Hike Location: Glenwood Gardens County Park
Geographic Location: Woodlawn, OH (39.25755, -84.47172)
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: June 2019
Overview: A semiloop through wet forest and prairie.
Park Information: https://www.greatparks.org/parks/glenwood-gardens
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=754838
Photo Highlight:
Directions to the trailhead: On the north side of
Cincinnati, take I-75 to Glendale-Milford Road (exit 14). Exit and go west on Glendale-Milford Rd. Drive Glendale-Milford Rd. west 1.8 miles to
SR 4. Continue straight through the SR 4
traffic light, then angle left to enter Glenwood Gardens. Park in the main and only parking lot.
The hike: Consisting
of 335 acres of former farmland near the border of Glendale and Woodlawn,
Glenwood Gardens is the newest park in the Great Parks of Hamilton County
(formerly known as the Hamilton County Park District). The park was established in 1993 when the
Burchenal family donated their farm to the Park District, but it did not open
to the public until 2001. I lived in
Cincinnati for the first 28 years of my life, and when I moved I had hiked
every trail in the Hamilton County Park District that existed at that
time. I returned 14 years later to hike
these new trails, and I found Glenwood Gardens to be an excellent addition to
the Great Parks of Hamilton County.
Nature takes center stage at
Glenwood Gardens, as the park features only some formal gardens for
amenities. The Cotswold Visitor Centre
is the old Burchenal residence, and the historic stone building is worth a stop
if it is open on your visit.
Unfortunately, the Visitor Centre was closed when I came here on a humid
Monday morning in late June. The Gardens
feature two interconnecting loop trails, the asphalt Garden Loop and the gravel
Wetlands Loop. This hike uses both of
these loops to form a 2.8 mile grand tour of the gardens.
 |
| View from Cotswold Overlook |
Walk through the information kiosk
beside the Visitor Centre to reach the Cotswold Overlook, a northwest-facing viewpoint
that provides a nice overview of the park’s meadows and woodlands. Next you pass the Legacy Garden, a small
formal garden that featured many colorful flowering plants on my visit. Past the Legacy Garden, the asphalt trail
descends on a gradual grade to reach the intersection that forms the Garden
Loop. Turn right to start hiking the
Garden Loop counterclockwise.
The Garden Loop heads west through
sunny prairie, and it features distance marker plaques embedded in the pavement
every 0.1 miles. Just past the 0.3 mile
marker, the Wetland Loop exits right. To
see all the gardens have to offer, turn right to start the Wetland Loop.
 |
| Hiking the Wetland Loop |
The asphalt turns to gravel just
before a side trail exits right to reach the park’s service road, which sits
just a couple hundred feet to the right.
At 0.9 miles, the trail curves left as it crosses the West Fork of Mill
Creek on a nice footbridge. Sunny
prairie has now been replaced by wet lowland forest, which is dominated by sycamore
and basswood trees.
 |
| West Fork of Mill Creek |
Next comes
a gradual climb, and at 1.2 miles you reach another trail intersection. The Wetland “Loop” is actually a figure-eight
route that consists of two loops, and this intersection is the pinch of the
figure-eight. We will return to this
intersection and continue straight on the larger lobe of the figure-eight in a
few minutes, but first turn right to hike the shorter lobe. When the trail splits a few hundred feet
later, turn left to hike the shorter lobe clockwise. An oddly-placed garbage can sits at this
intersection.
The gradual
climb continues as you enter young forest with a dense understory and pass a
small pond. 1.5 miles into the hike, you
reach the highest point in Glenwood Gardens and another overlook. This viewpoint looks southwest into Trillium
Trails Wildflower Preserve, a forested tract of land that has been under public
stewardship for much longer than Glenwood Gardens. A bench here provides a nice place to sit and
rest near the midpoint of this hike.
 |
| Looking into Trillium Trails |
Past the
bench, a gradual descent takes you above a larger pond that sits downhill to
the left before closing the shorter lobe.
Retrace your steps to the longer lobe, then turn right to continue the
longer lobe. The gradual descent
continues until you reach the lowest point on this hike, where the Wetlands
Loop crosses the West Fork of Mill Creek on another excellent footbridge.
 |
| Cotswold Visitor Centre |
Just after
crossing the bridge, you reach the end of the Wetlands Loop at another
intersection with the asphalt Garden Loop.
Turn right to continue a counterclockwise journey around the Garden
Loop. An excellent view of the Cotswold
Visitor Centre appears uphill and to the right as you round the final curve of
the Garden Loop. After closing the
Garden Loop at 2.6 miles, turn right and retrace your steps uphill to reach the
parking lot and complete the hike.
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