Contact Us 419-683-8952 |
| . |
| / |
| The Flora-Quest Trips are more eco-friendly than ever! Download the Quest descriptions as a printable PDF or scan the 2012 Trips below. Each Quest includes Two Expeditions— the following are Your Choices for Saturday's Hike. ALL Sunday field trips will focus on Shawnee State Park's fabulous flora, especially orchids, and every field trip will find an ENORMOUS array of flora, far beyond what the descriptions convey. Participants are encouraged to bring along rain gear, extra walking shoes, guidebooks, binoculars, flashlights, and cameras. Trips will be filled on a first-come first-served basis, so be sure to register early! _______________________________________________________________________________ Quest 1 Raven Rock and the River Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm Extreme QUESTING: Raven Rock (closed preserve) and the River Martin McAllister / Kevin Bradbury The view from the rock is not easy to attain; this is a difficult Quest. This Extreme Quest will follow the footsteps of the Shawnee Native people. Be prepared for a near vertical 500 ft. ascent from the Ohio River Valley to a cliff top aerie with a stunning view from atop Raven Rock, to be followed up with trip back down to the river’s edge. Depending on water conditions, the final portion of the trip may be by canoe. Trip leaders will point rare plants- with the possible sighting of Small-flowered Phacelia. Wear sturdy hiking shoes and bring along a walking stick and binoculars if you have them. Combines the best river views with botany. Canoeing experience required. Difficulty level: Extreme Distance: 6 miles Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________ Quest 2 Sunshine Mystery Tour III TRIP FULL Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm Sunshine Mystery Tour III Pete Whan / Jason Larson It just keeps getting better and better, and this is one of our most requested trips. Join Pete Whan, Mr. Sunshine himself, and Jason Larson, the other sunny guy, on this tour- we know not where. We do know the birding will be great, and the botany will be in bloom. An exclusive trip exploring latest acquisitions that The Nature Conservancy has made in the new Sunshine Corridor project. We can't tell right now where we will be going or what we will see, but we’ve had such past success- we’ll try it again!! Pete will be scouting right up to the day of the walk to find the best experience he can in this new untraveled land. If you like mystery and new things, this is the walk for you. Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: 2.5 Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________ Quest 3 Whipple Preserve & Lynx Prairie Saturday 9:00am –4:00pm Whipple Preserve & Lynx Prairie Rich McCarty / Bob Scott Placier Celebrate the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserve’s botanical diversity on this day long exploration of dolomite cliffs of 10-30 feet in height adorned with wild columbine and an abundance of and ferns Spring flowers. This trip will stick to the trails of Whipple State Nature Preserve, which offers an excellent view of Adams County at its finest. Our guides are well acquainted with the region and its botany, and will make an additional side trip to Lynx Prairie to view Indian Paintbrush, Flora- Quest’ s featured flower for 2012. Difficulty Level: Moderately Difficult Distance: 2 miles Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________ Quest 4 Whipple Preserve TRIP FULL Saturday 9:00am –4:00pm Whipple Preserve Plus - with our Ohio Heritage Botanist Rick Gardner / Jenny Richards This is a true flora quest! This trip is an off trail hike through the remote and rugged area of Whipple State Nature Preserve. The group will see 50+ feet dolomite cliffs with a beautiful vista, seeps, a waterfall, and cedar barrens. Spring wildflowers are abundant, plus numerous rare and uncommon species including: Carolina whitlow-grass, shooting star, cross-vine, and yellow lady’s-slipper orchid. This is a serious hike. Good hiking boots and poles are highly recommended. Guides will make some additional stops to and from the preserve to show the group other rare species found in this biologically rich area. Difficulty Level: Difficult Distance: 4 miles Limit 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quest 5 Spring Glen Private Preserve Saturday 9:00am –4:00pm Spring Glen Preserve Paul Knoop / Steve McKee Every year something new is experienced in the unique Adams County cedar glades, which includes Spring Glen Preserve. Here in these small, dry, limestone prairies one can experience a bit of original Ohio. The spring season brings forth new prairie grasses, spectacular wildflowers including the showy Indian Paintbrush, Shooting Stars, hog nose snakes, prairie warblers and cob web skippers. This is a rare opportunity for an intimate view of this closed private preserve with its owner, and one of Ohio’s most revered naturalists- Paul Knoop. Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: 1 mile walks will be taken Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________ Quest 6 Kamama Prairie TRIP FULL Saturday 9:00am –4:00pm Kamama Prairie John Howard / Janet Creamer Explore one of the most biologically diverse preserves in Southern Ohio, home to dozens of unique plants and animals. Kamama Prairie is known not only for its huge assembly of rare plants including many that bloom in the Spring, but also numerous rare butterflies, dragonflies, moths, and other unusual insects. Expect to see Indian Paintbrush, Hoary Puccoon, Yellow Lady’s-slipper, and several of the rare native mustards, some of which may still be in bloom, along with many other unique possibilities. Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: short walks will be taken Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________- Quest 7 Butterflies and Botany Saturday 9:00am –4:00pm Butterflies and Botany Jaret Daniels / Dave Reipenhoff / Tricia West This trip will go a bit further afield for butterflies in search of the early southern migrants. Our local guide, Dave knows the best habitats for butterflies and flora while expert and author of Butterflies of Ohio, Dr. Jaret Daniels can teach you all those little details to aid in sorting butterflies. Finding fliers on the native Appalachian flora and identifying them is much easier when the experts are along! Be sure to bring your check-lists, as there will be too many species to remember. Watch for White -M Hairstreak and Olive Hairstreak. Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: short walks and time in the field Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________ Quest 8 Davis Memorial and Plum Run Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm Davis Memorial and Plum Run Guy Denny / Tim Snyder At Davis Memorial Peeble’s dolomite cliffs provide habitat for white cedar and sullivantia, while American aloe, dwarf hawthorn, side-oats gramma grass and purple coneflower are found in the prairie openings. A native bamboo is also found here. Other significant species include limestone Adder's-tongue fern, narrow-leaved bluecurls and Walter's violet. Plum Run is a tall grass prairie with lots of big bluestem and Indian grass, studded with Adams County’s native juniper. Nine state-listed species are found on the property, the most notable being Plantago cordata, or heart-leaved plantain. If time allows, we will even visit another nearby preserve with a natural arch wreathed by spring wildflowers. Difficulty Level: Easy – Moderate Distance: 1-2 mile Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________ Quest 9 Birding and Botany Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm Big Year Birding and Botany Greg Miller / Andrew Gibson If you enjoyed the movie The Big Year, you’ll want to come to Shawnee to bird with the guy who inspired the book: Greg Miller. Greg will help you find an amazing assortment of Spring warblers, and a few forest specialties as well. And because it all happens in the most beautiful spot in Ohio we will send a botanist along to answer all those Spring flora questions as well. This trip is for birding enthusiasts who want to have it all! Difficulty Level: Easy – Moderate Distance: 1 mile Limit: 10 _______________________________________________________________________________ Guides and Field Trips could be subject to change to offer you the best experience. Concerned About Rain? Have no fear, we have plenty of great speakers and back-up programs in case of rain. Many of Ohio’s best naturalist are prepared to present indoor programs. _______________________________________________________________________________ Rain or shine we have you covered! Click on the You-tube link to see our guides in action! A little rain can't stop this crew from having fun. So climb aboard our clean comfortable vans, and let us doing the driving. Click for Video Join the fun on Facebook! Optional Field Trips & Programs Morning Field Trips: Are extra offerings for those who like to “get going” bright and early. Enjoy the morning air with a bonus field trip or use this time for an extra hour of sleep. Be sure to mark this on your registration form. Early Birding Saturday 6:30 –7:30am Bird Banding- with Bob Scott Placier Many of our guides are expert birders as well as outstanding botanists. Join our leader and bird bander, Bob Scott Placier as he checks his nets for early migrants. We may even catch a warbler, the neo-tropical jewels migrating from their winter visit to southern climes.You’ll be amazed at the species we will find right outside the Shawnee Lodge’s front doors! Moonlight Field Trips: Will be a late night foray, after the evening program—casual and easy trips either on foot or by bus. Participants are encouraged to bring along flashlights, warm clothes, guidebooks, and cameras.Be sure to mark this on your registration form. Moonlight Adventures Friday Only 9:00pm – 10:30pm Sounds of the Night, Campfire, Canoeing or Birds of Prey (inside program) Take your pick! At Shawnee, lots of interesting things are happening at night. Each year we offer a walk through the forests and hollows near the lodge, but this year we’ re amping up the night programs to provide something for everyone. We’ll be lurking through woods in search of owls, particularly Eastern Screech-Owl and Barred Owl, and amphibians which can be especially vocal this time of year. We may even get a peek at the much more limited Mountain Chorus Frog. Hueston Woods naturalists will present Birds of Prey in the lodge lobby. Caesar Creek and Cowan Lake naturalists will be doing a moonlight canoe trip on Turkey Creek Lake, and Camp Oty’Okwa environmental educators will be entertaining around a campfire in the cabin area. It will be hard to choose! Sign-up sheets will be available at Check-In on Friday. Canoeing limited to 14, and Sounds of Night limited to 20. Moonlight trips fill on a first-come-first-served basis. |
Shawnee Park and Forest:
| . |
| . |
| . |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Let us do the driving! You'll never struggle with maps and directions, as our guides get you directly to the plants you want to see! New in 2012- We have offset our field trips' carbon by a donation to the Carbon Offset Birding Project. |
