Prairie & Wetland Plants in Bloom

Theme: Prairie & Wetland Plants in Bloom

Location: Miami Whitewater Forest, Shaker Trace

Date: Saturday, July 25, 2026

Meet: At 9:00 A.M. in the Baughman Road Parking Lot. See directions below.

Trip Leader: Tom Borgman, (513) 473-7696, treeborg2@gmail.com

The focus of this trip will be on the prairie & wetland plant communities at the Shaker Trace. Many of the prairie wildflowers will be in bloom, blanketing the grassland in spectacular color. In 1992, the then Great Parks of Hamilton County began a native prairie and wetland restoration project of several hundred acres at Miami Whitewater Forest.  The project has been a great success and today over 500 acres of a native grassland and wetland community is preserved. Often referred to as the Miami Whitewater wetlands, the entire complex is officially named Shaker Trace and represents the largest wetland/grassland complex in Hamilton County. Late summer is a great time to see these prairie plants in bloom in a stunning array of colors.

Identifying all of these plants can be a challenge. But our trip leader, Tom Borgman, is more than qualified in that regard. Tom is retired from the Great Parks of Hamilton County where he worked for many years as a naturalist. Many of those years were spent working on the Shaker Trace project. Tom is a skilled botanist and overall great naturalist and is a past board member of our Audubon Society Chapter. Tom’s wife, Penny Borgman, also retired from years of service with Great Parks and is a current ASO board member.

Tom plans to take a leisurely morning walk exploring the Shaker Trace complex with lots of stops to look at and identify plants, especially the prairie blooms. This is also a great time of year for butterflies. Breeding birds will still be around as well. Sedge Wrens are a distinct possibility. The south bound fall migration of wading birds and shorebirds will also have begun by this date and Tom will point out all of these and any other wildlife we encounter.

This trip will end around noon. This walk will cover about 2 miles, but the walking will be slow and level and some of it along the bike-hike trail. However, as we walk along the marsh, we may encounter high grass or damp spots, so wear appropriate footwear. We can expect late July to be hot, so to make your trip more comfortable, we suggest bringing water, sun screen, insect repellant and wearing a hat. Bring your binoculars if you have them.

Also bring any questions you have about natural areas management and come prepared to enjoy a morning with friends among the grasses and flowering plants of these extensive prairie and wetland habitats. Restrooms are available in other areas of the park, but there are none at Shaker Trace. A Great Parks Motor Vehicle Permit is required ($5 daily, $10 annual resident and $8 daily and $16 annual non-resident). Feel free to contact Tom if you have any questions.

Directions: Take I-74 west to the Dry Fork Road exit # 3. Turn right onto Dry Fork Road (north) and go 2.2 miles to New Haven Road. Bear right (east) onto New Haven Road and go .8 mile to Oxford Road. Turn left onto Oxford Road and then immediately left again onto Baughman Road. Go .7 mile and look for the parking lot on the right side (north) of the road just after passing the Bike/Hike Trail crosswalk.

For a Park map and other information visit the Miami Whitewater Forest website at:

https://www.greatparks.org/parks/miami-whitewater-forest

(Contributed by Jay Stenger)