Dutch Fork Wetlands

Dawes Arboretum, Ohio

The Dawes Arboretum, a privately owned non-profit arboretum founded in 1929 by Beman and Bertie Dawes, covers 1,800 acres of woodlands, wetlands, plant collections, gardens, and natural areas in the heart of Ohio’s Licking County.

Visitors can explore the grounds of Dawes Arboretum, one of North America’s premier public gardens, along the eight miles of hiking trails and the four-mile auto tour—hikers enjoy trails amid the Cypress Swamp, the Japanese Garden, the wooded Oak Trail, the permit only Arboretum East Trails, and the Dutch Fork Wetlands.

The Dutch Fork Wetlands, a restored 70-acre wetland/grassland ecosystem and recent addition to the Dawes Arboretum, is home to a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects—mowed grass paths wind for nearly a mile around the five wetland ponds, offering the hiker many opportunities to observe migratory and resident birds, butterflies, arachnids, and other insects, native plants and grasses.

The trailhead, located in Newark, Ohio on the south side of White Chapel Rd (Township Highway 306), provides access to the paths and ponds found within the wetlands—look for the Butterfly Trail on the east side of the parking area. Follow the mowed trail through numbered sections amid the diverse ecosystem of Red Fox Meadow and the riparian environment of the Dutch Fork Stream—bogs, vernal pools, wetland communities, and grasslands harbor a wide variety of life to enjoy and photograph.

Spring 2010