Parking is at 41 39.968, 83 46.962
The cache is located along the Meadow Trail near Walnut Grove. You will find the cache across the path from a vernal pond.
Vernal ponds (also called ephemeral, temporary, or seasonal ponds, pools, or wetlands) are areas that do not contain water year-round. Instead, these areas fill with water seasonally, usually with the onset of spring (vernal) or fall rains, and then dry up in the late summer. Vernal ponds are one of the most critical amphibian habitats. Many predators of amphibians live in permanent bodies of water, including fish, invertabrate predators, and even other amphibians, such as American Bullfrogs and Northern Green Frogs. Many of Ohio's amphibian species rely on the relative safety that temporary pools offer for egg-laying and the development of their larvae.
The contrasts of tall timber, rolling, sandy hills and wet lowlands make Secor an interesting Metropark to explore. The towering tulip trees and northwest Ohio's largest concentration of dogwoods bloom in spring, when wildflowers blanket the moist forest floor.
A focal point at Secor for people and wildlife alike is a pond stained brown by the tannic acid in the oak leaves that drop into it each fall. In spring, the pond is covered by duckweed, which shades the water, keeping it cool. The trunks of many of the trees in Secor's swamp forest widen at the base, an adaptation called buttressing that gives the trees added support in the wet, unstable soil.
Wolfinger Cemetery, located inside the park, is the burial site of many of Richfield Township's earliest settlers.
The National Center for Nature Photography, opened in spring 2003 inside Secor, displays the works of some of the country's best-known nature photographers. The one-of-a-kind center is open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays, Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July. Admission is free. Workshops offer opportunities for field experience with nature photographers and naturalists.
Placed by a member of:
Click here for Metroparks information: Toledo Metroparks
Click here for a Secor Metropark Trail map: Secor Metropark Trail Map