A Drive Through the Woods – ODNR 51

When traveling between Cleveland and Columbus — I often took state routes so I could stop along the way and get lost in Mohican Memorial State Forest. The road going through the forest, Ohio Department of Natural Resources 51, offered plenty of diversions. Sometimes I’d stop at a pull-off, grab my sleeping bag and head out into the woods to nap. But mostly I’d spend the day exploring.

It’s a constant battle to keep the state from catering to commercial interests bent on turning this wonderful old forest into a tree farm or worse. My friend, Annette McCormick, has led the charge to defend the forest from excessive commercial logging. I salute her and others who have fought the good fight to keep Mohican from becoming the fragmented wasteland that some of Ohio’s other public forests have become. Enjoy it while you can.

 

ODNR 51 on a summer morning.

 

Mohican’s iconic fire tower. That’s Annette on the landing.

 

The covered bridge over Clear Fork of the Mohican River – another ODNR 51 landmark. (I tried to find better photos, which I took one summer afternoon. When I find them, I’ll replace this with one of them.)