Oak Trail

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 Dutch Fork Wetlands, the permit only Arboretum East Trails, and the wooded Oak Trail.

The Oak Trail, a 2.5 mile long path consisting of boardwalks, and mulched or mowed paths, winds through Dawes, a private arboretum near Newark, Ohio—it is an easy hike with a couple of nice hills to get the heart rate going.

The trail starts at the parking lot and leads the hiker through a Cypress swamp—yes, a Cypress Swamp in Ohio! It is one of the northernmost bald cypress swamps in the United States—trek along the boardwalk here to see these great trees and their knees. After leaving the swamp you hit the mulched trail that leads you through the grounds of this beautiful garden—there are identification plaques all along the trail that point out the different species of trees and shrubs.

In addition to the flora, you will see a springhouse and a log cabin (Sugarhouse) used for making maple syrup in late winter—this will be off to the right if you are hiking in a clockwise direction. Other highlights include an old cemetery, the conifer collection, Dawes Lake, the crab apple collection, the oak collection, the famous “17” buckeye trees planted in a 17 for Ohio’s statehood, holly hill, and the Japanese Garden. The Oak Trail is a beautiful hike at any time of year, but it is especially enjoyable in spring and fall.

Around Dawes