Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: March 29, 2025
Enjoying an atypical 76-degree March day, we hiked this 2.5 mile trail around Spring Valley Lake. The trail was flat and easy with a gentile wind blowing. The trail took us through woods and 150-acre marsh/wetlands (Photo#2) before opening to the sun around three fourths of the lake. The 842-acre wildlife area is popular for bird watching as we saw geese, ducks, woodpeckers, cranes and a couple bird blinds. We passed many people fishing and saw several kayaks and paddle boards on the lake as people like us took advantage of the warm weather. I stopped counting turtle at 52 as there were so many. Just up the trail I saw a large headless turtle, I assumed a victim of a local carnivore. However, Rosie spotted a crop circle in the marshland close to the beheaded turtle -hmmm. Another alien sample??? Our favorite bicycle trail, the Little Miami Bike Trail, ran parallel to the west side of the lake with the Little Miami River next to the bike trail. A State of Ohio Historical Marker was erected on the trail recognizing this wildlife area since, sadly, 90% of Ohio’s wetlands have been drained or filled in.
