Exploring Ohio #34 - Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve
Hello! I recently visited Cedar Bog in Urbana, Ohio and took a ton of pictures.
I've never been here before and as a new 'Steemian' I wanted to share my visit with others, and hopefully those in the future who want to discover and explore awesome places they didn't even know about, right in the great state of Ohio.
I enjoyed my visit, and would recommend this to people who love the outdoors, nature, and anyone with kids looking for a cheap, fun activity/adventure.
What is Cedar Bog?
According to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Bog
It's a 450 acre Fen (type of wetland) created by a retreating glacier 12,000-18,000 years ago.
Much of the ground was either muddy/mucky, sandy, or just plain wet from what I could see as I traveled through. Without the walkways provided it would have been extremely difficult to traverse.
View from the entrance
Pathway into the Bog
(I believe we spotted an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aglais_milberti )
Super cool low shot
"Signs, signs, everywhere a sign..."
Most of the pathways were shaded
Helpful signs warned of poison sumac, snakes, and other potential dangers.
such as poison trees
The deadly Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake!
There were several clearings like this on either side
A small bridge ahead..
crossing the first bridge
Benches! In the shade too!
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;"
-Robert Frost
Our handy dandy map! (Pro Tip: Take pictures of these when you find them, they come in handy!)
We went left at the fork
and left again...
The path wound around...
and straightened out, beset on both sides with swampy forest...
Even the "clearings" were fairly overgrown here..
Walking down the path...
Water covering the surrounding area
Odd fungi
Wildflowers were everywhere
Another decent sized stream
2nd Map
We Continued straight
Animal Tracks! Very small, with claws. About golf ball sized.
The path ahead
Berries
More Berries
Flowers of blue
and white
Muck and Marl
We came upon an open area
"Muck and Marl" explained
Views of the "Muck"
Upon closer inspection, white sand covered in an inch or so of standing water.
360 degree view
More signs..
What was that?!
A Salamander! We saw a half dozen of these with long blue striped tails on the path.
Gorgeous flowers littered the paths
Quick Panorama
View from the bench...
Back into the woods...
Another Salamander! Close up
Continuing on..
This looks familiar...
We've made a full circle
Now to explore the stretch of path we skipped...
and...
We've reached the end. There wasn't much to that path, but we couldn't leave it unexplored..
Heading back
We crossed the bridge again...
Nice shot of the stream from the bridge
Back at the entrance
Available at the front desk on your way in. (The mosquitos weren't bad at all, we wore some anyway)
Educational materials and displays inside
...and thats all folks!
All in all it was a lovely shaded hike in through nature. For two adults and one child it was $14. They have special events for kids and more guided tours as well.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the trip I shared with you, and all suggestions, comments, upvotes, and resteems are VERY appreciated!
