The Mad River Gorge & Nature Preserve is one of Clark County's newest parks and a rock-climber's paradise, hosting more than 40 routes on dolomite cliffs rising as high as 50-ft on both the North and South banks of the Mad River just outside of Springfield, and is the largest outdoor rock-climbing site in Ohio. Climbers refer to the park affectionately as "The Mad". The 78-acre park's Grand Opening was held on May 21st, 2017, but not until after a massive cleanup was started several years earlier. The site, previously unaccessable to the public from land due to being surrounded by private property, became accessible a few years ago when the county acquired the land formerly occupied by a trailer court on the South side. The county also recently completed the purchase of an additional 48 acres on the north side. Although the park itself is still primitive, planned improvements include trail building/improvements, picnic tables, and a bridge crossing to access the North side. Also in the works is a plan to connect the park via bike trail into Springfield proper.
However, decades of illegal trash dumping over the cliff created a daunting and ongoing cleanup task and although many volunteers have dedicated numerous hours, there is still much cleanup to be done to completely reclaim the area. That's where we can help.
When: The event will take place Saturday Oct 20th starting at 9:30am.
Directions:
The address is: 2710 Dayton-Springfield Road, Springfield, Ohio. There is now a paved parking lot just off the highway, and Parking coordinates are included as a waypoint.
From Dayton area take I-675 to Exit 24 (Enon). Turn on Dayton-Springfield Rd Northeast (toward Enon), and travel for about 8.5 miles and the park entrance will be on your left side.
Event: We will meet at the kiosk at the posted coordinates at 9:30 and will receive an orientation from the parks volunteer lead for the longstanding overall restoration project. This will be the only formal part of the event. Typically there are dozens of buckets staged there for park-goers and volunteers to take down into the gorge and pick up trash/glass etc. We will also have heavy-duty trash bags you can carry around with you. We'll see what other materials we can get.
What to bring/wear: Long pants, work/hiking boots and workgloves are highly recommended. Also you will need to bring your own water and/or snacks. There is at least one porta-potty on-site as well. As I mentioned above, it is still a primitive site.
Project: There is a specific site (N39 54.887, W83 51.255) we are targeting for cleanup that is quite dense with broken glass, and is the location I will be spending most of my time. Work gloves that resist sharp objects and workboots are a MUST for that project if you wish to join in. Otherwise feel free to roam and explore the park.
Note on Terrain Rating: It varies through out the park. The project location and most of the trails are probably best rated at 2d, but other locations are going to be higher, depending on season and mother nature.
Finally: Several caches throughout the park are scheduled to be published a little later that morning, if not, then coordinates will be provided to you at the park. FTFs will be acknowledged as group finds only, so no rush to get to them after publication.
This is my first CITO event, feel free to offer suggestions and items that will help make it more successful!
