Nature Awed

Sears Woods State Nature Preserve

Crawford County, Ohio · 1.2 trail miles in ODNR's guide

Our take written by Nature Awed

Sears Woods is a beech-maple old-growth woodland beside the Sandusky River in Crawford County, named for Yale ecologist Paul B. Sears, from whose family it was bought.

ODNR calls May a good month to see its spring wildflowers. Crawford Park District leases and manages it, and the guide gives 1.2 miles of 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

Sears Woods is named in honor of the nationally renowned Yale professor of ecology, Paul B. Sears from whose family this preserve was purchased in 1986. It is an impressive beech-maple old-growth woodland adjacent to the Sandusky River.
ODNR: Sears Woods State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14
The preserve contains one of the best remaining fragments of the once extensive forest which covered this region of the state. The month of May is a good time to visit for viewing the outstanding display of spring wildflowers.
ODNR: Sears Woods State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14

Visiting

ODNR's visitor notes
  • The preserve is leased to Crawford Park District.
ODNR: Sears Woods State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14

In ODNR's preserve guide

Our table of the guide's row for Sears Woods (Crawford County). The row as printed is quoted below.
Address1486 Mount Zion Rd, Bucyrus, 44820
Trails (miles)1.2
Visitor informationManaged by Crawford Park District • crawfordparkdistrict.org
The guide's row
Sears Woods Crawford 1486 Mount Zion Rd Bucyrus, 44820 1.2 Managed by Crawford Park District • crawfordparkdistrict.org
ODNR: Ohio State Nature Preserves & Natural Areas Guide (PDF) · our check found this text on October 14

Access permit

Sears 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

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
Sears Woods State Nature PreserveCRAWFORDDedicated Nature Preserve98.8Crawford Park District
Our calculations from those features, re-computed at each check.
Mapped acres98.80 (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 land40.7789, -83.0440 (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: Sears 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.