Exploring Pretty Run Preserve along the Buckeye Trail

Our own nature preserve

Most of us know that the Buckeye Trail is over 1,440 miles long, and that it is the longest loop trail in the country. Many of us know our favorite Sections of the Buckeye Trail, and the state parks and preserves it runs through within that Section. But did you know that the Buckeye Trail Association has its very own nature preserve?

The Pretty Run Preserve comprises 230 acres of forest and meadow in Vinton county, along the Old Man’s Cave Section. It is open to all Buckeye Trail users and offers plenty of space for hikers to camp and rest up. Amenities include two shelters, a tent platform, fire rings, a composting latrine, and an unnamed perennial stream that provides access to water year round. Pretty Run is more than just a comfortable stopover for section hikers or thru hikers, however. The BTA is actively developing it for both recreational and educational purposes. While it will remain open to campers and hunters, the preserve will also host naturalist programming such as wildflower and birding hikes in the future, and an agreement is in the works with nearby Hocking College to make the site available to the school’s Natural Resources program for education and research.

The work of preservation

All of this is incredibly exciting, but much of it is still a few years down the road. There is a great deal of work yet to do managing and rehabilitating the site. The foremost concern at present is that the creek running through the southern portion of the preserve is currently listed as a legal township road (dating back to a time when one of the property’s owners was granted permission to drive his horse and carriage up the streambed in perpetuity), and thus experiences regular traffic from Jeep and ATV enthusiasts.

Naturally, this kind of usage creates several issues, not least of which is that the stream is polluted with oil and currently lacks any form of aquatic macroinvertebrate life (meaning it has no creepy, crawly bugs in it). These insect larvae and bugs form the basis of a healthy stream ecosystem, which in turn is the basis for a healthy surrounding ecosystem. Bringing the stream back to its natural state is crucial to the development of the rest of the preserve.

Rehabilitation of the stream isn’t the only conservation work being done. Just this past year, the BTA planted a large number of chestnut saplings in three areas of the preserve. These trees are hybrids, being 15/16ths American Chestnut and 1/16th Chinese Chestnut. It is hoped that due to their hybrid nature, they will prove resistant enough to Chestnut Blight to survive to maturity and produce viable offspring. The BTA is proud to be part of the ongoing effort to return American Chestnuts to our landscape.

A precious habitat

Pretty Run’s combination of early successional and mid-successional mixed hardwood forest also provides precious habitat to a large number of animal and bird species. In addition to the ubiquitous whitetail deer and gray squirrels, the preserve is home to American bobcat and ruffed grouse, both of which are species with very specific habitat requirements. Numerous migratory bird species make use of the preserve’s resources as well. Blue-gray gnatcatchers, yellow-throated warblers, white-breasted nuthatches, red-eyed vireos, hooded warblers, chipping sparrows, Carolina chickadees, golden-crowned kinglets, and hermit thrushes have been observed on the grounds, and provide ample opportunity for birding enthusiasts to pursue their passion.

Spring natives

If wildflowers are more your speed, well then boy are you in luck! Bloodroot, rue-anemone, spring beauty, wild blue phlox, and several species of violet and trilium are evident in spring, and throughout the year many more species continue the procession, with blue wood asters bringing up the rear in autumn.

We’ll continue to make updates on our progress in developing Pretty Run Preserve in the future, but there is plenty to see and experience on the grounds right now.

For anyone interested in visiting, directions are included below: FROM US 33: Take State Rt 664 13.5 miles to its junction with State Rt 56. Turn Left, and then immediately right onto Goose Creek Rd. Follow Goose Creek Rd 2.4 miles to Lowery Road and turn right. Stay on Lowery Rd/Macedonia Rd another 3.4 miles and turn left onto Macedonia Church Rd. Parking is available in the field after crossing the creek. To obtain the combination to the gate, contact our Old Man’s Cave section supervisor at oldmanscave@buckeyetrail.org.