The 75-acre Blair Preserve was purchased in two sections in 2004 and 2006 with grants from the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Fund. The preserve extensively borders Strouds Run State Park, to which it is connected by the Trace Trail. The southern half of the preserve was heavily logged before the Conservancy acquired it, and the young woods that has grown up there is a good birding area. Older forest can be found on Gillett Ridge in the northeast part of the preserve.
A picnic site with a kiosk and table can be reached from the Trace Trail via the Tunnel Rock Trail. Day use only.
Trail Descriptions:
Trace Trail
(0.3 mile; difficulty – easy)
Most of the 1.2-mile long Trace Trail is in Strouds Run State Park, but a 0.3-mile section crosses Blair Preserve. The trail ascends gradually from east to west, paralleling Gillett Run.
The Trace Trail is believed to follow the route of the original stage road from Marietta to Chillicothe, which itself may have followed a Native American trail. The area it passes through in Blair Preserve was heavily logged a few years before Athens Conservancy acquired the land in 2004, and the understory along parts of the trail has developed into an impenetrable thicket of invasive shrubs and vines – especially privet, burning-bush, multiflora rose, and Asian bittersweet. Through years of effort, these shrubs have been cleared from a strip between the trail and adjacent Gillett Run, making it possible for native shrubs and herbs to colonize the stream terrace. If you are lucky, you might hear a Ruffed Grouse drumming near the bridge where Trace Trail crosses Gillett Run. Blair Preserve is one of the few places in Ohio where this declining species can still be found.
Tunnel Rock Trail
(0.55 mile; difficulty – easy)
This trail, which follows an old road, starts at the Trace Trail, ascends 0.1 mile to a picnic site with a table, then continues relatively level another 0.45 mile until it enters private property. Beyond the picnic site, the trail parallels narrow Gillett Ridge with imposing cliff faces. The rock face immediately above the picnic site includes a small natural arch, which resembles a window in the rock when viewed from below. About 1/3 mile farther east along the trail, separation of a huge slab of rock has created a narrow crevice known as Tunnel Rock. Turkey Vultures sometimes nest inside, so the “tunnel” should not be entered during the spring and summer. When alarmed, vultures sometimes vomit on intruders!
To get to the Blair Preserve from uptown Athens, take Carpenter Street west (turn left from Court Street). Carpenter becomes Lancaster Street. Take this to the stoplight at the top of the hill and turn right on Lancaster Street, which becomes Columbia Avenue and then Strouds Run Road. After crossing US-33 on an overpass, turn right at the stop sign (it is still called Strouds Run Road after turning) and drive 2.1 miles to enter Strouds Run State Park. Park at the first parking area on the right, just past the fields. Take the Trace Trail into the preserve.
Use iNaturalist to help document plants, mushrooms, insects, birds, mammals, and more in the Blair Preserve!
Volunteer Preserve Steward: Jane Balbo
Maps
(click to enlarge)