Places to Visit

• The 1,536-acre Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area consists of seasonally flooded moist soil meadows and some bottomland hardwoods. Parking and wetland access is available just SE of the hamlet of Funk, where the Observation Tower is located. 19 species have been identified. A new property to the north, on Angling Road, has not yet been explored. No facilities.

• Most of the 5,700 acre Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area is located in Wayne County. 36 species have been identified. The ODNR map shows designated parking areas, but the township roads are lightly travelled, and there are many places where the water can be accessed by parking on the berm. Be aware that the area between Force Road (P5 & P19 on the map) and Coshocton CR 1 (P22) is a wildlife Refuge area and is closed to the public (hatchmarked on map). The Wildlife Area is unimproved, with few trails and no facilities. Holmesville (Holmes) on SR 83 has a convenience store/gas station, and the county seat, Wooster, has many restaurants and stores.

• Browns Lake Bog Preserve. This 100-acre preserve has several unique habitats, including a bog with floating sphagnum moss mat and a 7-acre kettle lake. 18 species have been identified, here, including Sedge Sprite. Spaghnum Sprite is the most commonly seen species. No facilities.

• Shreve Lake Wildlife Area. Reopened in Aug 2025 after a major renovation of the dam, parking, and boat launch, this 228 acre area includes a 58-acre lake. 20 species have been observed. No facilities.

• The recently opened William J Robertson Nature Preserve is a 210 acre reclaimed industrial area in Rittman, in the NE corner of the county featuring multiple ponds. 29 species have been observed. Restrooms and picnic pavilion.

County Observation Activity

This graph shows the total number of odonata observations for the county in blue, with the average for all Ohio counties in orange. The season is divided into 10 or 11 day segments by Month – basically early-month, mid-month, and late-month.