Everything you need to know before you hike:
Plum Run’s biological beauty peaks during the following seasonal showcases:
1) Early to mid-April when dense spring wildflowers carpet the woodlands bordering Plum Run’s stream. 2) Mid-May when the sunny meadows are filled with showy displays of downy wood-mint and hairy beards-tongue penstemon, and rimmed with yellow sundrops. The rare Henslow’s sparrow sings vigorously in the open prairie, while barn swallows swoop and crest over the growing grasses. Watch for returning orchard orioles, indigo buntings, and blue grosbeaks defending their breeding territories. 3) Early August when the prairie flowers are at their peak. Blazing stars burst into bloom, including the impressive prairie dock, its base of large coarse leaves bearing towers of 6 to 8-foot stems of yellow sunflowers. 4) October when stiff gentian, its flowers with subdued blue-violet hues, lights up the sea of bleached-brown prairie grasses waving in the gales of autumn.
You are Entering a Highly Protected Nature Preserve. Regulations exist to protect natural communities from the impact of public visitors. Please follow them to leave Plum Run Prairie 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 not permitted at Plum Run. A dog owner’s guide to hiking Arc Trails.
Directions: Mendenhall Rd, Peebles, OH 45660
Directions from Peebles: From Peebles, travel 2.0 miles south on OH-41 South to US-32 – the Appalachian Highway. Turn left or east on US-32 for 2 miles. You will pass by the first exit, Steam Furnace Road, and take the second exit, which will be labeled as Mendenhall Road. Turn right or south at this exit and follow Mendenhall Road for .4 Miles. The parking lot is on the second property to your left, past the pond. You will see a gravel drive, a trailhead parking lot, and an entrance sign.
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.
Plum Run 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 Hunts which take place on 1) the Monday through Sunday following Thanksgiving, and 2) the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas
.Hiking Trails’ Difficulty - Easy.
Plum Run’s Two Trails:
The Allegheny Mound Trail’s - 1.3-mile loop winds through various mosaics of prairie communities. The impressive dwellings of the Allegheny mound builder ants can be seen along the trail.
The Plum Run Loop - 1.1 mile traverses a woodlands community with a distinct prairie influence, following along Plum Run’s pretty little stream. This rich woodland forest is covered with twinleaf and hepatica in the spring, alongside other wildflowers, and is particularly beautiful to hike in early April.