Burnet Woods: A Forest in the City

Dear George,

My siblings and I grew up in the 1940’s and 50’s in the forest along the Menominee River, and the impact of that experience extended into our adult lives. We were the first family to move out to Riverside Boulevard, a mile and a half out of town. The original old one-lane road, parallel to Riverside and by then overgrown with shrubs and fallen tree trunks, cut through our family property. It ran from Riverside Cemetery at its east end to Mason Park to the west. My brother Steve and I used the old road for bicycle expeditions through the woods. We gathered birch bark for writing letters, poked sticks into anthills, collected leaves to press, released milkweed seeds into the wind, climbed tall oak trees, and generally made the forest our personal world of adventures. In the woods behind our house I built a full-fledged camp with a lean-to hut, a a stone-lined fire pit, a table constructed from alder branches, and all the accoutrements necessary for pursuing a wilderness existence. Years later, when my parents moved to Birch Creek, the forest there was of great importance too. My dad had bought 240 acres of woods and farmland as part of the property, and he planted thousands of trees and carved out trails to faraway places like Jennifer Lake. He regarded the property as his private fiefdom and introduced his grandchildren from infancy on to its many wonders.

By the time that Katja and I moved to Cincinnati in the late 1960’s, we were confirmed urbanites. We lived first in a new townhouse complex at the city’s northern edge, then in an apartment in Clifton, and moved a few years later to our present house a couple of blocks away. We’ve always enjoyed city living and have been happy with our choice. Cincinnati has the special advantage of an excellent park system – Mt. Airy Forest, Eden Park, Ault Park, Winton Woods, and one of the gems of the system – the 89-acre Burnet Woods in Clifton. Its northeast corner is just a few blocks from our house on Ludlow Avenue. The forest land for the park was purchased by the city in 1872; a lake was added in 1875 and a bandstand in 1911. In J’s childhood we took frequent hikes in the woods, usually with our Bedlington Terrier, Winston. Once you enter the interior of the Burnet Woods you’re surrounded by untamed forest, and you lose all sense, visually or auditorily, of being surrounded by a city. The trails run for a full mile from the edge of our Ludlow Avenue business district at the north end to the University of Cincinnati campus at the south. For decades I walked through the forest on my way to and from the office. It offered a peaceful place for mental preparation for the workday and a cooling down period at its end. Now I bring the sheepdogs to the park, and they enjoy roaming on the hiking trails. Sometimes I bring some plastic bags and pick up litter along the way. Last week I trimmed away the overgrown shrubs and weeds to clear sections of the trail. I imagine myself to be one of the collective owners of Burnet Woods, and being there gives me a sense of well-being.

Here are a few photos of the trails I take on my way to and from the UC campus. It’s easy to imagine oneself in the wilds of northern Michigan. (Even though I know I’m really not.)

Love,

Dave

G-Mail Comments

-Jennifer M (7-16): I love these pictures.

-Donna D (7-11): david, you make it sound so wonderful that everyone who reads your blog is going to want to go there! are you ready for all those people?