Malabar Farm State Park: Doris Duke Woods Trail (Blog Hike #917)

Trail: Doris Duke Woods Trail
Hike Location: Malabar Farm State Park
Geographic Location: southeast of Mansfield, OH (40.65111, -82.39265)
Length: 1.2 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: October 2022
Overview: A lollipop loop featuring sandstone cliffs and large beech trees.
Park Information: https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/malabar-farm-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=924606
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In northeast Ohio, take I-71 to SR 13 (exit 169).  Exit, then go east on Hanley Road, which intersects SR 13 south of the southbound exit but north of the northbound exit from I-71.  Drive Hanley Rd. east 2 miles to Little Washington and turn right on Pleasant Valley Road.  Drive Pleasant Valley Rd. east 5.5 miles to the park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, then take the first left to park in the parking lot for the working farm.  The trailhead for the Doris Duke Woods Trail is 0.2 miles further down the road.

The hike: Malabar Farm became a state park only in 1976, but its history as a travel destination dates all the way back to 1820 when the Malabar Farm Inn, a two-story brick building, began operation as a stagecoach inn.  Today the former inn is located just down Pleasant Valley Road from the main park entrance, and the renovated building houses the Malabar Inn Restaurant.  The farm as we see it today began to take shape in 1938 when Louis Bromfield, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, began buying several farms in this area.  In 1939, Bromfield built the 32-room "Big House," which would be his home until his death in 1956.  That house is located west of the working farm, and it is still the park's largest building today.

            Most of the farms were in poor condition when Bromfield bought them, but using skills and labor from the depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps and Soil Conservation Service he turned Malabar Farm into a national model for sustainable agriculture.  After Bromfield's death, his children gave the farm to the Louis Bromfield Malabar Farm Foundation for continued operation as a demonstration farm.  After the Foundation nearly went bankrupt, the deed was transferred to the State of Ohio to form the park we visit today.

            The demonstration/working farm is still this park's centerpiece, and additional amenities are limited to a few picnic areas, some bridle trails, and several short hiking trails.  The park's longest hiker-only trail is the Doris Duke Woods Trail described here, and the only way to form a longer hike is to use the park's roads or bridle trails.  What this hike lacks in length it makes up for in solitude.

Trailhead: Doris Duke Woods Trail

            Because no parking is allowed at the trailhead, this hike starts with a road walk.  From the parking area for the working farm, continue south on Bromfield Road, cross Swinter Creek on the road bridge, and then look to the left for the signed start of the Doris Duke Woods Trail.  Marked with white rectangular paint blazes, this trail is named for Doris Duke, a conservationist friend of Bromfield who was instrumental in establishing the state park.

Climbing the hill

            Almost immediately the trail forks to form its loop.  For no real reason, I chose to turn left and use the trail going right as my return route, thus hiking the loop clockwise.  Typical of northeast Ohio, the trail heads directly up a low but steep hill.  The difference in maximum and minimum elevation on this hike is just under 200 vertical feet, but you gain all of this elevation in just over 0.2 miles.

            Near 0.4 miles, you reach the top of the hill as a picnic shelter comes into view ahead.  The trail never reaches the shelter but instead curves right to begin tracing a relatively constant contour around the hillside.  Unmarked spur trails head left for the picnic shelter, but these trails are hard to find if you are starting at the shelter.

Cliffs below the trail

Farm demonstration buildings

            After curving right a couple more times, the trail approaches the top of a line of cliffs at 0.7 miles.  While they are not Hocking Hills, the boulder-filled cliffs make for a nice change of scenery, and some large beech trees live atop these cliffs.  Soon the cliffs subside, and the trail descends gradually to close its loop.  Retrace your steps along the road, noticing the old farm ponds and buildings on the way, to complete the hike.