The Ridges and River Valley Nature Trails

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Features Birding · Fall Colors · Spring · Wildflowers · Wildlife

This trail traverses old fields and makes its way to what is officially the highest point in Athens, Radar Hill. Both Radar Hill and the path leading up to it have beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and the city of Athens. The varied terrain of the fields and the forest gives the potential to see several varieties of plant and animal life. It also connects to a couple of smaller trails which can be easily incorporated into your hike if you would like to extend it.

There are no facilities on the land for hikers (there are some university buildings down the road). There are no parking fees or passes required for this lot. No bicycles are allowed on the path.

This trail is a well-maintained path leading up to Radar Hill, officially the highest point in Athens. It then goes down into a small forested valley before making its way back through the trees to the tops of the ridges. A little over half of the trail is exposed to the sun and allows for beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and eventually of Athens itself.

The first part of the trail is made of a mixture of gravel and the crushed pieces of old university buildings which were torn down. There are also some alternate routes you can take on this section of the trail to extend your hike by following the paths of cut grass which connect to the trail at two points. When you reach a fork in the gravel path, turn left to hike up Radar Hill for a view of the city of Athens.

Once you descend Radar Hill, you'll find yourself on the River Valley Nature Trail / Radar Hill Connector trail, which is a short segment composed of cut grass until you reach the forest. Once you enter the forest you'll be on the River Valley Nature Trail, which is a singletrack packed dirt trail until you get back to the ridges. There are some roots and rocks to navigate around, but nothing really difficult. It is important to note that this section of the trail can be extremely slippery if it has rained a day or two before your hike. On this section of the path you'll come across a parking area which is connected to OH-682 (Whites Mill Road) which has some information on this section of the trail and some of its history.

Finally, you'll follow the Ridges / River Valley Nature Trail Connector back to the ridges trail. Here the trail is once more made of gravel and becomes a doubletrack trail. You'll follow this path until you meet up with the fork leading to Radar Hill. Turn left to go back to the parking lot.

As you travel along this trail, don't be surprised to see cameras or other equipment being used to study the wildlife in the area, as this plot of land is a land lab for the students of Ohio University as well as a hiking path.

Tall grasses, wildflowers, buckeye trees, oaks, walnut trees, and coniferous trees line the path. Some wildlife which are commonly seen are bees, butterflies, dragonflies, squirrels, and birds.

The 700 acres of land this trail is on was first owned by the Athens Asylum, where its tenants tended to the fields, orchards, and the cattle that resided there. The land was then bought by Ohio University, and the hiking path was created by the intermediate class of 1998/99 as a service project. The work of creating the trail was completed almost entirely by the students and took a year and a half of work to complete. The land and trail is still maintained by Ohio University and is used as a land lab by students to study the local flora and fauna.