The state of Ohio has a procedure for dedicating properties as state nature preserves through the Ohio Division of Natural Areas & Preserves. Some preserves are owned outright by the state, while others are owned by other agencies. Some are open to the public, and others are not.
State Nature Preserve | Acres | County |
---|---|---|
Acadia Cliffs State Nature Preserve | 112.5 | Athens |
Adams Lake Prairie Nature Preserve | 22.37 | Washington |
Audubon Islands Nature Preserve | 170 | Lucas |
Aurora Sanctuary State Nature Preserve | 164 | Portage |
Baker Woods State Nature Preserve | 47.3 | Mercer |
The Evans R. Beck Memorial Nature Preserve | 10.1 | Portage |
Betsch Fen Nature Preserve | 90.67 | Ross |
Bigelow Cemetery State Nature Preserve | 0.5 | Madison |
Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve | 956.5 | Licking |
Boch Hollow (Kessler) State Nature Preserve | 571.0283 | Hocking |
Bonnett Pond Bog State Nature Preserve | 16.52 | Holmes |
Boord State Nature Preserve | 126.704 | Washington |
Brown's Lake Bog State Nature Preserve | 99.16 | Wayne |
Burton Wetlands Nature Preserve | 276.5476 | Geauga |
Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve | 483.44 | Warren |
Louis W. Campbell Nature Preserve | 210.09 | Lucas |
Carmean Woods State Nature Preserve | 39.16 | Crawford |
Cedar Bog State Memorial | 426.5 | Champaign |
Chaparral State Nature Preserve | 66.67 | Adams |
Christmas Rocks State Nature Preserve | 553.68 | Fairfield |
Clear Creek Nature Preserve | 4769.21 | Hocking, Fairfield |
Clear Fork Gorge State Nature Preserve | 28.77 | Ashland |
The Clifton Gorge - John L. Rich Nature Preserve | 268.37 | Greene |
Collier State Nature Preserve | 114.86 | Seneca |
O.E. Anderson Compass Plant Prairie | 15.5 | Lawrence |
Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve | 86.88 | Hocking |
Conneaut Swamp State Nature Preserve | 55.141 | Ashtabula |
Crabill Fen | 31.66 | Clark |
Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve | 11 | Licking |
Crane Hollow Nature Preserve | 1491.525 | Hocking |
Crooked Run Nature Preserve | 77.51 | Clermont |
Dean A. Culberson State Nature Preserve | 279.56 | Clinton |
Daughmer Prairie Savannah State Nature Preserve | 33.656 | Crawford |
Davey Woods State Nature Preserve | 103.17 | Champaign |
Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve | 121.81 | Adams |
Marie J. Desonier Nature Preserve | 491.34 | Adams |
Drew Woods State Nature Preserve | 14.57 | Darke |
Dupont Marsh State Nature Preserve | 113.94 | Erie |
Eagle Creek Nature Preserve | 472.35 | Portage |
Emerald Hills State Nature Preserve | 78.68 | Belmont |
Erie Sand Barrens State Nature Preserve | 31.85 | Erie |
Flatiron Lake Bog Nature Preserve | 97.09 | Portage |
Forrest Woods Nature Preserve | 193.388 | Paulding |
Fowler Woods Nature Preserve | 187.069 | Richland |
Gahanna Woods Nature Preserve | 59.329 | Franklin |
John F. Gallagher Fen State Nature Preserve | 212.75 | Clark |
Goll Woods Nature Preserve | 320.64 | Fulton |
Goode Prairie State Nature Preserve | 28.43 | Miami |
Alice and George Gott State Nature Preserve | 44.92 | Portage |
Greenbelt Nature Preserve | 97.3 | Hamilton |
Greenville Falls | 79.45 | Miami |
Samuel Gross Memorial Woods Nature Preserve | 48.54 | Shelby |
Hach-Otis State Nature Preserve | 81.11 | Lake |
Halls Creek Woods State Nature Preserve | 218.71 | Warren |
Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve | 25 | Lake |
J. Arthur Herrrick State Nature Preserve | 126.5 | Portage |
Hueston Woods Nature Preserve | 200 | Butler |
Edward F. Hutchins Nature Preserve | 206.48 | Delaware |
Irwin Prairie Nature Preserve | 226.467 | Lucas |
Jackson Bog State Nature Preserve | 63.382 | Stark |
Johnson Ridge | 208.43 | Adams |
Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve | 205.79 | Wayne |
Ka-ma-ma Prairie State Nature Preserve | 85.983 | Adams |
Karlo Fen | 14.6 | Summit |
Kendrick Woods State Nature Preserve | 159.24 | Allen |
Kent Bog State Nature Preserve | 41.69 | Portage |
Kessler Swamp State Nature Preserve | 20.315 | Hocking |
Kiser Lake Wetlands Nature Preserve | 51.29 | Champaign |
Kitty Todd Nature Preserve | 615.77 | Lucas |
Knox Woods | 29.83 | Knox |
Arthur Kyle State Nature Preserve | 81.86 | Mahoning |
Ladd Natural Bridge State Nature Preserve | 34.98 | Washington |
Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve | 2018.968 | Jackson |
Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve | 19.09 | Ottawa |
Lash's Bog State Nature Preserve | 59.543 | Stark |
Lawrence Woods State Nature Preserve | 1034.93 | Hardin |
Little Rocky Hollow Nature Preserve | 259.04 | Hocking |
Mantua Bog State Nature Preserve | 104.81 | Portage |
Marsh Wetlands State Nature Preserve | 152.28 | Portage |
William C. McCoy State Nature Preserve | 193.65 | Ashtabula |
McCracken Fen State Nature Preserve | 93.62 | Logan |
Mentor Marsh Nature Preserve | 672.85 | Lake |
Milford Center Railroad Prairie | 9.4 | Union |
Eugene & Henrietta Miller Nature Sanctuary | 86.02 | Highland |
Morris Woods State Nature Preserve | 107.21 | Licking |
Mud Lake Bog State Nature Preserve | 74.01 | Williams |
Myersville Fen State Nature Preserve | 27.24 | Summit |
Newberry Wildlife Sanctuary State Nature Preserve | 50.03 | Hamilton |
Kelleys Island North Pond State Nature Preserve | 50.79 | Erie |
North Shore Alvar State Nature Preserve | 2.08 | Erie |
Blanche Katharine Novak Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary State Nature Preserve | 149 | Portage |
Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve | 570.81 | Erie |
Augusta - Anne Olsen State Nature Preserve | 132.13 | Huron |
David B. Owens Fen State Nature Preserve | 18.59 | Logan |
Pallister State Nature Preserve | 103.5563 | Ashtabula |
Pickerington Ponds Nature Preserve | 405.98 | Franklin |
Portage Lakes Wetlands | 5.86 | Summit |
Prairie Road Fen State Nature Preserve | 94.49 | Clark |
Raven Rock Nature Preserve | 95.27 | Scioto |
Rhododendron Cover State Nature Preserve | 74.98 | Fairfield |
Kleimaier Rododendron Hollow | 31.59 | Fairfield |
Wahkeena State Nature Preserve | 68.271 | Fairfield |
Dale and Jackie Riddle State Nature Preserve | 105.66 | Athens |
Rockbridge State Nature Preserve | 181.03 | Hocking |
Etawah Woods Nature Preserve | 1166.652 | Highland |
Rome State Nature Preserve | 104.842 | Ashtabula |
Rothenbuhler Woods Nature Preserve | 44.33 | Monroe |
Saltpetre Cave Nature Preserve | 14.249 | Hocking |
Scioto Brush Creek | 30.2 | Scioto |
Paul B. Sears Woods State Nature Preserve | 137.25 | Crawford |
Seymour Woods | 106 | Delaware |
Shallenberger Nature Preserve | 87.57 | Fairfield |
Sharon Woods Gorge State Nature Preserve | 20.86 | Hamilton |
Sheepskin Hollow State Nature Preserve | 453.176 | Columbiana |
Sheick Hollow Nature Preserve | 151 | Hocking |
Sheldon's Marsh State Nature Preserve | 472.48 | Erie |
Shoemaker State Nature Preserve | 22.394 | Adams |
Siegenthaler - Kaestner Esker State Nature Preserve | 36.88 | Champaign |
Smith Cemetery State Nature Preserve | 0.63 | Madison |
Spring Beauty Dell State Nature Preserve | 41.26 | Hamilton |
Spring Brook Sanctuary State Nature Preserve | 31.737 | Geauga |
Springville Marsh Nature Preserve | 201.37 | Seneca |
Stages Pond Nature Preserve | 177.99 | Pickaway |
Strait Creek Prairie Bluff Prairie Preserve | 136.96 | Adams, Pike |
Stratford Woods State Nature Preserve | 95.1 | Delaware |
Swamp Cottonwood | 20.52 | Medina |
Edward S. Thomas Scenic Nature Preserve | 319.88 | Franklin |
Tinkers Creek State Nature Preserve | 786 | Portage, Summit |
Travertine Fen State Nature Preserve | 21.88 | Greene |
Triangle Lake Bog | 61.13 | Portage |
Trillium Trails State Nature Preserve | 22.91 | Hamilton |
Walter A. Tucker Scenic Nature Preserve | 54.67 | Fairfield |
Charles A. Tummonds Scenic River Preserve | 85.67 | Portage |
Wardner - Perkins State Nature Preserve | 25.66 | Hamilton |
Robert A. Whipple State Nature Preserve | 269.671 | Adams |
White Pine Bog Forest Nature Preserve | 375.87 | Geauga |
Zimmerman Prairie | 3.48 | Greene |
Strouds Run State Park is a public recreation area abutting the city of Athens in Athens County, Ohio, in the United States. The state park is located primarily in Canaan Township, with a small part in Ames Township. Park boundaries coincide with Athens city limits in several places. The park comprises 2,606 acres (1,055 ha), and includes Dow Lake, a 161-acre (65 ha) artificial lake. The park is named after William Stroud who was a share-holder in the Ohio Company of Associates.
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 Hocking Hills is a deeply dissected area of the Allegheny Plateau in Appalachian Ohio, primarily in Hocking County, that features cliffs, gorges, rock shelters, and waterfalls. The relatively extreme topography in this area is due to the Blackhand Sandstone, a particular formation that is thick, hard and weather-resistant, and so forms high cliffs and narrow, deep gorges.
The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection. Some areas are managed as wilderness, while others are operated with acceptable commercial exploitation. As of 2022, the 42,826 protected areas covered 1,235,486 km2 (477,024 sq mi), or 13 percent of the land area of the United States. This is also one-tenth of the protected land area of the world. The U.S. also had a total of 871 National Marine Protected Areas, covering an additional 1,240,000 sq mi (3,200,000 km2), or 26 percent of the total marine area of the United States.
Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve is located in Jackson County, Ohio, United States, just northwest of and outside the city of Jackson. It is owned and administered by the State Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and comprises 2,019 acres (817 ha).
Hawk Woods is an old-growth forest located in central Athens County, Ohio, United States, outside the city of Athens. The forest comprises 106 acres (0.43 km2) of foothills in the Allegheny Plateau region. Adjacent to Strouds Run State Park, the woods now are included in a state nature preserve named the Dale & Jackie Riddle State Nature Preserve.
Kelleys Island State Park is a public recreation area occupying one-quarter of Kelleys Island, an island in Lake Erie located 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Port Clinton, Ohio, in the United States. The state park's 677 acres (274 ha) include six miles (9.7 km) of hiking trails, ruins of lime kilns and quarrying operations, sand beach, and campground. The park was established in 1956. The park cooperates with other agencies to manage the adjoining Glacial Grooves State Memorial, a set of rare glacial grooves, North Shore Alvar State Natural Area, a rare alvar habitat, and the North Pond State Nature Preserve, a lake embayment usually separated from the lake by a sand bar.
The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private ownership. The program was established on May 18, 1962, by United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall.
The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three citizens appointed to three-year terms without compensation by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.
Headlands Beach State Park is a public beach in Mentor and Painesville Township, Ohio, United States. It is the longest natural beach in Ohio and attracts two million visitors annually. The breakwall at the eastern end of the park, frequented by fishermen, is surmounted by the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light. The park features a 35-acre beach for sunbathing, swimming, and beach glass hunting along with picnicking facilities and seasonal concessionaire.
Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park is a 167-acre (68 ha) public recreation area offering trails and picnicking located in Nelson Township, Portage County, Ohio, United States. Within the park are angled rock formations 50 to 60 feet (18 m) high with ground fissures as deep as 60 feet (18 m). It is accessible from U.S. Route 422 and State Route 305 via State Route 282.
The ... rock formations at the Nelson-Kennedy Ledges have become trademarks of the park.... The ... sandstone cliff formations resulted from the forces of erosion—wind, water freezing and thawing—that wore away at the softer rock layers. As these soft layers eroded, large blocks of rock called slump blocks fell away leaving more resistant layers to form ledges above.
Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve is a fen left behind by the retreating glaciers of the Wisconsin glaciation about 12,000-18,000 years ago. A protected area of about 450 acres (180 ha) of fen remains from the original area of approximately 7,000 acres (28 km2).
Erie MetroParks was formed as the "Erie County Metropolitan Park District" in 1968 and adopted its current name in 1991. It consists of 14 individual park areas located throughout Erie County in the US state of Ohio covering approximately 3,200 acres (1,300 ha).
Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as the Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve, is an State Park and nature reserve on 997 acres (403 ha) in Monroe County, Illinois, United States. A key feature of the preserve is a 532-acre (215 ha) hill prairie located on the east bluff of the Mississippi River overlooking the American Bottom near Fults, Illinois. The Fults Hill Prairie has been listed as a National Natural Landmark.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is the Ohio government agency charged with ensuring "a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all."
The Virginia Natural Area Preserve System is a system of protected areas in the state of Virginia. It is managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Acadia Cliffs State Nature Preserve is a state nature preserve in Washington County, Ohio, United States, with a small neck extending into Athens County, Ohio. Covering an area of 112 acres (0.45 km2), it was founded in 1994. It is known for its sandstone cliffs. For a time, it was administered by the Ohio State Division of Wildlife, but is now administered by the Ohio Division of Nature Preserves. The nature preserve is close to the Washington-Athens County border.
Adams Lake State Park is a public recreation area that surrounds Adams Lake on the far northern edge of the village of West Union, Adams County, Ohio, in the United States. The park's 96 acres (39 ha) are equally divided between land and water and include a rare dry-prairie remnant, Adams Lake Prairie State Nature Preserve. The park offers fishing, boating, picnicking, and hiking.
Jackson Bog, or Jackson Bog State Nature Preserve, is a 58 acres (23 ha) State Nature Preserve in northern Stark County, Jackson Township, near the city of Massillon, Ohio. It is owned by the Jackson Township Local Board of Education and the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves.
Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, in Greene County, Ohio, is located three miles east of Yellow Springs, Ohio, and immediately southwest of Clifton, Ohio. The preserve constitutes 268 acres of gorges along two miles of the Little Miami River.