Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve
Franklin County, Ohio · 1 trail miles in ODNR's guide
Our take written by Nature Awed
Gahanna Woods is an urban preserve in Franklin County that protects a complex of buttonbush swamps and vernal pools ringed by pin oak and silver maple swamp forest, with oak-hickory and beech-maple woods on the upland areas.
ODNR says one of its buttonbush swamps holds Ohio's single known population of cypress-knee sedge. The City of Gahanna leases and manages it, and there is 1 mile of hiking trail.
Our plain-language reading of the ODNR text quoted on this page. It adds no facts of its own.
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page for this preserve and ODNR's permit page before relying on this summary.
What ODNR says about it
Gahanna Woods encompasses a variety of wooded and successional habitats in an urban setting. This preserve protects perhaps the best remaining complex of buttonbush swamps and vernal pools in central Ohio. A pin oak-silver maple swamp forest surrounds these woodland pools. Mature oak-hickory and beech-maple communities occur on the higher and drier areas of the preserve.
Numerous spring wildflowers can be found within these woods. Of significance are the yellow water-crowfoot, swamp saxifrage, wild hyacinth, skunk cabbage and several species of trillium. The only known population of cypress-knee sedge in Ohio occurs in one of the buttonbush swamps within Gahanna Woods.
Visiting
The preserve is leased to City of Gahanna Parks.
Trails
1 mile of hiking trails
In ODNR's preserve guide
| Address | 11699 Taylor Station Rd, Gahanna, 43230 |
|---|---|
| Trails (miles) | 1 |
| Visitor information | Managed by City of Gahanna • gahanna.gov |
Gahanna Woods Franklin 11699 Taylor Station Rd Gahanna, 43230 1 Managed by City of Gahanna • gahanna.gov
Access permit
Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve is not on ODNR's list of preserves that require an access permit, and its ODNR page as quoted here doesn't call for one. ODNR also says: An access permit is required to leave trails within a state nature preserve.
(ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit).
The land on ODNR's map
| LANDS_NAME | COUNTY | PROP_TYPE | SUM_CALC_ACRES | MANAGING_AGENCY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve | FRANKLIN | Dedicated Nature Preserve | 55.4 | City of Gahanna |
| Mapped acres | 55.40 (our sum of the parcels ODNR's GIS layer maps under this name) |
|---|---|
| Access permit | No whole-preserve permit requirement identified in the sources we check; named-area or activity permits may still apply |
| Centre of mapped land | 40.0094, -82.8375 (our calculation; not an entrance or parking lot) |
Statewide rules
Ohio Administrative Code chapter 1501:17 sets rules for nature preserves and natural areas under ODNR's supervision or its designated custodian, on pets, drones, picnics, collecting and more. Can I…? quotes them rule by rule, with their exceptions.
Pets are prohibited at all state nature preserves, except Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve where leashed pets are only allowed on the multipurpose paved trail.
Check before you go. Verify current hours, access and trail information on ODNR: Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve and ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit; our checker last found the quoted words there on October 14.
Nearest other preserves
Straight-line miles between the centres of mapped land (our calculation), not driving distance.
- Walter A Tucker (Blacklick Woods) State Nature Preserve · Fairfield County · about 5.2 miles
- Pickerington Ponds State Nature Preserve · Fairfield and Franklin counties · about 8.8 miles
- Edward S. Thomas State Nature Preserve · Franklin County · about 10 miles
- Coyote Run State Nature Preserve · Fairfield County · about 11 miles · permit
- Hutchins (Highbanks) State Nature Preserve · Delaware and Franklin counties · about 13 miles