Slate Run Metro Park--Bobolink Grassland Trail

Slate Run Metro Park--Bobolink Grassland Trail

Canal Winchester, Ohio 43110

Slate Run Metro Park Official Website
Slate Run Metro Park map

About this Location

The Bobolink Grassland Trail is a 1.5-mile (3 miles including return) easy hike on grass. The trail winds through grassland and leads to an observation deck overlooking the wetlands.

The Bobolink Grassland Trail can be accessed from the Kokomo Wetland Trail or the Sugar Maple Trail. Park at the wetland lot for the former option and either at the Living Historical Farm or the Buzzard’s Roost Area for the latter. Binoculars will work for the observation deck, but a scope is better.

About Slate Run Metro Park

See all hotspots at Slate Run Metro Park

Slate Run Metro Park isn’t resting on slate rock; settlers mistook the dark soil for 350-million-year-old slate. It’s actually shale, a soft rock made from clay deposited by water about 350 million years ago. Slate Run features a variety of habitats ranging from the open areas of grasslands, wetlands, and meadows to the forested areas of beech, oak, hickory, and sugar maple. Red-winged blackbirds, meadowlarks, indigo bunting, belted kingfishers, and numerous other birds and wildlife can be seen at the 156-acre wetlands. More than 70 species of birds have been spotted there.

The park features Slate Run Living Historical Farm where visitors can learn about and help with chores on a working 1880s farm. About 12 miles of trails wind through the fields, forests, ravines, and grasslands. Visitors will cross a restored 1800s-covered bridge on one of the trails.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

Content from Slate Run Metro Park Official Website and Ohio Ornithological Society