Cleveland+Lakefront+Nature+Preserve

Also, see Cleveland Lakefront Important Bird Area, Cleveland Lakefront Important Bird Area, and Cleveland Lakeshore East Birding Drive
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Cuyahoga County
=Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve= Lake Shore Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Cleveland, Ohio 44103 Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve (Coastal Access) webpage Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve trail map

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Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve
Coordinates: 41.5445933, -81.6327095 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips for birding Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve
From Lake Erie Birding Trail website

Follow the wood chip trail from the parking lot to a high turnstile-type gate at the fence. This, in turn, provides access to a 1.75 mile Perimeter Loop Trail that travels west along the fence, heads north to overlook the lake and then loops back upon itself, passing through most of the habitat types in the preserve. The turnstile prevents access by bicycles and other wheeled vehicles; rules prohibit pets on the trail. Signs here and there credit the Port Authority and Cuyahoga County with the establishment of the preserve. From Dick Hoffman

About Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve
The 88-acre Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, commonly known as Dike 14, offers a 1.75-mile Perimeter Loop Trail, and the .25-mile Monarch and .5 Northern Harrier Trails which bisect the preserve. It is adjacent to Gordon Park and accessed from the northern terminus of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

The wild, green oasis in downtown Cleveland is 4.7 miles east of the mouth of the Cuyahoga River – a river to which the preserve traces its existence. Dike 14 was created in 1976 and used until 1999 to hold the spoils from dredging Cleveland’s harbor and the river.

The mud and silt have metamorphosed into a haven for plants, animals, and birds. Plants have colonized the preserve creating fields, wet meadows, shrub communities, and stands of maturing trees. Wildlife including deer, fox, raccoons, and coyotes, along with dozens of species of butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, and a host of other organisms call the preserve home.

The preserve is an important staging area for migrating birds with more than 290 different species recorded. In 2004, it was recognized as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. The same year, a grant from the Ohio Coastal Management Program funded, in part, a feasibility study for safe public access to the preserve. From Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve (Coastal Access) webpage

Gray-cheeked Thrush Photo by Doug Bryant || media type="custom" key="27448726"

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|| L618902 US US-OH US-OH-035 41.5445933 -81.6327095 Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve