Walk the Legacy Forest Trail to visit one of the older tracts of forest in Richland County but remember to pay attention to the differences between young and mature forests along your hike. Interpretive signage along the way encourages visitors to look for clues about what campus would have looked like at its inception many decades ago. Additional stops along the Legacy Forest Trail highlight a grapevine demonstration area that encourages a more nuanced perspective on forest management, and a Right-of-Way overlook showcases partnerships that further environmental stewardship within working landscapes such as power line corridors. The Legacy Forest Trail is a 0.3-miles out-and-back from the Molyet Blacktop Trail, also known as Bromfield Trail.
Ecolab Trails
A 0.7-mile loop trail connects the campus core to a beautiful, pristine vernal pool – the Horseshoe Wetlands – deep in the mature hardwood forest. While the Horseshoe Wetland is the focus of this path, an overlook peering into the Rocky Fork Creek ravine, huge old white oak “wolf trees”, and the chance to encounter local wildlife such as wild turkeys or pileated woodpeckers are also present. The Horseshoe Wetland trail can be accessed from either end, but visitors should expect wet, muddy conditions at certain times of year. Look for Feature #2 on the Ecolab map for directions to the Horseshoe Wetland Trail.
This campus wetland complex provides abundant opportunities to engage visitors across the 3 pillars of the Land Grant mission – teaching, research, and extension. You can read more about the great work supported by the Milliron Research Wetlands under the “Ecolab and Wetlands” page. 0.3 miles of interconnected loop trails take users through a series of wetland basins and adjacent upland prairies rich with beautiful plant life and wildlife species that are vitally connected to wetland ecosystems. The best access points to the Milliron Research Wetland trail are from Riedl Hall or parking lot #5
Along the sidewalk paralleling the Ohio State Mansfield’s west campus entrance is an interesting piece of Ohio history – the Ohio Standard Baseline. Monumented with a Historical Marker, the Baseline served foundationally to develop modern laser technologies that eventually mapped, measured, and surveyed the Earth’s surface. This site is one of over 1,700 Ohio Historical Markers administered and maintained by the Community Engagement Department of Ohio History Connection. For an exact location, please view Ecolab’s PDF map.
This outdoor pavilion houses the Ohio State Maple education and outreach hub. Visitors stand in the sweet steam of boiling maple syrup every February and March to learn about the process of creating syrup from sap. The space is a beautiful venue for other workshops and events year-round. A small maple arboretum beside the pavilion helps with species identification training, and trails into the nearby woods take visitors straight into the heart of the Ohio State maple sugarbush. To learn more about Ohio State Maple, please visit the Ohio Woodland Stewards website or click over to the “Ecolab and Maple” tab.