Everything you need to know before you hike:
You are Entering a Highly Protected Nature & Historical Preserve. Please remember that no disturbing of the archaeological record or collecting of artifacts of any kind is permitted on this important cultural site. Regarding the site’s natural history, regulations exist to protect natural communities from the impact of public visitors. Please follow them to leave Junction Earthworks as beautiful as you found it. Remain on trails at all times, walking in single file to protect bulbs of native wildflowers bordering the trail. Do not disturb, pick or collect flowers, plants, rocks, or wildlife. Hunting, caving, fishing, trail biking, rock climbing, wading, campfires, and swimming are prohibited. Click here for a list of full regulations.
Dogs are permitted at Junction Earthowrks. A dog owner’s guide to hiking Arc Trails.
Directions. 1143 Township Hwy 377, Chillicothe, OH 45601. From US 50 in Chillicothe, (also known as Western Avenue and Main Street), in a densely developed retail district on the west side of the city, turn onto Plyleys Lane - look for a Kentucky Fried Chicken and CVS Pharmacy at the intersection. Follow Plyleys Lane until you come to a stop sign. Turn left at the stop sign on Belleview Avenue. Junction is a few hundred feet down Belleview on your right and is well signed. Turn right into the parking lot.
Interpretive Kiosk. An interpretive kiosk is situated at the trailhead. We encourage you to take a picture of the trail map with your phone before heading out on the trails.
Junction Earthworks hiking trails are open from sunrise to sunset. Please note parking lots are not winter maintained and the trails are not safe to hike during periods of heavy rain, ice, and snow. Trails are closed during our annual Deer Management Hunt which takes place on 1) the Monday through Sunday following Thanksgiving, and 2) the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas.
Open Hours. Junction Earthworks Preserve is free and open to the public 365 days a year from 9 a.m. to sunset.
Hiking Trails’ Difficulty - Moderate. The hiking trails are relatively easy with only an ascent on the Star Brook trail. To access Steel Earthworks trails you will need to traverse along the road. Please be cautious while walking the road – not recommended with families with children.
Junction Earthworks Four Trails:
Earthworks Trail - 0.5-mile loop begins at the trailhead parking lot and takes visitors on a tour through the field containing the nine earthworks that compose Junction Earthworks. Because many years of agricultural plowing and activities have dimmed the features of these 2,000-year-old structures, the earthworks are selectively mowed to reveal their ancient locations to our modern eyes.
Tippecanoe Darter Trail - 1.7-mile loop originates from the Earthworks Trail and transverses a 70-acre restored grassland prairie on what was not so long ago a crop field covered with soybeans and corn. We encourage you to bring binoculars and keep your ears alert for grassland bird songs and native bumblebees. After traversing the prairie, the trail crosses through a narrow easement, descends over an ancient steep river terrace, and enters the floodplain woods. This riverine forest is rich in silver maple, cottonwood, and black walnut; and is filled with orioles, vireos, tanagers, and warblers. Two trail spurs lead to Paint Creek, providing scenic river vistas along two cobblestone “beaches.”
Star Brook Trail - 1.2-mile loop leads into the bluff forest that overlooks Junction’s earthworks and prairie. Common trees in the bluff forest include shagbark hickory, white oak, red oak, and hackberry.
Connector Trail - 1 mile loop that originates on Plyley’s Lane and follows an old, now wooded railroad corridor to the Steel Earthworks Prairie trail. From the Junction Earthworks parking lot, turn left and walk down Belleview Road and straight onto Plyley’s Lane. Just before you reach the farm field on the right, there is an opening in the brush with a silver gate and the mowed corridor. Go around the gate, and walk the mile-long railroad corridor until you get to the trailhead. Please be cautious while walking the road – not recommended with families with children. Feel free to bike down the corridor, but park your bikes before entering the Steel Earthworks Prairie Loop.
Steel Earthworks Prairie - 2-mile loop trail leads from the end of the Connector Trail out to the circle mound, traverses a second planted prairie with a spur to the North Fork of Paint Creek, and then loops back to where you started.