Last updated: May 18, 2023

I was really happy to find out that Hueston Woods State Park was only 30 minutes from me. It requires crossing the state line into Ohio, but I didn’t mind as the almost 3,000 acre park has over 9ish miles of hiking trails spread out over 8 specific trials that I’m going to conquer this winter.

How the did the Park get here?

In 1797, Matthew Hueston bought land for a farm in Butler and Preble counties. He left a remnant of the woods standing for his descendants.

When the last of the Huestons died in the 1930s, Morris Taylor, a conservationist, purchased the woods and held it in trust, while Cloyd Acton, a Preble County legislator, influenced the state legislature to buy the land in 1941. Hueston Woods was designated a state forest, and in 1945, money was appropriated to buy additional land.

For 12 years, the park was used as a prison camp and in the summer of 1956, an earthen dam was completed across Four Mile Creek, creating Acton Lake. Hueston Woods became a state park in 1957. The old-growth forest was added to the National Registry of National Landmarks in 1967, and became a state nature preserve in 1973.

The Nature Center

When I got there today, I went into what looked like the visitor center to get a map and was surprised to find that it was actually a nature center that included not only the maps, but a Raptor Rehabilitation Program. On average, 50 injured birds of prey are accepted into the program a year. Nearly 50% of the birds are released back into the wild.

The permanent residents include a Bald Eagle, a Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, several Red-tailed Hawks, Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, and Turkey Vultures. I had never seen a bald eagle up close and was really fascinated by this! They even had a replica of a bald eagle nest which way bigger than you’d think… I could curl up inside of it!

Since I was only supposed to be running in to get maps while Kris waited in the car with the dogs, I only snapped a few photos before heading back out to do what we went there to do; HIKE! I will be back to this state park and explore this nature center more closely. They offer all sorts of programs and I plan to join a few (like the night owl hunt!).

The eight hikes located within the park that I plan to tackle are listed below. The links you see indicate I’ve completed the hike and there is a blog post out there telling you all it.

Sycamore Trail – 0.7 mile loop

Cedar Falls Trail – 0.8 mile loop

Cabin Trail – 1.3 miles loop

Mud Lick Trail – 2.2 miles loop

Indian Mound Trail – 1.2 miles

Equisetum Trail – 1.0 miles loop

Gallion Run Trail – 0.7 mile

Hedge Apple Trail – 0.8 mile loop

These aren’t long but in total about 9 miles. I haven’t ever hiked all hiking trails within a state park before so I’m excited to do this! Happy trails to me!