Quail Hollow State Park Stark County Hiking Trail Pictures

Quail Hollow State Park Quail Hollow has over 19 miles of trails ideal for hiking, jogging, nature study or cross-country skiing. Eight interpretive nature trails explore the unique natural habitats for which each is named. There is also a five-mile, day-use bridle trail and four-mile mountain bike trail (for a review of the trail, link to the Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association). The Nature For All trail is a 2000 ft. paved interpretive trail for those visitors with a physical challenge. Interpretive audio tapes and brochures are available at the visitors center as well as along the trail. Scenic woodland trails, gardens and the house offer a variety of natural and cultural experiences for visitors.

For All Quail Hollow State Park Hiking Trail Pictures In Order Click Here

At the park's visitor center, a certified Backyard Habitat site attracts a variety of wildlife and may be viewed year-round from inside the visitor center. One-way glass allows visitors an up-close look at animals while a hidden microphone brings birdsong indoors. A short walk from the visitor center is the 9,000-sq-ft. herb garden with more than 300 culinary, medicinal and scented herb plants.

The rolling fields, stately woodlands and moist wetlands of Quail Hollow are evidence of the effects of glaciation which occurred over 12,000 years ago. Glaciers have had a profound effect on the drainage system, topography and soil/mineral composition of the area. Natural lakes are a feature of the glaciated landscape. These bodies of water were formed when large pieces of ice broke off the glacier and melted in depressions forming these kettle lakes. Most are small, old and more properly classified as bogs or marshes. Nearby Congress Lake is one of Ohio's natural lakes.

Quail Hollow's habitat diversity allows for an abundance of plant and wildlife populations. Poison sumac and other unique plants grow in the sphagnum peat bog. A tall-grass prairie supports blazing star , sneezeweed and other prairie plants.other prairie plants. The woodland swamp is home to spring peepers, chorus and green frogs while the deciduous and coniferous forests provide shelter for the red fox, raccoon, white-tailed deer and wild turkey.

The turn of the 19th century witnessed the coming of frontiersmen to northeastern Ohio. Although the land was still wilderness, the American Indians were already being forced westward. Tribes native to what is now Stark County, principally the Delawares, were virtually gone by 1810.

One of the earliest settlers to enter the region was Conrad Brumbaugh. His first home on the new property was built around 1820 on land that was to become the park Acquisition of the Brumbaugh homestead and other properties, ultimately totaling 720 acres, was begun in 1914 by Harry Bartlett Stewart. The Stewart's original tract, adjacent to the Brumbaugh homestead, was called the Minnie Taylor Farm after Harry Stewart's wife.

The small farm house on the Minnie Taylor Farm was built in 1838. During the first few years the Stewards owned it, the home was used mainly on weekends during the autumn hunting season. By 1929, additions to the farm house and construction of its two neighboring structures were completed and the home became the permanent residence of the Stewart family. The main house, the adjacent servant's cottage and the garage appeared as they do today, reflecting strong Greek Revival and Federal architectural influences.

The Stewart's son, Harry Bartlett Stewart, Jr. and his wife Catherine moved into the manor in 1937. Mr. Stewart, like his father, was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad.

The Stewart family resided in their home until 1975 when they offered the acreage and building to the state for one-half the appraised valuation. The U.S. Department of Interior provided funds for the state to acquire Quail Hollow State Park. On May 15, 1975, Quail Hollow came under the administration and management of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation.