Lorain County Metroparks Steel Mill Trail Extension in Lorain, OH

noreply@blogger.com (WhyRentARoom.com) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:09:00 +0000

Hi ! I'm Sadie Lou's Momma!
Today we're going to share a Travelin' Tail with you from our hometown.

At the north end of the 3.5 mile Bridgeway Trail in the Black River Reservation, you will find the Days Dam picnic area. It is located in Lorain on East 31st Street, near the Sheffield Village border. At this end of the trail, you will find 2 scenic loop trails. One trail takes you around what is believed to be the oldest and largest tree in Lorain County. The other is the Waterfall Trail. Both trails offer beautiful scenery and are well worth the hike off the beaten path.

This year, the Lorain County Metroparks opened the 2 mile Steel Mill Trail Extension, which connects to the Bridgeway Trail at Days Dam and goes north through the slag fields and along steel mill property to SR611. The extension ends at SR611 across from the First Student bus company. There is no designated parking area at the north end of this trail yet.
I've read so many different articles and opinions on this trail, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Some people thought there was too much 'green', others thought there wasn't enough, and so on. We finally got a nice day and decided to go down and check it out. Besides, we needed to get back on our walking schedule with the Busters.

Here's the entrance to the Steel Mill Trail:
Even though the crosswalk is clearly marked, we still recommend activating the crosswalk signal. Don't expect people to stop for you just because you are in the crosswalk. Push the button, the traffic in both directions gets a red light, and you can cross safely.

The first portion of the trail is flat and winds through some woods. The first thing we noticed was a 'steel mill smell'. Even though I've lived north of the mill for most of my life, I don't recall this being one of the common 'smells' that the steel mill gives off. However, this trail does skirt along the edge of the steel mill property and it takes you closer to the mill than most people have ever been before. It wasn't an awful unbearable 'smell' and it doesn't last long, so please don't let that deter you from checking out the trail.
Then, up ahead, you see the fence rise on both sides of the trail and meet over your head as the train bridges loom above. This part of the trail is downhill. And yes, I did say that I wasn't walking down that hill because I didn't want to walk back up. Let me tell you - the walk back up that hill wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Always be on the lookout for people on bicycles on this trail and especially here, as this portion of the trail is totally fenced in. There's ample room to share the trail, but there's no place to jump out of the way of a runaway biker at the last minute.

Here's a picture of that section as taken from the bottom of the hill heading south:

Here are the new (on the left) and old (on the right) train bridges that you will pass under on this portion of the trail:
At the top of the picture you can kinda see the canopy that goes over the trail at this point. It was a little wetter and muddier here than we had anticipated for a paved trail. The mosquitoes were abundant and hungry in this area.

Going down the hill and around the curve brought us to a large bridge spanning the Black River.

Here's a view of the bridge from the north side of it.

From the bridge, looking south, we get a view of the train bridges that we had just passed under.

From the bridge, looking north, a view of the Black River.
Now that's what we came down here for! We were hoping that Mother Nature had some hidden treasures in store for us back here in the slag field wasteland and this was a good start.
I imagine that this is a view similar to what some of the first settlers in this area saw when they arrived. Absolutely beautiful!

You can also kinda see the steel mill from here, but you'll get a much better view of it from the north side of the bridge.

Did you know about the mountain range?
I'll bet you didn't - since we don't really have mountains here.
The huge piles of slag just look like mountains.

Just to the north of the 'mountains' on the same side of the trail, we spied this:

Upon closer inspection, we discovered it was a wildlife oasis:

I know we went looking for hidden treasures, but I never expected to see something like this.
Alas, it was on the other side of a fence and marked private property/no trespassing, so we weren't able to get any closer. I never imagined something so beautiful and pristine could exist in the barren landscape of the slag fields.

We went a little further past this point and came upon another bridge. At this point, we turned back because it was getting late and the mosquitoes were swarming. We will go back another time and walk the complete trail and I will be sure to bring you that update. We are also looking forward to the different things we will get to see along the way as the seasons change. I have a feeling that the fall colors are going to be absolutely amazing along this trail.

We encourage you to take some time out of your busy day and go take a hike!
There are plenty of other trails in the Lorain County Metroparks system if you don't think this one is for you.

A great walk and a good night's sleep were had by all!

noreply@blogger.com (Vacation Pets) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Woof! Welcome to Travelin’ Tails! I’m Sadie Lou and I’ll lead the way.
I’m here to let you in on everything your pet wants you to know about travelling with them.

Let’s start out easy with the basics of local travel, like going for a r-i-d-e to the p-a-r-k.
Or ‘arr to the pee’, as it’s called at my house.

First, it's time to put my collar on! I like the jingle-jangle sound that the tags on my collar make! My person always checks the fit to make sure that they can put 2 fingers between my neck and collar . The collar carries my official license to be a dog, my proof of rabies vaccination tag, and my ID tag with my name, address & phone number on it. It is important to keep all of that information current just in case you get away from me. I gotta be able to find my way back home somehow! I also wear a training collar that is used only when we go for a walk.

Next, my person gets my cold water bottle from the fridge and grabs the leash. Then we head for the car. I like to ride up front in the passenger seat. I always enjoy it when the window is open. It’s open just enough for me to stick my nose in the opening. That’s way safer than hanging my whole head out the window just to get a good snoot full of where we are. If I had my whole head out there, something could fly up off the road, hit me in the head, eyes, or ears, and hurt me bad. Then I’d have to go to Doctor Mark’s house and that’s a whole other kind of adventure.

Moving along…

When we arrive at the park, my person makes sure to attach the leash to my collar before I get out of the car. Most of the parks we go to require me to keep my person on a leash at all times.

It’s for their own safety, you know.

My person always carries the necessary supplies to clean up after me when we are in public. Many parks now provide waste collection bags just in case you forgot to bring some from home.

It’s just good manners for you to clean up after your dog. I don’t wanna step in that stuff and neither does my person! Besides, who wants to go to a dirty park? That’s no fun!

I make sure that my person knows the rules of the park and obeys them at all times. I’m a good dog like that. We always check out the park maps and pick the best routes.

I always enjoy a cool refreshing beverage after a walk. Lucky for me, my person remembered to grab my water bottle! Bringing water from home or buying bottled water is always best. Public water that I've never had before might upset my tummy. Here's the kind of water bottle that I use.

Before I know it, it’s time to get back in the car to go home. My person opens the door so I can get in and pretend I’m driving the car for just a moment. The leash and training collar are removed. I lay down in my favorite seat and sleep all the way home, dreaming of the adventures to come.

Travelin' Tails

Lorain County Metroparks Steel Mill Trail Extension in Lorain, OH