Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve

Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve

Tick Ridge-Koenig Hill Road Otway, Ohio 45657

Official Website
Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve map

About this Location

The Arc of Appalachia founded the first preserve for the Golden Stars in 2005 with a 67-acre refuge just outside the small town of Otway, Ohio. An early spring wildflower, the Golden Star Lily faces nearly upward and bears yellow anthers instead of chocolate brown like its more familiar cousin, the Common Trout Lily.

Directions: From the Appalachian Highway, OH-32, just east of Peebles, turn south on OH-73 12.2 miles through Rarden to the little town of Otway, Ohio. In the middle of Otway, turn right or south on OH-348 for 1.1 miles. Turn left on Rocky Fork Road for just .2 miles, and then turn left on Tick Ridge-Koenig Road for another .2 miles. Just after you cross over the Rocky Fork Bridge, the gravel trailhead parking lot will be on your left. It is signed. Please note that Tick Ridge-Koenig Road is semi-circular and has two entrances on Rocky Fork Road. Coming out of Otway, be sure to make the first turn.

Notable Trails

Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve Trails
There are two trails at the Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve.

The Yellow Buckeye Trail is a 1-mile loop, difficult. This trail winds its way up a steep hillside via several switchbacks. The elevation gain and the extremely rocky terrain may be challenging. The base of the sheltered moist hillside is rich in Yellow Buckeyes and wildflowers, including the Golden Star Lily; and is carpeted with lush mosses and tall ferns. Here black birch, a relatively uncommon tree in Ohio, grows abundantly. The higher elevations boast oak and hickory trees over 200 years old, the trees bearing impressive girths.

The White Walnut Trail is a 1.25-mile loop, moderate. This trail traverses Rocky Fork’s floodplain, a tributary of Scioto Brush Creek. Wildflowers are extremely rich on this trail, the Golden Star Lily being among them. White Walnut, or Butternut, has declined in our forests due to disease but still grows in small numbers along the Rocky Fork. Look for its pied black & white bark. Watch your footing on the rock-strewn portions of this trail.

A description with maps of a hike at the Gladys Riley Golden Star Lily Preserve is on the AllTrails website.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

Content from Official Website