Goll Woods is a 321-acre state nature preserve, owned and managed by the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It is perhaps the finest remaining example of an old-growth forest in Ohio, with some oak trees as old as 400 years and up to 4 feet in diameter. There is also an excellent display of spring wildflowers.

Visiting Goll Woods gives visitors a sense of what the primeval pre-settlement woods that cloaked the Great Black Swamp region of Ohio must have been like.

Open all year during daylight hours.

Entrance is on east side of TR-26 about .25 mile south of CR-F. Location is about 3 miles west of OH-66, in German Township.

Winter
Red-headed Woodpeckers, Barred and Great Horned owls, and Eastern Screech-Owl, winter finches in irruption years.
Spring
Good numbers and diversity of neotropical migrants.
Summer
Interesting and regionally significant breeders.
Fall
Good numbers and diversity of neotropical migrants.

Goll Woods is the least disturbed woodland known to remain in extreme northwestern Ohio. This preserve features some of the largest trees remaining in the state.

• Old-growth woods reminiscent of the Great Black Swamp
• Excellent spring wildflowers
• Trail system is present.

Goll Woods exemplifies the “Black Swamp” forest which once covered a vast area of the flat post-glacial lake plains southwest of Lake Erie. An outstanding feature of this woods is the abundance of giant bur oaks and exceptionally large white oaks, chinquapin oaks, and cottonwoods. Many of these magnificent trees are 200-400 years old and measure 4 feet in diameter. A rich variety of native shrubs and wildflowers occur in the woods including spotted coralroot and three-birds-orchid. The preserve is best visited in the spring before mosquitoes emerge.

Located in Fulton County 1.5 miles north of Archbold, then 3 miles west on Township Road F, and 0.25 miles south on Township Road 26 to the parking lot. A trail system is present.

From Archbold in Fulton County, go north on OH-66 for 1.5 miles to Township Road F, go west for 3 miles to the junction with Township Road 26, go south about 0.25 miles to the preserve parking lot located on the east side of the road.

Goll Woods Trails
There is an excellent trail system through the preserve, which is easily accessed from the main parking area. As the woods is in a heavily agricultural area, both spring and fall migration can be excellent for a wide variety of passerines, to which the woods stands out like a beacon among all the barren fields. Noteworthy breeding birds include Barred Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker (year-round), Scarlet Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Cottonwood Trail – 1.5 miles
Bur Oak Trail – 1 mile
Tuliptree Trail – 1.25 miles
Toadshade Trail – 1.5 miles