Wallace H. O'Dowd Wildlife Area
The O'Dowd Wildlife Area has become the thirteenth largest wildlife area in the state, with 6,696 acres. It includes the former Trimble Wildlife Area, which has long been owned by the State of Ohio, as well as the Sunday Creek Wildlife Area, which was designated under a lease agreement with the Sunday Creek Coal Company. The Division of Wildlife, using a legacy from O'Dowd plus Federal money, recently purchased much of the Sunday Creek lands to establish this area. It extends from Athens County into Hocking County, and is substantially embedded within the Wayne National Forest. It also wraps around the Trimble Township Community Forest. These lands have been extensively mined for coal in the past, as well as extensively timbered, and can be regarded as recovering forest. It is, however, excellent deer-hunting ground. The .BENCAD Trail passes through the northern part of this area, partly on a gravel through-road, partly on an old closed roadway.
To reach this area from Athens, go out Columbus Road to Ohio State Route 13. Turn left on Ohio State Route 13, then turn right in Chauncey to stay on 13. Then, for the northern part of the area (the former Trimble Wildlife Area), go 8.8 miles to Glouster from the turn in Chauncey. At the stoplight in Glouster, turn left on Ohio State Route 78. Go 2.35 miles to Hunterdon Road and turn right. Go 1.3 miles on Hunterdon Road to a fork, where the right-hand fork goes steeply uphill. Take that right-hand fork (the left-hand fork quickly dead-ends). For the southern part of the area, go 3.7 miles on OH-13 from the turn in Chauncey to Truetown Road to the left (to the right the same road, the old route 13, is Main Street for Millfield). Turn left on Truetown Road and go 1.6 miles to Ohio State Route 685. Turn left on 685 and go 0.7 mile to Greens Run Road. Turn right on Greens Run (County Road 96), which will eventually become Goose Run Road (County Road 67), and you will enter the wildlife area at 2.1 miles and exit it at 4.1 miles. If you continue on this road, it will tee into OH-78 at 4.5 miles. To get to the Hocking County portion of the area, turn right on OH-78 and go 0.6 mile to your first left, which is Jobs-New Pittsburgh Road (Hocking County Road 22). Turn left, and you'll enter the wildlife area at 0.4 mile and exit it at 2.7 miles.