a wooden platform that provides a nice view of the creek valley and the young deciduous forest it contains.  The Blue Trail rejoins the Yellow Trail from the right here as well.  By walking down the steps a few feet on the Blue Trail, you can view a small waterfall in the creek.

Rock ledges in creek

            The combined Blue-Yellow Trails descend to cross a stream on a bridge, then takes a right turn to arrive at an intersection.  Follow the Yellow Trail, which goes off to the right while the Blue Trail continues straight ahead.  The Yellow Trail descends steeply, crosses another short bridge, then climbs moderately to a well-placed bench situated near a large chinquapin oak tree overlooking a ravine.  Unfortunately, noisy I-75 can also be clearly seen and heard from this point.

            Ignore some wild trails that go off to the right and continue on the Yellow Trail, which soon begins a moderate climb. This portion of the trail takes you through a stand of cedar trees before rejoining the Blue Trail.  Turning right to continue on the Yellow Trail, the trail dips back into deciduous forest for several hundred feet.  Interesting trees in this area include ash, shagbark hickory, and maple. 

Hiking the Yellow and Blue Trails

            At the next intersection, turn right to remain on the Yellow Trail as the Blue Trail continues straight.  The trail treads through a small area of mixed mesophytic forest before returning to the younger broadleaf forest.  After a westward turn away from I-75, the trail descends rather steeply to cross a small stream without the aid of a bridge.   First a left and then a right turn leads the trail upstream along the stream bank, gradually heading back to the high ground.  A left turn takes the trail across the stream on a long bridge into the warm, sunny cedar glade.  Past the cedar trees lies the intersection where the Yellow Trail turns right to rejoin the Blue Trail.

Hiking through the cedar forest

            From this point, the trail returns to the cedar forest and crosses a wide, gravel maintenance road.  The trail reenters the cedars on the other side and meanders over a ridge before emerging at the shrub garden.  Take a leisurely stroll through the shrub garden, which is very pretty during the summer months, while meandering your way toward the Visitor’s Center and your car to end the hike.