Fall bursting out with color through Ohio

A fall foliage festival is today in Hocking County.

STAFF REPORT

COLUMBUS — Fall color is near peak throughout most of the state, with some parks reporting peak conditions, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

“There is spotty color where you see the really vibrant colors, but there is a lot of color out there,” Casey Munchel, fall color specialist for the ODNR Division of Forestry, said in a press release.

“There are lots of reds this year. Maples are still hanging in there with anywhere from yellow up to dark red showing,” Munchel.

With rain in the forecast this week, fall color may change significantly. If there is a gentle rain, fall color should continue on track, “but if we experience hard rain, the leaves will fall to the forest floor and shorten the fall color season,” Munchel explained.

Ohio’s state parks, forests and nature preserves offer some of the best fall color viewing in the state, along with seasonal activities for the whole family.

Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve in Hocking County will once again host the Fall Foliage Festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. Choose the accessibility of the Lower Gorge trail or the more challenging Upper Rim Trail.

For biking, Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve, Licking County, has four miles of bike trail and is the only state nature preserve with one. Bike the winding trail along the narrow, east-west gorge cut by the Licking River through the famous Black Hand sandstone formation. The dry hilltops, dominated by oak-hickory mature woods, Virginia pine and mountain laurel are great for fall color viewing.

Another preserve that takes on added beauty each fall is Stage’s Pond State Nature Preserve, Pickaway County. It is an example of a kettle lake, one of the distinctive features of glaciated areas, and many specialized species can be seen. A variety of waterfowl stop during migration to rest and feed in the marshy areas.

For excellent bird watching, travel to Delaware Wildlife Area, Delaware. Fall migration is a great time to spot red-tailed hawks, American kestrels and northern harriers soaring through the area.

Rare and unusual birds which can be observed are the bald eagle, Northern goshawk, osprey, king rail, snowy owl, long-eared owl, great egret, cattle egret and sandhill crane. During fall migrations, these and other waterfowl species can be found in large numbers on the reservoir, ponds and seasonally flooded marsh. Mourning dove hunting is popular here and next week will be the last hunting opportunity of the season.

Delaware Wildlife Area also includes a 1,330-acre lake for fishing for black bass, bluegill, crappie, white bass, saugeye and catfish.

The woods, grasslands, crop fields and wetlands of Killdeer Plains State Wildlife Area provide hunters with ample opportunities to hunt a variety of in-season game species, including squirrel, woodcock and white-tailed deer. Waterfowl also can be hunted by special permit only. Good fall fishing can be found on several ponds, and at the 360-acre upground reservoir stocked with walleye, bluegill, channel catfish and smallmouth bass.

Malabar Farm State Park, Richland County, has a wide array of activities. Take a tour of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Brom- field’s 32-room Big House designed to appear as if it had been added on to over the years, or take a wagon tour of the entire farm. Located within the park is a restored “stagecoach” inn built in 1820. Today, the restaurant is state-owned and offers home-cooked meals, Tuesday through Sunday, all year. The restaurant features many of the local and Malabar Farm-raised products. The park also features 12 miles of hiking trails through scenic fields and forests and several ponds to fish for bluegill and catfish.

Drive southeast to Mohican Memorial State Forest, Ashland Countym, to view spectacular fall color. Mountain bike through the forest to get up close, or climb up the watchtower and take beautiful panoramic pictures of the changing leaves. There is also a wheelchair-accessible alternative at the Gorge Overlook Picnic Area.

You can also pay your respects to veterans at the Memorial Forest Shrine dedicated to the memory of 20,000 Ohioans killed in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War.

To help Ohioans and out-of-state visitors make the most of this popular outdoor season, weekly updates are available by calling 1 (800) BUCKEYE. Users can also find fall color information at Web sites ohiodnr.com and at www.discoverohio.com/autumnadventures.