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Places We Protect

Charles A. Eulett Wilderness Preserve

Ohio

Waterfall Located along the Wilderness Trail of the Edge of Appalachia Preserve, Ohio. © Ian Adams

The Wilderness Trail guides visitors into deep woods and past gray limestone cliffs.

Overview

Description

Hikers seeking seclusion will find just what they’re looking for on The Wilderness trail—nobody. This trail at the Edge of Appalachia Preserve System offers visitors a chance to escape into the woods for some peace and quiet, except for the sounds of local wildlife.

The Trail guides visitors uphill and down into deep woods and past cool glens and gray cliffs of limestone. Part of the path winds for a half mile along the rim of a dolomite cliff that drops precipitously for 60 feet into the shaded gorge to Cliff Run. In autumn, when the leaves fall, you can see the distant valley of Ohio Brush Creek.

The scene here changes with seasons. In spring, the slump rocks that have rolled down the hill are decorated with columbine, rue anemone, large-flowered trillium, goldenrod and miterwort. Above, migrant warblers flit through the trees, while the distance holds the rattling call of the wild turkey gobbler and the ruffed grouse drumming from his favorite log.

Late fall flowers in these woods are few, but hikers should watch for the delicate blue flowers of the stiff gentian, which blooms into November and, at times, even into January.

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Hours

Trails are open year-round, daily from dawn to dusk.

Highlights

Hiking, birding, wildlife-watching, walking, nature photography, observing native plants.

Size

This preserve is part of the 20,000-acre Edge of Appalachia Preserve System.

Explore our work in this region

Photos from Wilderness Preserve

Rare flora is abundant along the Wilderness Trail.

Wilderness Trail signage in a forest.
A cliff surrounded by greenery in a forest.
Trees in a forest.
A small waterfall flows on grey rocks.
A person hiking in a lush forest.
A black morel mushroom growing out of leaf-covered dirt.
Tall trees in a leaf-covered forest.
Beech and Redbud trees along the trail in spring.
A lush green forest.
A Northern flicker bird standing on a post with a forest in the background.

Visit

  • The Wilderness Trail guides visitors uphill and down into deep woods and past cool glens and gray cliffs of limestone. Along this trail are several stands of white cedar or arbor vitae in what botanists call “Appalchian Bluff White Cedar Woodland.” Today, this type of plant community is globally rare.

    Part of the path winds for a half mile along the rim of a dolomite cliff that drops precipitously for 60 feet into the shaded gorge to Cliff Run. The bedrock here is Bisher Dolomite, sometimes called yellow dolomite because the iron in it turns yellow with oxidations. In autumn, when the leaves fall, you can see from there the distant valley of Ohio Brush Creek off to the west.

    Allow 2-3 hours for this trail, so there will be time to stop and observe the flowers and butterflies, listen to the birds and study the plant communities. Trail length is 2.4 miles.

  • Our vision is of a world where people and nature thrive together. The Nature Conservancy encourages people of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, gender expressions, and abilities to visit our preserves and has a zero-tolerance policy for racism and discrimination.

    The following activities are NOT permitted at The Wilderness Preserve:

    • Pets of any kind—service animals are permitted
    • Biking and mountain biking
    • Camping
    • Driving an ATV or off-road vehicle
    • Cooking or camp fires
    • Horseback riding
    • Hunting
    • Picking flowers, berries, nuts or mushrooms
    • Removing any part of the natural landscape
    • Snowmobiling

    Please note that there are no facilities of any kind on the trail.

    For information about the use of other power-driven mobility devices (OPDMDs) at our open preserves, please visit our OPDMD guidelines.

Find More Places We Protect

The Nature Conservancy owns nearly 1,500 preserves covering more than 2.5 million acres across all 50 states. These lands protect wildlife and natural systems, serve as living laboratories for innovative science and connect people to the natural world.

See the Complete Map

We need your help protecting the natural treasures of Ohio’s Appalachian foothills.