See fall color in Seneca County

SENECA COUNTY — The corn and soybean harvest is underway, there's a nip in the air and leaves are showing their reds, oranges and yellows. Fall is a great time of year to explore local nature areas. Seneca County has several choices for an afternoon hike – and the drives between nature preserves can be scenic as well. Starting in Tiffin along the Sandusky River, Schekelhoff and Clinton nature preserves offer an easy hike along the Sandusky River. Tiffin Parks & Recreation Department's Schekelhoff Park is a paved trail along the river with a few overlooks along the way. At the end of the Schekelhoff trail is the beginning of the Clinton Nature Preserve trail. The 33-acre Clinton preserve is a cooperative effort between Seneca Parks, Clinton Township and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It offers a stone trail for hiking and access to the river for fishing and canoeing. Also in or near Tiffin are Mercy Community Nature Preserve on a wooded portion of the grounds at Mercy Health - Tiffin Hospital and Tiffin University Nature Preserve, 2471 W. CR 26, Tiffin, just outside the city limits. The 22-acre Mercy preserve, a partnership between Mercy Health and the county park district, is designed to offer a place to enhance the health and wellness of residents. Expanding hiking options to other parts of the county and moving counterclockwise, there are two state parks in the southern part of Seneca County. Springville Marsh, 12250 TR 24, Carey, in the southwest corner of Seneca County off US 23, is beautiful in the fall. Because it's a wetland, it's best visited with bug spray applied or after a frost has killed the current batch of mosquitos. A boardwalk winds through a section of the 201-acre preserve through marsh-loving plants as well as trees. A blind provides a spot for watching wildlife in the greater wetland beyond the boardwalk. East of Springville is Howard Collier State Nature Preserve. Although it's best known for its spring wildflowers, Collier, at 1401 W. TR 38, near McCutchenville, also has a great display of fall color. From the parking area, the path includes lots of steps leading down to the Sandusky River floodplain with oaks, sycamore, ash, tulip and cottonwood trees providing contrasting colors. At the bottom a boardwalk continues, providing smooth hiking access and beautiful river views. Continuing the counterclockwise tour, Forrest Nature Preserve, a county park at 701 E. CR 6, offers 47 acres of hiking area with trails along Honey Creek, through meadows and along a bluff overlooking the creek. There are entrances CR 6 and TR 151. From there, heading east down CR 6 will be Garlo Heritage Nature Preserve, a county park at 6777 SR 19, Bloomville. The preserve's 292 acres has about 7 miles of hiking and equestrian trails through fields, wetlands, woods, a lake and ponds. Continuing north on SR 19, turn right on CR 24 to find Bowen Nature Preserve, at West Lodi. The county park's address is 11891 E CR 24, Republic. Bowen Preserve's 64 acres provides trails through grasslands, a wetland area and 6 acres of woodland. Moving back to the west and then north, Steyer Nature Preserve, a county park at 5901 N. CR 33, Tiffin, is the next stop on the tour of fall hiking spots. At the parking lot is a new canoe access for anyone who wishes to see fall colors from the Sandusky River. The preserve contains about 140 acres, most of it wooded. About a mile of trails run along or near the river and a few more miles provide scenic views - especially in fall - of the preserve's ravines. The southern 70 acres is open to hunting in season and is connected to Sugar Creek State Wildlife Area with access off Pleasant TR 148. Hikers should stay in the northern 70 acres. Moving west, Meadowbrook Park, Bascom, is a 130-acre family recreation park that includes camping, swimming, picnic areas and children's playground. The circular drive offers a fair amount of fall beauty, and there are hiking trails as well. Just to the west of Meadowbrook is Fruth Wetland Nature Preserve, 10130 W. SR 18, Fostoria. The 20-acre preserve includes a wetland with both open and wooded hiking areas. Continuing through Fostoria to the west side, Aeraland Recreation Area can be found at 1220 TR 243, Fostoria. The 75-acre Hancock County park includes rolling hills, woods and meadows as well as Goose Lake as well as two hiking trails. Moving north of Fostoria on US 23, Bradner Nature Preserve is part of the Wood County Park District system. At 11491 Fostoria Road, the preserve has 233 acres with 2.38 miles of trails, mainly through wooded areas. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources provides a weekly fall color update and lots more ideas on places to visit to see changing leaves and the fall landscape at https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/see-the-sights/fall-color. "The wide-ranging fall color reports statewide are due to the weather patterns throughout the year with some areas of the state seeing more rain than others," ODNR Fall Color Forester David Parrott said in his most recent state report. "Current changes include black walnut showing brilliant yellows and sycamores ablaze in oranges and yellows. Even our state native fruit-bearing tree, the pawpaw, is showing its yellows." ODNR encourages people to share fall color photos using #OhioFall23, #OhioTheHeartofitAll and #FallinOhio. Each week, ODNR will choose photos from those who use this hashtag to share on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more fall color photos, follow ODNR, Ohio State Parks and Ohio The Heart of It All. on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @OhioDNR, @OHStateParks, @odnrforestry and @OhioTheHeartofitAll.