Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve
Lake County, Ohio · 4 trail miles in ODNR's guide
Our take written by Nature Awed
Mentor Marsh in Lake County fills an ancient abandoned channel of the Grand River and is a designated National Natural Landmark.
ODNR describes a restoration led by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to contain the non-native common reed and bring back marsh and swamp forest, with beech-sugar maple forest on the elevations bordering the marsh. It has 4 miles of hiking trails, and its nature center opens weekends from April to October.
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
Mentor Marsh, designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1966, occupies an ancient abandoned channel of the Grand River. It was also the first site to be dedicated as a state nature preserve. A beech-sugar maple forest occupies the higher elevations bordering the marsh. At the eastern edge of the preserve, there is a mixed oak swamp forest, a forest type destroyed in most parts of the Lake Erie region.
A major restoration effort is currently underway lead by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The goal is to remove and contain the aggressive non-native common reed (Phragmites australis) and restore marsh and swamp forest that once dominated the basin. The preserve is co-managed by the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Visiting
Open dawn to dusk
Stay on designated trails
Pets are not permitted
No public restrooms
Nature Center open Saturday and Sunday 12pm-5pm April-October
For more information click here.
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page before relying on these hours.
Trails
4 miles of hiking trails
In ODNR's preserve guide
| Address | 5185 Corduroy Rd, Mentor, 44060 |
|---|---|
| Trails (miles) | 4 |
| Visitor information | Co-managed by Cleveland Museum of Natural History • cmnh.org • Near Headlands Beach State Park |
Mentor Marsh Lake 5185 Corduroy Rd Mentor, 44060 4 Co-managed by Cleveland Museum of Natural History • cmnh.org • Near Headlands Beach State Park
Access permit
Mentor Marsh 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve | LAKE | Dedicated Nature Preserve | 293.32 | Cleveland Museum of Natural History |
| Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve | LAKE | Dedicated Nature Preserve | 406.45 | Cleveland Museum of Natural History |
| Mapped acres | 699.77 (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 | 41.7373, -81.3029 (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: Mentor Marsh 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.
- Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve · Lake County · about 1.9 miles
- Hach-Otis State Nature Preserve · Lake County · about 11 miles
- Spring Brook Sanctuary State Nature Preserve · Geauga County · about 13 miles · permit
- Burton Wetlands State Nature Preserve · Geauga County · about 21 miles
- Pallister State Nature Preserve · Ashtabula County · about 22 miles · permit