Outside of Dayton, you can find a number of waterfalls. None of them are particularly tall or large, but they’re still interesting nonetheless. One place you can find a number of smaller waterfalls is Glen Helen Nature Preserve. The preserve is found in the town of Yellow Springs, which gets its name from one of the waterfalls in the preserve.

From the parking area off of Corry Street, the trail is relatively straightforward to find. It initially leads you downhill toward Birch Creek. Once you reach that creek (which might be the 2nd one you meet), you can either cross that river over a rock bridge, or you can take a left and head uphill. The Cascades mentioned here are found by taking the left uphill. Keep walking for a way until you reach the falls, which are difficult to miss.

That being said, the trail system is surprisingly complex and isn’t marked as well as it really should be. Finding the Cascades was easy, but after that, it was very easy to get lost. Some of the trails lead to dead ends or private property, and you don’t know until you end up at that point! I’m not sure what trail we used to get back to the parking lot.

Directions:

1. Head into the town of Yellow Springs. (There are a number of ways to enter, so I’ll let you figure that part out.)
2. From the downtown area, head south on Corry Street.
3. Turn left in the parking area, which is found at 405 Corry Street.
4. At the parking area, pay the entrance fee. Then start heading along the main trail, which will head downhill.
5. After reaching the low point of the trail, head left uphill toward The Cascades. It may help to have this map, since the trail system can be confusing.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 10′
Length of Hike: ~ 1 mile round-trip

The Cascades in mid-August 2015

Where in the World is The Cascades at Glen Helen?