Shoemaker State Nature Preserve

Great Serpent Mound is easy to get to, and the museum nearby has a great little shop and display on the history of the mound and how it came to be found. One of the many interesting features of the mound itself is that it appears to have been designed in such a way as to align itself with the pattern of the rising and setting of both the moon and the sun over the course of the year. Signs along...

Owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy, Ohio's Edge of Appalachia Preserve is home to over 19,000 acres of protected wilderness and rugged Appalachian terrain. And the greatest prize of the preserve is none other than the Buzzards Roost.Perched atop a slab of resistant limestone roughly 500' above the valley of Brush Creek, the Buzzards Roost has a nearly 180 degree view of the surroundin...

Located right off the road next to an old shed, across the road from the main pavilion and barn, the trailhead for the Joan Jones Portman Trail winds upwards 0.8 miles one way across a creek and through a narrow section of prairie clinging to the hillsides of Southern Ohio. This is one of the steeper trails in Ohio (it actually has switchbacks!), gaining over 400' in less than a mile. The payof...

The Crooked Creek Nature Preserve features many unique and rare plant species including an oak barrens community, oak-hickory forest, and prairie species such as: Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem and Prairie Dock. In addition to these species are five rare plant species including: Starry False Solomon's Seal, White Rattlesnake Root, Slender Blazing-Star, Earleaf Foxglove and Scarlet Indian Paintbr...

For information on put-in locations, mileage, gauge readings, and fishing refer to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife's website: http://fw.ky.gov/Fish/Pages/Ki... Make sure to check the gauge levels before putting in to ensure a proper water depth.  If you have two vehicles, it is ideal to park one at the put-in and one at the take-out, allowing paddlers to float downstream only. If n...

Starting at the northern parking lot, head south along the Shawnee Ridge Trail. Several spur and loop trails intersect the trail along the 12-mile loop hike. Many of these spur trails include difficult hikes up large hills like Sugarloaf Mountain, Sand Hill, and Mt. Ives. At each trail intersection, there is a detailed map of the park with color-coordinated trails and a lettering system for eac...