Nature Awed

Kitty Todd State Nature Preserve

Lucas County, Ohio · 1 trail miles in ODNR's guide

Our take written by Nature Awed

Kitty Todd is an Oak Openings preserve in Lucas County, owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, where sand dunes and wet swales carry everything from dry sand barren and oak savanna to sedge meadow and wet prairie.

ODNR says the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly was reintroduced there, and lists prickly-pear cactus, wild lupine and grass-pink orchid among its plants. It is open weekdays and the first weekend of the month from May to October, with 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

Kitty Todd Preserve is one of the finest nature preserves in the Oak Openings region of northwestern Ohio. The preserve was named in honor of Toledo conservationist and former Nature Conservancy board member, Kitty Todd. The Oak Openings region was originally characterized by a series of windblown sand dunes and wetlands that were saturated in winter and spring and extremely dry in summer. These conditions gave rise to vegetation ranging from dry sand barren and oak savanna on the raised dunes to moist sedge meadow and wet prairie in the low-lying swales.
ODNR: Kitty Todd State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14
Kitty Todd supports a number of these small sand dunes, interesting examples of the unusual geology of the Oak Openings region. Last sited at Kitty Todd before its extirpation from Ohio, the federally-endangered Karner blue butterfly was reintroduced to the preserve in 1998. The preserve with over 100 rare plants has the highest number of state listed plants in Ohio. State-listed plants include prickly-pear cactus, Cleland's evening-primrose, cross-leaved milkwort, grass-pink orchid and Skinner's foxglove. One of the state's largest populations of wild lupine occurs here. The state endangered lark sparrow nests on the preserve. The preserve is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy.
ODNR: Kitty Todd State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14

Visiting

ODNR's visitor notes
  • Open to the public Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm, and the first weekend of the month from May - October
  • Stay on designated trails
  • No public restrooms
ODNR: Kitty Todd State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14

Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page before relying on these hours.

Trails

ODNR's trail notes
  • 1 mile of hiking trails
ODNR: Kitty Todd State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14

In ODNR's preserve guide

Our table of the guide's row for Kitty Todd (Lucas County). The row as printed is quoted below.
Address10420 Old State Line Rd, Swanton, 43558
Trails (miles)1
Visitor informationManaged by The Nature Conservancy • nature.org/ohio .
The guide's row
Kitty Todd Lucas 10420 Old State Line Rd Swanton, 43558 1 Managed by The Nature Conservancy • nature.org/ohio .
ODNR: Ohio State Nature Preserves & Natural Areas Guide (PDF) · our check found this text on October 14

Access permit

Kitty Todd 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

Field values as ODNR's GIS lands layer returns them (one row per mapped feature; our checker found them on October 14).
LANDS_NAMECOUNTYPROP_TYPESUM_CALC_ACRESMANAGING_AGENCY
Kitty Todd Nature PreserveLUCASDedicated Nature Preserve378.71The Nature Conservancy
Our calculations from those features, re-computed at each check.
Mapped acres378.71 (our sum of the parcels ODNR's GIS layer maps under this name)
Access permitNo whole-preserve permit requirement identified in the sources we check; named-area or activity permits may still apply
Centre of mapped land41.6150, -83.8015 (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.
ODNR: Ohio State Nature Preserves & Natural Areas Guide page · our check found this text on October 14

Check before you go. Verify current hours, access and trail information on ODNR: Kitty Todd 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.