Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve

Yesterday I headed back out to the Sinking Spring section of the Buckeye Trail. When I drove the section earlier I was pretty worn out and ready to head home when I finally reached the Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve.  Now that spring has arrived, at last, to my part of the state I thought this would be the ideal time to explore this unique area and hopefully I would time it just right to see the spring ephemerals in bloom.

Heading out 32 AKA the Appalachian Highways is a fine way to start the trip. The farther east you go, the fewer and fewer chain restaurants, car dealerships and gas station there are to muddle the view of the farm land and early glimpses of the Appalachian countryside. Since I will have to do a lot of driving from here on out just to reach the start of the next section I want to explore, I will say I am pleased when the drive to the new starting point starts with the Appalachian Highway rather than a major interstate.

Like snapping your fingers, as soon as I dropped off the highway and onto Stream Furnace Road I was back in my element. Where else can you see a crumbling old farmhouse with a small plane parked in the front lawn?  The road to the memorial, my destination for day, was narrow, windy and quiet.  Ahhh heaven!

Many of the roads I have driven thus far have been gravel and terribly rutted. Not the case for here. The gravel was fresh, level and had few potholes. Even when I headed east on Beaver Pond Road after my short hike in the memorial I was on well-maintained gravel roads. The drive along Beaver Pond Road is very pretty. There I saw deer, ravens, some turkeys and heard countless birds even over the crunching of gravel under my tires. When you drive this road be ready to go slow and enjoy the view.

Davis Memorial was just starting to break into its spring show yesterday. Luckily, I am familiar with many woodland flowers and could picture what it would look like along the trail when the iris were in bloom.

I had the 88 acre nature preserve to myself. It was a spectacular day, many of the flowers were in bloom and it was refreshing to take in the peace and tranquility of the area, especially after being cooped up a bit the last few weeks with an illness. The preserve is isolated, on a gravel road, next to a massive quarry (which you cannot see from the road or reserve). With that said, some of you may not want to hike here alone. You know your comfort level.

The Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve offers visitors a walk along a stream (sometimes on boardwalk) gorgeous rock outcroppings and a fine selection of woodland plants with some being quite rare. The geographical significance of the area is hinted at as you walk about. I would love to explore the area with a knowledge guide who could bring the meaning, the stories behind the rock outcropping and formations to life.

I know a bit about wildflower and here is what I was able to see along my walk: Virginia Blue Bells, Trilliums, Trout Lilies, ferns, hepaticas, violets iris, Sessile bellwort, cut leaf toothwort, bluettes,  sullicvantia, rues and coral-bells.

This is a very easy area to hike and I encourage you to get out and walk the short trails when you are in the area; it is a nice way launch or wrap up your exploration of the Sinking Spring section.