Girdled Road Reservation–North Entrance

Ohio Birding Day Hike
Girdled Road Reservation Trails

About North Entrance
The North Entrance at 12840 Girdled Road provides access to 3 trails:
Surveyors Woods Loop Trail – 1.22 miles
Chickadee Trail – .68 mile
Valley View Overlook Trail – .7 mile

Tips for birding Girdled Road Reservation
Girdled Road Reservation is a stop on the Lake Erie Birding Trail.

About Girdled Road Reservation
Girdled Road Reservation was purchased by Lake Metroparks in 1965. It is named for the first road that the early European settlers built from the Pennsylvania line to the new city of Cleveland in the early 1800s. A small path was cut first. Settlers knew that a larger road was needed, so they “girdled” the trees along the path. (Girdling a tree means cutting through the bark around the entire tree. This cuts off the flow of nutrients so the tree dies. Once a tree dies, it is much easier to remove it and thus widen the road.) Today the remaining section of Girdled Road is the northern boundary of this park.

Historically accessed from Radcliffe Road in the south and Girdled Road in the north, and now via Concord Hambden Road (OH-608) at Skok Meadow, is one of the park district’s most biologically diverse properties. Covered by a mosaic of woodland, meadow, and wetland, the park is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. In 2010, 64 resident bird species, 38 butterflies, 18 mammals, 39 dragonflies and damselflies, 19 reptiles and amphibians and countless plant species were documented in the park. Among these are a number of rare or endangered species including yellow-bellied sapsuckers, cerulean warblers, bobolinks and a shrub called hobblebush.
From Girdled Road Reservation webpage

Restrooms at locations identified on Girdled Road Reservation map.