Explore A Little-Known Arboretum In This Small Ohio Country Town
By Sarah McCosham|Published October 24, 2023
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Sarah McCosham
Author
I write like it's my job - because it is! I have a Master's in English and love words: crossword puzzles, Scrabble games, Wordle, and, of course, good, old-fashioned books.
I'm a writer and editor at OnlyInYourState, and a contributing writer at Cincinnati Magazine. I love the Great Outdoors and am endlessly awestruck by this beautiful country of ours. Coffee keeps me going, yoga keeps me sane, my kids keep me grounded, and my writing keeps me inspired.
There’s something so wonderful about trees. Solid and grounding, trees remind us of the bigger picture and offer endless beauty and inspiration. Ohio is full of forests — boasting more old-growth forests than any other state, in fact — and also arboretums. These tree-filled gardens are humbly beautiful and offer a gentler counterpart to a day spent hiking in the woods. While Holden Arboretum and Cox Arboretum are some of the best-known arboretums in Ohio, the Buckeye State boasts several smaller places where trees take center stage. The Zoar Wetland Arboretum is one such hidden treasure.
Zoar is a teeny, tiny little village in east-central Ohio that's a bastion of Old World charm and architecture. It was founded in 1817 by German Separatists seeking sanctuary from religious persecution.
Today, the village is well-known for its history and culture, attracting visitors from across Ohio and beyond who come to appreciate and admire this picturesque slice of the Old World in the Midwest.
It's not just art and architecture that folks admire, either -- Zoar is in a naturally beautiful region of Ohio and has its very own arboretum, a hidden gem many people don't know about!
The Zoar Wetland Arboretum is an 82-acre nature park that encapsulates 50 acres of woodlands, two miles of walking trails, and a 30-acre shallow water marsh.
The site serves as trail link between the Historic Village of Zoar and the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, its wetlands and forested trails maintained by dedicated volunteers.
The arboretum is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating biomes in the Buckeye State. Water and forests come together in beautiful synchrony at Zoar Wetland Arboretum, which is vividly verdant in the spring...
...and shockingly vibrant in the height of fall foliage! While the wetlands often steal the spotlight from the trees, this arboretum is teeming with native species as well as ornamental trees planted by the town's early settlers.
This unlikely oasis also boasts a unique relic from the past -- the picnic shelter sits on the site of what was the original Zoar Brewery, an establishment that dates back to the 1830s.
There's something truly transformative about immersing oneself in nature, weaving through water and woodlands, through forests and gardens. At Zoar Wetland Arboretum, all are invited to come, wander, and wonder at this glorious hidden gem!
Have you been to the Zoar Wetland Arboretum before? Did you know about this little-known arboretum in Ohio? What a fascinating place to explore and admire nature, especially along the titular Zoar Wetland Trail.
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