Hikes

A Museum Without Walls Beacons You To Hike Cincinnati’s National Historic Landmark

March 4, 2019 by admin

Spring Grove Cemetery And Arboretum

If you like history and sculptures, then Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is where you want to go for a spring hike in Cincinnati.

Spring Grove hosts over 1,200 species of trees, shrubs, and ornamentals. The collection continues to grow including a patents for new species. In fact, Spring Grove is more like a massive laboratory for universities, nurseries, and growers to test new species.

For more detailed information, Spring Grove is Hike #35 (pages 198-203) in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles Cincinnati.

One of the many statues memorializing a lost loved one at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. The paved drives make hiking with toddlers a lot easier.

Since the very beginning of the cemetery grounds extreme care has been given to creating a beautiful landscape.

One of the unique features of Spring Grove Cemetery is that all roads are gentle curves. This further enhances the aesthetic of the land.

However, my favorite feature of Spring Grove are the stunning sculptures at the memorials.

Beauty abounds throughout Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. Over 1000 species of trees, shrubs, and ornamentals decorate the grounds.

Gothic Architecture

While strolling the ground, look the Dexter mausoleum, which is a private family Gothic Revival mausoleum and chapel that was constructed around 1866. It is near the edge of Geyser Lake so you can also enjoy the views of the small lake.

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum has a Self-Guided Walking Tour that covers some of these locations.

If you love Gothic architecture, look no further than Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. Take your time looking at the Dexter Mausoleum and you’ll begin to see more of the fine details.

Johnny Appleseed

Sit for a while at the Johnny Appleseed statue and enjoy the serenity on this sunny spot which honors John Chapman.

His missionary work in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Kentucky changed the landscape and the people.

Chapman collected seeds from cider mills, grew the seeds into saplings, transplanted the saplings into nurseries, and maintained the nurseries. And, then distributed his crop throughout the region.

Visit Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum

There is a lot to see at Spring Grove and there are several hills whihc will help you stretch all of your muscles. Here is a map of Spring Grove.

For more detailed information, Spring Grove is Hike #35 (pages 198-203) in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles Cincinnati.

Take your time and enjoy the scenery, your company, and the day because a cemetery certainly puts your life in perspective.

Be thankful, rejoice, sing out loud, and hike whenever you can.

Cincinnati Hiking New Year Challenge #Hikeallthetrails

December 31, 2015 by admin

Hike All The Trails

Cincinnati Hiking Trails are numerous

I’ve be so blessed to meet many of the wonderful people who have read my book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles Cincinnati. I really enjoy meeting other Cincinnati Hikers especially when I bump into them along one of the many Cincinnati hiking trails.

Cincinnati Parks, Hamilton County Parks and Recreation aka Great Parks have hundreds of miles of trails waiting for you to hike them.

Go a little farther out in the Greater Cincinnati Area and you have an ample variety of hiking trails waiting to be explored.

That’s why I’ve decided to issue a challenge to you to hike the Greater Cincinnati Area and Cincinnati Hiking Trails.

“HIKE ALL THE TRAILS” (Which is a Hyperbole and Half blog reference joke. And, a completely and totally awesome blog and book. If you haven’t treated yourself to a good laugh in a while get Hyperbole and a Half. If you buy it through my Amazon link, I get a wee little bit that will help me buy new hiking boots. Everyone wins!)

I’m challenging all of you to, “HIKE ALL THE TRAILS!”

Get out more and hike. Drag along your spouse, the kids, a friend. Don’t worry about the dog, she/he will likely be dragging you!

As the year progresses, I’ve got big plans and will be hiking new trails and new areas. I’ll share my adventures with all of you and maybe if all the stars align I’ll have enough for a book to share with you and the hiking world.

Hikes don’t need to be long and arduous. You can take a short hike and it still counts. Slow down and enjoy the company with you especially if your company is yourself. Unplug the headphones, turn off the ringer on the cellphone, and tune into the wonderful numinous world around you. (Click on the link for the definition.)

Post your hikes and hashtag #hikeallthetrails on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Need help getting started on your hiking adventures? No problem. Here are some things you are going to need or need to know:

Sturdy shoes and good socks (I like SmartWool) Hiking boots aren’t essential but if you are hiking a lot of hilly or rocky areas you’ll appreciate the extra support.
Water wicking clothes. No cotton. Cotton Kills is the common phrase because cotton likes to get wet and when it does it sucks heat away from your body — which is bad.
Lots of water and some high calorie snacks to refuel along the hike
Maps. Maps and descriptions of the trails you are planning to hike. Realize that land managers often reroute trails to mitigate damage to the area. The more maps you have the merrier.
A pencil to mark on the map where you are so you can track your progress.

Need more info: Click Here to see several of my posts on water supply, food, hiking in snow, and hiking in cold weather.

Summer Hikes: Clifton Gorge

June 26, 2015 by admin

Cool off with a hike at Clinton Gorge Nature Preserve

Step into Ohio’s tumultuous geological past and out of the demands of everyday life. This 2.7-mile hike travels through impressive overlooks of the raging Little Miami River, slump-block caves, and a bevy of wildflowers in the spring. The best times to visit are in the spring, summer, and fall.

This bottomland area is very cool and humid, which allows for a variety of mosses and succulents to grow in the nooks and crannies of the dolomite.

American beech, cottonwood, and sycamore trees provide additional shade.

In spring look for Jack-in-the-pulpit, spring beauties, snow trillium, bloodroot, and hepaticas.

In 1851, the African-American artist Robert Duncanson painted a picture of the Blue Hole of the Little Miami River. The painting is on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Explore the slump-block cave which was formed when water dissolved softer rock and instead of a block of rock falling away from the cliff, the block fell towards the cliff creating a cave.

The cave is several feet deep, wet, a little creepy, and fun with kids.

Share your adventure to Clifton Gorge on our Facebook Page!

Sign-up to stay in touch! Click Below.

Hike Often. Live More.

Spring Grove

October 28, 2014 by admin

My mother and grandmother used to drag us around from cemetery to cemetery looking for the tombstones of long lost relatives.

Perhaps that’s why, I’m not totally wigged out in a cemetery. In fact, I find cemeteries rather …err … peaceful.

Spring Grove Cemetery is located in the mid-section of Cincinnati and is the final resting place for many loved ones including 19^th-century cholera victims and Civil War generals, as well as notable burials.

Spring Grove Cemetery began with a recurrence of the cholera epidemic and concerns over proper internment facilities. Members of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society created a cemetery association with the goal of finding a suitable location to create a parklike setting to bury the dead.

The planners researched and visited renowned cemeteries throughout the United States and Europe. Spring Grove Cemetery’s impeccable landscape speaks to the amount of thoughtful consideration that went into designing the grounds.

In 1845, the original 220 acres of Cemetery of Spring Grove was dedicated. The name officially changed in 1987 to the Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. The grounds contain an enormous collection of native and exotic plants

Spring Grove Cemetery was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2007, joining four other cemeteries in the nation that hold this distinction. Today, the cemetery covers 733 acres, of which 400 are landscaped and maintained.

There are several trails which are basically pre-determined pathways using the same roadways as the cars.

On a trip to Spring Grove, I diverted from my usual path and went on a search for unique sculptures.

I was not disappointed. Here are some photos of the amazing art you can find at Spring Grove.

As always be respectful of the grounds but take time to appreciate the work and love that went into these memorials to lost loved ones.

Click on any of the images to see a large photo.

Hike Often. Live More.

FOX19 Interview with Me!

June 16, 2014 by admin

I did an interview this morning with FOX19’s Kelly Rippin and camera-god Dave. Claire my new publicist thankfully was on hand to help as well.

Here is the rough time line of me doing an interview:

Schedule it in advance. Totally freak-out night before. Set EVERY alarm clock in the house for fear of me sleeping through the din. I even set the timer on the oven! Get 3 hours of sleep. Wake at 4 a.m. and race around turning off all the other alarms before my husband decides to kill me for being neurotic about being late, wake-up, get ready and…

Meet Kelly Rippin and Dave at the front gate to Cincinnati Nature Center at 5:50 a.m.

Then the interviewing begins.

Here are some photos that Claire (thank you, Claire!) took because it is kind of hard to take a selfie while you are being interviewed.

WAIT! Just got an email from Kelly: Here is the Youtube video of all the segments!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYxrQ8pqcgk&feature=youtu.be

The “day” ended around 9 a.m. I am so glad to have shared my love of hiking and some of the cool things you can do along the trail! I hope more people get out and go hiking!

Blue Lick Battlefield

April 29, 2014 by admin

Get you fill of history while hiking the trails at Blue Lick Battlefield State Resort Park.

Whether you’re a history or nature nut (or both), this trail system leads you through different habitats, and also takes you back in time to when battles raged over territory, salt, and freedom.

Blue Lick Battlefield State Resort Park began in 1927 and includes ground where the famous “Last Battle of the American Revolution,” occurred on August 19, 1782.

The park’s unique history includes the salt springs, Blue Licks Springs, that attracted mastodons, ground sloths, bison, and other animals in search of salts. Later, Native Americans and early settlers collected salt by boiling off the water. There is a building which is a reproduction of the fort-like Tanner Station.

In the mid 19th century, the water was bottled and used for medicinal purposes and there was even a spa resort, the Arlington Hotel, that attracted wealthy Southern aristocrats.

As you continue on the trail the Buffalo Trace Trail is the remains of an ancient buffalo path or trace. Imagine you are hiking along the same path that thousands of buffalo used as their pathways.