Oak+Openings--Ridge+Trail

Also, see Oak Openings
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Lucas County
=Oak Openings= =Ridge Trail= Swanton, Ohio 43558 Oak Openings Preserve Metropark webpage Oak Openings Preserve map Oak Openings Trails website Oak Openings Preserve recommended birding sites

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Oak Openings--Ridge Trail
Coordinates: 41.5411565, -83.8418841 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Ridge Trail
The Ridge Trail provides a 3.5-mile circuit hike in the area south of Swan Creek. It can be accessed from the Ski Trail which runs south of the Oak Openings Lodge or from a connector trail on the south side of Oak Openings Parkway near Mallard Lake. The Ridge Trail circles an area of tornado damage ("tornado alley"). This area provides the "edges" of habitat that make for good bird watching. You can shorten the walk by doing an in and out hike from either of the access points.

About Oak Openings
Located between Whitehouse and Swanton, Oak Openings Preserve takes its name from the surrounding region, which is 23 times larger than the park itself. That’s something to consider when you realize that Oak Openings Preserve is over 4,000 acres.

Pioneers trudging through a dense swamp called this area “Oak Openings.” Most of the park is an oak savanna ecosystem, characterized by alternating wetlands and vegetated dunes. The Nature Conservancy once named the sandy region one of the 200 “Last Great Places on Earth.”

Prickly-pear cactus, wild lupine and sand cherry bloom atop dry, hot sand dunes just yards away from orchids growing in low, wet swales. There are more than 50 miles of trails in Oak Openings Preserve. Stands of isolated pine and spruce planted by the WPA during the Great Depression are still visible.

Oak Openings is a birder's paradise. It is the nesting place of bluebirds, indigo buntings, whippoorwills, Lark sparrows, and many other species, as well as an excellent location to see migrating songbirds in the spring. From Oak Openings Preserve Metropark webpage

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|| L4675991 US US-OH US-OH-095 41.5411565 -83.8418841 Oak Openings--Ridge Trail