Nature Awed

Solon Woods State Nature Preserve

Cuyahoga County, Ohio · 1.25 trail miles in ODNR's guide

Our take written by Nature Awed

Solon Woods is a 130-acre mature hardwood forest in Cuyahoga County with big bur, red, white and swamp white oaks, beech and tuliptree, and vernal pools where spring peepers and wood frogs breed.

ODNR describes spring wildflowers such as yellow trout lily and bloodroot and birding through the year. The City of Solon owns it and the Division manages it; visitors park at the end of Russell Drive, and there are no restrooms.

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

Spanning across 130 acres, Solon Woods State Nature Preserve is renowned for its mature mixed hardwood forest with large specimens of bur, red, white and swamp white oaks and beech and tuliptree. Amongst the old-growth forest are several vernal pools that provide important breeding habitat for frogs and salamanders. Spring peepers and wood frogs are abundant at this preserve.
ODNR: Solon Woods State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14
Despite its location in an urban landscape the preserve remains a sanctuary for wildlife. An excellent birding location offering a variety of bird species throughout the year. In spring, the forest floor comes alive with a beautiful carpet of spring wildflowers such as yellow trout lily, wild geranium, cut-leaved toothwort, spring beauty, bloodroot and squirrel-corn.
ODNR: Solon Woods State Nature Preserve · our check found this text on October 14

Visiting

ODNR's visitor notes
  • Open 1/2 hour before sunrise, 1/2 after sunset, 365 days a year.
  • Stay on designated trails at all times.
  • Pets are not permitted.
  • No restrooms present.
  • Park at end of Russell Drive near entrance sign.
  • Solon Woods is owned by the City of Solon and managed by Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves.
ODNR: Solon Woods 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.

In ODNR's preserve guide

Our table of the guide's row for Solon Woods (Cuyahoga County). The row as printed is quoted below.
Address34227 Russell Dr, Solon, 44139
Trails (miles)1.25
Visitor informationLimited parking
The guide's row
Solon Woods Cuyahoga 34227 Russell Dr Solon, 44139 1.25 Limited parking
ODNR: Ohio State Nature Preserves & Natural Areas Guide (PDF) · our check found this text on October 14

Access permit

Solon 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
Solon Woods State Nature PreserveCUYAHOGADedicated Nature Preserve129.79Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Our calculations from those features, re-computed at each check.
Mapped acres129.79 (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 land41.3521, -81.4280 (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: Solon 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.