Date: 01/30/2022 – Distance: 5.5 mi – Elapsed Time: 3.0 hr – Ascent: 633 ft – Descent: 597 ft – Difficulty: Difficult
This is my twelfth hike of the Columbus and Franklin Park Metro Parks Winter Hike Challenge. I have to do 6 assigned parks each month for 3 months, and a total of 18 to complete the challenge.
Clear Creek Metro Park is located on the north-western edge of the Hocking Hills Region. It is a large park and most of which is also a State Nature Preserve. The trails are beautiful, hilly, and full of amazing scenery including deep ravines, Hemlock Pine covered cliffs, and amazing wildflowers. There are many miles of trails, four picnic areas, and fishing access.
I parked at the Fern Picnic Area.
Here’s a map of the park.
Just across the road is the Fern Trail.
The trail climbs the ridge.
There are some scenic rock outcroppings.
And some tall Hemlock Pines.
Closeup of a Hemlock branch.
Fern Trail is a loop, and I went left.
You can see the red dot where I am.
Need the spikes.
Its a pretty good climb.
Looking across the gorge.
Still climbing.
Trailkill.
Deer rooting through the snow and leaves.
There’s about six inches of snow up here.
The Fern Trail turns right, but I continued straight.
Now on the Cemetery Ridge Trail.
There are some nice ridgetop prairies up here.
Sumac, not the poison one.
The Cemetery Ridge Trail goes right. Left takes you on a trek toward the Valley View Picnic Area. The straight path is just an access road.
I continued on the Cemetery Ridge Trail.
There is a cliff there, which isn’t visible in the summer.
Zooming in.
What a view, again, only when there aren’t leaves.
This trail is a gas pipeline right of way.
There is a barn coming up on the right. See it?
There it is.
This barn is pretty cool.
A little about the farm in this area.
It’s still in pretty good condition.
You can’t go upstairs, but the ground floor is open.
This trail follows a gas pipeline for a bit.
Just east of the barn, the pipeline turns away from the trail.
This enclosure protects a rare Yellow Lady Slipper Orchid.
The deer have a taste for orchids.
You have to see this flower in bloom.
The view up here is great when the leaves are down.
Descending back to the valley.
Clear Creek Road.
I’m way down at Creekside Meadows on the right side of the map.
Creekside Meadows parking area.
The trail follows the creek to Fern Area.
It’s a beautiful creek. A little frozen today.
The ridges on both sides are covered with Hemlock Pines.
The trail has to go along the road a few times.
There is fishing acces at several areas.
Coming up on the Fern Area.
Hemlock lined…
This cliff is called Written Rock and is on the west end of the park. I caught this on the way out.
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