Ohio

Adams Lake Prairie State Nature Preserve is located near West Union, Ohio and is a 26-acre unit located adjacent to Adams Lake State Park. Featuring over eleven diverse species of flora, the preserve is host to spider milkweed, shooting-star, green milkweed, American aloe and summer bluets. The surrounding second-growth forest contains red cedar, post oak and blackjack oak.

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Chaparral Prairie State Nature Preserve is located near West Union, Ohio and consists of 66 acres of prairie, forest and old field habitat. Purchased by the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves in 1985, it was one of the first prairies preserved in the state of Ohio, and is home to over fourteen rare or endangered species of flora.

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Southwest Ohio is rich in natural beauty and flora within the bedlam that is the Cincinnati metropolitan region. For those who need a quick getaway or those who seek greener pastures, Cincinnati, Ohio offers 25 parks within the city, while Hamilton County offers 17 recreational areas that will surely delight any outdoor enthusiast. The City of Cincinnati offers a variety of park systems, including a 1,400-acre forest, a Conservatory, nature centers, arboretums and dog parks. In addition, the public art collection is the largest in the Midwest. The park system has been rated by the Trust for Public Land as “excellent,” and USA Today ranked the network of reserves as one of the three best managed in the United States.

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The central segment of Ohio is a relatively placid, dotted with homesteads and expanse farms that sprawl on to what seems like to infinity. That’s why it is a surprise to come upon a gem such as Clifton Gorge snuggled amongst these farmlands in a untypical location, with it’s post-glacial canyons, rapids and waterfalls offering a stark contrast to the flat fields and meandering streams that are only just outside its borders.

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Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve is located in Adams County, and features typical rugged Appalachian terrain. What makes Davis Memorial special is that it contains rare flora not typically seen elsewhere in the state, and geological and botanical ideals that separate it from other landscapes.

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The Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve, located in Adams County, Ohio near West Union, is home to one of the more biologically diverse collections of natural systems in Ohio, and is the state’s largest privately owned naturalized area. It consists of Lynx Prairie, The Wilderness and Buzzardroost Rock.

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The Franklin Park Conservatory, located near downtown Columbus, Ohio, is one of Ohio’s premier horticultural showcases that features hundreds of unique plants, special exhibitions and permanent installations.

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Hocking Hills, nestled in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio, provides some of the most dramatic scenery in the state. The winding, deeply forested hollows have long attracted visitors to the region, dating back to the ancient Adenca culture more than 7,000 years ago. During the 1700s, several Indian tribes called the ravines and recesses home.

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Named for the old Vesuvius Iron Furnace, which resides as a monument to the pig iron industry in the heart of the park, is located within the Wayne National Forest in southern Ohio. Located just 6.5 miles north of Ironton off of Ohio Route 93, the rugged headlands and the tumbling of the hills offers many scenic opportunities.

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Shoemaker State Nature Preserve, located in Adams County, Ohio, is a 22-acre reserve that protects significant natural features, including seven rare species of plants.

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