Hike Location: Brukner Nature Center
Geographic Location: west of Troy, OH (40.01645, -84.31713)
Length: 2.3 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: June 2019
Overview: A double loop through numerous ravines and along
numerous ridges.
Center Information: http://www.bruknernaturecenter.com/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=754843
Photo Highlight:
Directions to the trailhead: North of Dayton, take
I-75 to SR 55 (exit 73). Exit and go
west on SR 55. Drive SR 55 west 2.4
miles to Horseshoe Bend Road and take a soft right on Horseshoe Bend Rd. Drive Horseshoe Bend Rd. 2.1 miles to the
signed Center entrance on the right.
Turn right to enter the Center, and drive the entrance road to the Center’s
main parking lot in front of the Interpretive Building. You need to pay a small entrance fee in the
Interpretive Building before starting the hike.
The hike: Private
not-for-profit Brukner Nature Center protects 165 acres of ridges and ravines
along the east bank of the Stillwater River.
The Center is named for Clayton J. Brukner, who owned the WACO Aircraft
Company of nearby Troy, OH. WACO was one
of the most successful pre-World War II civil aircraft manufacturers. A lover of nature, Brukner purchased this
land for its scenic value in 1933, and in 1967 he unveiled plans to build the Nature
Center that now bears his name. The
Center opened in 1974.
Brukner Nature Center features an
excellent Interpretive Building that offers several bird and wildlife viewing
areas. 6 miles of hiker-only trails wind
through the grounds. Unfortunately, when
I came here just after the area had received large amounts of rainfall, several
of the trails were impassable due to flooding.
Thus, the route described here traverses most of the trails that were
passable on my visit, and it features a nice mixture of ravines, ridges, woods,
and meadows.
 |
| Trailhead: Pinelands Trail |
From the front door of the
Interpretive Building, walk across the parking lot to find the trailhead for
the single-track dirt Pinelands Trail, which immediately heads into the woods
on an eastward course. Three separate
trailheads are located on this side of the parking lot. The Pinelands trailhead is the one on the
left; it is marked by a wooden post with a green stripe.
After only a few hundred feet on the
Pinelands Trail, you reach a trail intersection marked as post #14. Major trail intersections are numbered on the
park map and marked on the ground with numbered wooden posts. Turn left here to begin the Trillium Valley
Trail.
 |
| Bridge over eroded watercourse |
The Trillium Valley Trail crosses the park entrance road before crossing
an eroded watercourse on a high steel bridge with wooden deck. Next comes a short but fairly steep descent
as the trail begins following the watercourse downstream. The Interpretive Building is visible atop the
hill to the left here.
After crossing the stream 5 times via
bridges, you reach post #12, where the Buckeye Valley Loop exits right. The Buckeye Valley Loop is a 1.1 mile add-on
lollipop loop that explores a very pleasant ravine, so turn right to begin the
Buckeye Valley Loop. The Buckeye Valley
Loop climbs gradually along the small but steep-sided creek. I saw many deer prints in the soft dirt along
this creek, and further up the ravine I saw some of the deer that made these
prints, including a doe and two fawns.
 |
| Hiking up Buckeye Valley |
Ignore the steep Wren Run Trail that
exits left, and at 0.5 miles reach post #10, which marks the intersection that
forms the loop portion of the Buckeye Valley Loop. To make the climbing easier, this description
continues straight and uses the trail going right as its return route, thus
hiking the loop clockwise. The gradual
climb up the ravine continues, and the Center’s northwest boundary comes close
on the left.
At 0.9 miles, the trail curves right
for the final short but steep climb out of the ravine. Now on a drier ridgetop course, the land
drops off steeply to the left as you head out a narrow finger ridge. Hickory, oak, and maple trees dominate this
ridge. 1.2 miles into the hike, you
reach a ravine overlook where the trail switches back to the right. A primitive but effective wooden staircase is
descended just before the loop is closed.
Turn left to head back to the Trillium Valley Trail, then turn right to
continue the Trillium Valley Trail.
 |
| Wooden staircase at end of Buckeye Valley Loop |
Soon you reach post #8 and the start
of the Swamp Boardwalk, which exits right.
The Swamp Boardwalk offers a short 0.5 mile loop on wooden boardwalk
through a wetland, but recent rains had the boardwalk underwater on my
visit. Thus, I continued straight to
reach post #7 and a major trail intersection with options going left and
right. The option going right is the 0.8
mile Stillwater Loop that traverses bottomland forest along its namesake river,
but it like the Swamp Boardwalk was underwater.
Therefore, my only option was to turn left and begin the Hickory Ridge
Trail.
The trail climbs moderately to reach
post #6, which marks the intersection that forms the Hickory Ridge Trail’s
loop. This hike turns right to start
hiking the loop counterclockwise. A
little more climbing brings you to the edge of the Stillwater River valley,
which drops to your right. The elevation
change puts the treetops from the valley at eyelevel, thus making this trail an
excellent venue for bird watching.
 |
| Stillwater River valley overlook |
Ignore a short-cut trail that exits
left. Reach an overlook of the
Stillwater River valley at 1.9 miles.
Trees block any view of the river, but a bench makes a good place to
rest and observe birds and wildlife.
Next the trail briefly joins what appears to be an old road before
reaching post #1, where you need to turn left to continue the Hickory Ridge
Trail’s loop.
 |
| Cattail Pond |
Pass two more numbered trail
intersections to reach a small prairie and post #5. Turn right at post #5 to begin the Pond
Trail, the final leg of this hike. The
short Pond Trail passes two ponds: Catface Pond and Cattail Pond. Both ponds featured a lot of algae, but
Cattail Pond also contained a large number of bullfrogs that were sounding off
on my visit. The Interpretive Building
parking lot lies just past Cattail Pond.
|
| Iddings House |
Before you leave, there is one other
place near the Interpretive Building that is worth a visit. Just left (south) of the Interpretive
Building stands the Iddings Log House.
Built by Benjamin Iddings in 1804, the Iddings Log House is the oldest
structure on its original site in Miami County.
The log house adds an historical gem to the natural treasures you have
already seen at Brukner Nature Center.
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