Oldest trees at The West Woods?

How old are the oldest trees in the West Woods Park?

Since most of the land that makes up The West Woods was used for farming up until the early 20th century, many of the trees you’ll encounter there are less than a century old.

Snow on a stand of young trees at The West Woods.

However, there are a few ancient trees that have survived for much longer than that; some were alive long before Ohio became a state in 1803!

Many of these large, old trees are found along the course of Silver Creek, on land that was either too steep or too soggy to be cleared for other uses.

1930s aerial photo of The West Woods area shows mostly farmland, with forest preserved along Silver Creek.

These giants include red oak, sycamore, and a tulip tree that is one of the largest recorded tulip trees in the state!

Naturalist John Kolar is dwarfed by a large tulip tree at The West Woods.

It’s difficult to determine the exact age of these trees without cutting them, but based on their size, we can estimate their ages at between 250 and 300 years old. Those are some notable trees!

Naturalist Linda Gilbert stands within a hole in a large oak tree at The West Woods.

-Naturalist Chris Mentrek