Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, in Greene County, Ohio, is located three miles east of Yellow Springs, Ohio, and immediately southwest of Clifton, Ohio. [1] [2] The preserve constitutes 268 acres of gorges along two miles of the Little Miami River. [1]
Geologically, the canyon was cut into dolomite and shale bedrock dating to the Silurian Period some 400 million years ago. [3] It was created by meltwater from glaciers about 15,000 years ago. [3] The Little Miami River rushing through the narrow canyon created a water power source in the nineteenth century for grist mills, cotton mills, paper factories, and breweries. [3] But by the late 1800s, most of the industrial activity ended when water power ceased to be an economical source of energy. [4] Eight acres of the area was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1967, [5] and the upper gorge became a state nature preserve in 1973. [6]
The preserve has a Nature Center, and three miles of trails for hiking and biking. [7] It also adjoins the 752-acre John Bryan State Park, which offers additional trails as well as boating, fishing, camping, and other amenities. [4] [8] That park, in turn, adjoins the 1,125 acre Glen Helen Nature Preserve, which has its own 15-mile network of footpaths, and which includes the famous Yellow Spring that gave the nearby town its name. [9] [10] [11]
Letchworth State Park is a 14,427-acre (5,838 ha) New York State Park located in Livingston County and Wyoming County in the western part of the State of New York. The park is roughly 17 miles (27 km) long, following the course of the Genesee River as it flows north through a deep gorge and over several large waterfalls. It is located 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Rochester and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Buffalo, and spans portions of the Livingston County towns of Leicester, Mount Morris and Portage, as well as the Wyoming County towns of Castile and Genesee Falls.
Greene County is located in the southwestern portion of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 167,966. Its county seat is Xenia and its largest city is Beavercreek. The county was established on March 24, 1803 and named for General Nathanael Greene, an officer in the Revolutionary War. Greene County is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Antioch College.
The Little Miami River is a Class I tributary of the Ohio River that flows 111 miles (179 km) through five counties in southwestern Ohio in the United States. The Little Miami joins the Ohio River east of Cincinnati. It forms parts of the borders between Hamilton and Clermont counties and between Hamilton and Warren counties. The Little Miami River is one of 156 American rivers designated by the U.S. Congress or the Secretary of the Interior as a National Wild and Scenic River and lends its name to the adjacent Little Miami Scenic Trail.
Hocking Hills State Park is a state park in the Hocking Hills region of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. In some areas the park adjoins the Hocking State Forest. Within the park are over 25 miles (40 km) of hiking trails, rock formations, waterfalls, and recess caves. The trails are open from dawn to dusk, all year round, including holidays.
The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal trailheads are the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the northern California coast on the Pacific Ocean. The trail has northern and southern alternates for part of its distance, passing through Chicago and St. Louis respectively. The total length of the trail, including both the north and south routes, is 6,800 miles (10,900 km). The northern route covers 4,834 miles (7,780 km) with the southern route covering 5,057 miles (8,138 km). It is the only non-motorized coast-to-coast trail.
The Little Miami Scenic Trail is the fourth longest paved trail in the United States, running 78.1 miles (125.7 km) through five southwestern counties in the state of Ohio. The multi-use rail trail sees heavy recreational use by hikers and bicyclists, as well as the occasional horseback rider. Over 700,000 people made use of the trail in 2014.
Caesar Creek State Park is a public recreation area located in southwestern Ohio, five miles (8 km) east of Waynesville, in Warren, Clinton, and Greene counties. The park is leased by the State from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who in the 1970s erected a dam on Caesar Creek to impound a 2,830-acre (1,150 ha) lake. The total park area, including the lake, is 7,530-acre (3,050 ha).
The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a unit of the United States National Park Service (NPS) designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a national river and redesignated in 2020, the park and preserve stretches for 53 miles (85 km) from just downstream of Hinton to Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted.
Colton Point State Park is a 368-acre (149 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is on the west side of the Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, which is 800 feet (240 m) deep and nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) across at this location. The park extends from the creek in the bottom of the gorge up to the rim and across part of the plateau to the west. Colton Point State Park is known for its views of the Pine Creek Gorge, and offers opportunities for picnicking, hiking, fishing and hunting, whitewater boating, and camping. Colton Point is surrounded by Tioga State Forest and its sister park, Leonard Harrison State Park, on the east rim. The park is on a state forest road in Shippen Township 5 miles (8 km) south of U.S. Route 6.
Leonard Harrison State Park is a 585-acre (237 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is on the east rim of the Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, which is 800 feet (240 m) deep and nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) across here. It also serves as headquarters for the adjoining Colton Point State Park, its sister park on the west rim of the gorge. Leonard Harrison State Park is known for its views of the Pine Creek Gorge, and offers hiking, fishing and hunting, whitewater boating, and camping. The park is in Shippen and Delmar Townships, 10 miles (16 km) west of Wellsboro at the western terminus of Pennsylvania Route 660.
Salt Springs State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Franklin Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The park is home to massive hemlock trees that are over 500 years old and are among the largest trees in all of Pennsylvania. The Fall Brook Natural Area within the park is recognized as a part of the Old-Growth Forest Network. The park also features a gorge with three waterfalls on Fall Brook. Salt Springs State Park is 7 miles (11 km) north of Montrose, just off Pennsylvania Route 29. The park is the only state park in Pennsylvania that is managed by a non-profit organization, the Friends of Salt Springs Park. The state owns 405 acres (164 ha) of land and the Friends own an additional 437 acres (177 ha) bringing the total amount of protected land to 842 acres (341 ha).
The Glen Helen Nature Preserve is a nature reserve immediately east of Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. The initial 700-acre parcel was given to Antioch College by Hugh Taylor Birch in memory of his daughter Helen Birch Bartlet in 1929, and is the largest private nature preserve in the region.
Glen Helen may refer to:
John Bryan State Park, in Greene County, Ohio, is a state park, of 752-acre (304 ha). It surrounds Clifton Gorge, a deep cut of the Little Miami River, between Yellow Springs and Clifton. The park contains a campground, and hiking and biking trails. The park also abuts the Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve and Glen Helen Nature Preserve.
State Route 343 (SR 343) is a short east–west state route in west-central Ohio. The western terminus of SR 343 is at U.S. Route 68 (US 68) in Yellow Springs, and its eastern terminus is at SR 72 in Clifton.
Thousand Springs State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area consisting of multiple units — Billingsley Creek, Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve, Malad Gorge, Niagara Springs, and Ritter Island — in Gooding County, Idaho.
Highlands Sanctuary, Inc. is a nonprofit organization which operates under the dba of The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. The Arc of Appalachia has been in operation since 1995, working to create and steward nature preserves in the forested Appalachian counties of southern Ohio. In 2016, The Arc of Appalachia had completed the protection of 4268 acres in 15 preserve regions.
The Orators Mound is a Native American mound in the western part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Although its cultural affiliation is disputed, it is an important archaeological site.