It had been a wet couple of weeks and we were heading into the Thanksgiving stretch, with a schedule that would prohibit a day on the trail. The photographer sensed my desperation and relented to my suggestion that we could perhaps find an all-persons trail to hike during the rain free, 4 hour window that the meteorologist promised that day. I settled on Embshoff Woods because it was nearby, new to us, and online reviews suggested that the gravel path would be manageable despite the days of rain.

The fact of the matter is that not every hike is going to offer great vistas, old-growth woods, unique habitats, or rare species – the kind of things that make hikes memorable. But in my experience, they all offer fresh air, a sense of peace, and opportunities to observe and embrace nature. That was all I was looking for on this mid-November outing.

Embshoff Woods is one of the smaller, less known parks in the well managed Great Parks of Hamilton County system. Like the other Great Parks, on first blush it looked well maintained and utilized. The lone trail at the park is titled “The Fitness Trail” and was developed as a Parcours with a series of exercise stations. We did not participate in that foolery.

The trailhead shares parking with a rolling disc golf layout and the beginning of the path skirts the edge of a couple of fairways.

To be honest the plant community was exactly what I expected – largely a progression wood with a fair amount of invasive Bush Honeysuckle. The gravel path was damp but not muddy – meeting our needs. In the brush alongside the trail we noted a surprising amount of bird activity – all less than three feet off the ground.

But still, there was some beauty in our sodden surroundings. The woods offered a few notable Walnuts, which are not uncommon in progression woods, and we noted that a variety of oaks and some Sugar Maples where starting the transition from progression wood toward a maple-oak deciduous wood.

One nice bonus of the outing was that we did get our cardio in as there was no shortage of rolling terrain along the path.

Odds and Ends:

The resilience of nature never surprises me. Alongside the trail we noted what we thought was a cluster of Osage Orange trees. When we got closer however, we could tell that they were actually vertical branches that had developed from an Osage Orange tree that laid horizontal on the ground. A large tree that had three trunks had split, and two of them fell to the floor. Latent buds along the trunk were triggered to grow, and four new “trees” developed.

We were surprised when this Downy, the smallest of the woodpeckers in the Eastern U.S., settled into the brush just 12 feet or so in front of us – not an easy photo opportunity due to the branches and stems. The red on the back of the head identifies it as a male.

One of the most threatening plant armaments that we see while hiking are the thorns of the Honey Locust tree. Over the years, I have often asked myself what was the evolutionary reason for this protection as I could not see anything in today’s animal population that could threaten a Honey Locust. I just needed to think further back, because evolution is the result of millennia of environmental pressures. It is thought that these thorns developed to protect the trees from now extinct, enormous mammals like the Mastodon and Giant Sloth, that would feed on the leaves of the tree.

A gallery of fall color: Burning Bush (invasive), Blackberry, Rose hips, Greenshield Lichen, and Bittersweet.

An interesting thing to do on a hike is to take a closer look at the plants along the path that look past their prime, such as this Aster that has gone to seed. I would estimate that there are over 100 seeds in this cluster group.

This Wild Rye also has fascinating end of season structure.

One of the more common trailside plants of the Ohio River Valley in the fall is Snakeroot, which has a bland, white flowerhead in September and October. We usually walk right past it without giving it further study. By the date of this hike, the Snakeroot had gone to seed as well.

As we studied the seedheads we noted the small black seeds, which resemble the thistle (niger) seeds that many species of small birds consume at our bird feeders.

These are the seedheads after the seeds have been removed, either by wind or birds, with only the flower sepals remaining.

As we were completing the hike and ascending a small hill that would return us to the parking area we again noted a flush of bird activity – Goldfinches, Song Sparrows, and Juncos were clearly feeding on the Snakeroot seeds. That was the reason for all the birds so close to the ground earlier in the hike, in another swathe of Snakeroot – a feeding frenzy.

Lastly, a glimpse at Common Burdock. It is a non-native from Europe but not necessarily invasive. Its seedhead is a bur that is about the size of a ping pong ball.

Its claim to fame is that it was the study of the bur’s hook that led to the invention of Velcro in Europe in the 1940s and 50s. The burs’ hooks are on the left and those of Velcro are on the right.

In summary, this “rescue me” hike did its job. It got us (me) out of the house, in fresh air, and a non-gym cardio workout – always a plus. Also, it allowed us to ponder on some very routine observations and get a better understanding of some of the ecology in our native region. And I came home with a whole new respect for Snakeroot, a native plant that is a little on the aggressive side and that I pull with abandon from our native plant beds – perhaps now it has earned it place. The take home lesson is to not underestimate the opportunity to experience nature close to home in lesser known hiking venues – for me it is one surprise after another.

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Photo credits to Peggy Juengling Burns.

Overview:

Location – 4050 Paul Rd, Cincinnati, OH, 6.7 miles west of downtown Cincinnati.

Parking – asphalt lot for 16 cars.

Facilities – across the road from the trailhead.

Trail Conditions – compacted gravel.

Print Trail Map Link – https://prod-greatparks.xperience-sites.com/getContentAsset/d64d7c24-3db1-47ce-93e3-245cbdf8891a/bfa9215c-2050-47cb-9579-864e5e94a158/Embshoff-Woods-8-5×11.pdf?language=en

Benches – yes.

Picnic Tables – many throughout the park.

Kids – kids of all ages will do well on the trail.

Dogs – welcomed on a leash.

Paired Hiking Trails – Fernbank Park, another Hamilton County Park, is 8 miles away on the bank of the Ohio River and has both a woodland hike and an all-persons trail.

Links:

https://www.greatparks.org/parks/embshoff-woods-nature-preserve