At more than 1,600 acres, The Nature Conservancy’s Morgan Swamp Preserve is one of the largest privately protected forested wetlands in Ohio. The swamp is home to an abundance of wetlands including swamps, bogs, beaver ponds, and vernal pools. A rich diversity of plants and animals call it home, from the beautiful white calla lily to the tiny four-toed salamander hidden among the vernal pools.

Morgan Swamp Preserve is part of a greater wetland system called the Grand River Lowlands, which got its start some 12,000 years ago when portions of northeastern Ohio’s Ashtabula and Trumball counties were occupied by a large glacial lake. This glacial lake deposited a thick layer of silt and clay ranging in depth from 5 to 50 feet. Watertight, these clay soils resulted in the formation of the swamp forest, marsh, sphagnum bogs, and sedge meadows that exist in the area today.

These wetlands are critical to the health of the state-designated “Wild and Scenic” Grand River, an important tributary to Lake Erie, which is a source of drinking water for millions of people

Visitors to Morgan Swamp Preserve can explore more than three miles of walking trails:

Long Pond Trail at Morgan Swamp Preserve
Length: 1.25 miles (0.25 miles trail from parking lot to observation deck, 1-mile primitive trail extension to and from observation deck)
Difficulty: Parking lot to the observation deck—easy.
Primitive trail extension—moderate.

There is a description and map of a hike on the Long Pond Trail on the AllTrails website.

Grand River Conservation Campus Trails at Morgan Swamp Preserve
Bliss Pond Trail: an easy 0.2-mile trail with overlooks of the Grand River and the Conservation Campus.
Grand River Trail: an easy 0.3-mile trail along the Grand River that connects with the Hemlock Swamp & Bliss Pond trails.
Hemlock Swamp Trail: a moderate, 1-mile trail that starts from the Grand River Trail, winds through a unique hemlock yellow birch forest, and overlooks a beaver pond.