Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Nature and history are intertwined, often subtly but significantly. Sometimes they collide in a most unlikely and extreme event that reverberates over centuries.
Thousands of visitors enjoy the inspiring beauty of Clifton Gorge located east of Dayton. It’s safe to say no one has experienced it quite like Cornelius Darnell.
Darnell was a young frontiersman captured by Shawnee warriors while on a hunting expedition led by Daniel Boone in 1778. Darnell managed to escape his captors and fled northward until he found his path blocked by what we now call Clifton Gorge. The gorge was and is deep and narrow, a geologic limestone-walled wonder created by the torrents of glacial meltwaters of what is today the beautiful Little Miami River.
There was no way to easily get across the 60-foot-deep gorge and the Shawnee were in close pursuit. It’s unlikely Darnell had much time to take in the extraordinary beauty of the gorge as he weighed his options, which were basically limited to being recaptured or defying death by attempting to leap the chasm, a distance of 20 to 40 feet. He chose leap.
He didn’t make it. But, so the story goes, he managed to grab some branches on the other side of the gorge and clamber up to safety.
Today the spot is known as Darnell’s Leap and, while it’s a great place to pause and contemplate the dramatic event of almost 250 years ago, today there are much safer and better options for getting around and into the gorge. The Leap is along a still-wild, two-mile stretch of the Little Miami protected in the Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, just below another example of nature and history coming together.
Clifton Mill is a historic water-powered grain mill located immediately above the preserve, drawing its milling power from the Little Miami River cascading over a waterwheel or through a turbine and into the gorge. The original Clifton Mills structure was built in 1802. Today’s structure, which replaces two mills destroyed by fire, was built in 1869.
Below the mill is where the really special stuff begins. The entire three-mile length of the gorge is protected, first in the Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, then John Bryan State Park, and, finally, Antioch College’s Glen Helen Preserve, where the gorge finally loses its rocky ramparts and turns into a beautiful forested valley.
Trails open the entire gorge for exploration, both from the clifftops and in the gorge at river level. Sometimes the terrain is rough. Wear good boots and leave the stroller in the car. Be especially cautious when winter brings snow and ice to the trails.
Through the gorge the Little Miami River more than earns its scenic designation as it drops about 130 feet, roaring and foaming through swirls and cascades, tumbling through boulder strewn rapids and over waterfalls. It’s arguably the closest thing to a mountain stream to be found in Ohio.
Every season is special. The gorge is noted for its spring wildflowers and birding. Summer is beautifully refreshing. Fall is stunning with young forest glowing on the rims and giant old-growth tulip poplars and oaks showing off in the gorge. It’s a winter wonderland when snows decorate the hemlocks while icicles adorn the rock faces.
It’s a spectacle whatever time of year you pick, with the bonus of many other attractions nearby to complete an extended adventure. For more information on the gorge, start with a visit to OhioDNR.com. For regional information start with GreeneCounty.org.
And then for the holiday season, there’s the mill and all those thousands of really great lights. For more information visit CliftonMill.com/Christmas-Lights/.
