Dull Woods

Park Features

Boardwalk

In 2006 Five Rivers MetroParks constructed a boardwalk into the woods to allow visitors to enjoy it while protecting the fragile environment. The boardwalk winds through the old woods and past a massive Shumard Oak. Only entrance to the boardwalk is from Wolf Creek Trail.

Wolf Creek Trail

In western Montgomery County where Dull Woods lies, the Wolf Creek Trail follows an historic rail corridor, making a beeline for Brookville and Verona. As you head towards Brookville, you’ll pass farms with cows, horses, sheep, and llamas in the pastures. Springtime brings lots of babies. Early morning may find a deer or fox sharing the bikeway with you. Wildflowers line the path and provide a variety of color.

Ralph’s Oak

This massive Shumard Oak tree (Quercus shumardii) is the 4th largest tree in the MetroParks system, at 350 points. Named after Ralph Dull, a well-known conservationist and farmer who leased the woods to MetroParks in 2003, who recognized the value of this beautiful natural area and was willing to share this small piece of the local heritage with the public. The Oak is visible from the boardwalk.

Click to Explore

There is a portable toilet in the Wolf Creek Trail parking lot at Route 40 (8199 Cole St.)

Dull Woods in easiest to get to by bike. Boardwalk access is just off the Wolf Creek Trail, ½ mile from southeast of the parking lot between Dodson Pike and Number 9 Road.

This little 8-acre gem is one of the only remnants of the swampy forests that once covered northwest Montgomery County.

Heavy clay soils and flat land made for very slow drainage of rainwater. Trees that thrived in these wet conditions such as Pin Oak, Swamp White Oak, Bur Oak, and American Beech grew to immense size. Pools of standing water in the forest provided homes for many frogs, salamanders, waterfowl, and other wildlife as well as hordes of mosquitoes. Springtime revealed a carpet of wildflowers and an abundance of native plants.

The advent of drain tile and efficient ditching made it possible to convert the ancient swamp forests to agriculture. This was mostly accomplished in the mid and late 1800’s and today most of northwest Montgomery County is considered prime farmland.

Fortunately for local residents at least one fragment of the ancient forest remains at Dull Woods.

Invasive honeysuckle thrives on the edges of the adjacent Wolf Creek Rail Trail bikeway. Yet, if you pass into this little woods and there is hardly a stem of honeysuckle to be found. Despite MetroParks having never done any invasive management there, it has remained virtually honeysuckle free all by itself. Because of its pristine nature, having never been heavily grazed, and only selectively logged, the soils are still loose and uncompacted. They retain their original component of organic matter. The trees and high diversity of native plants form a complex and tight net of interconnected roots that are a barrier to invasive plants like honeysuckle.

A boardwalk there winds through the old woods and past a massive Shumard Oak.

Dull Woods features old-growth trees including a massive Shumard Oak tree (Quercus shumardii), the 4th largest tree in the MetroParks system, at 350 points. White Oak, Swamp White Oak, Bur Oak and Pin Oak are also present.

Outstanding wildflowers can be found in the woodland including Jack in the pulpit, fragile fern, violets, Dutchman’s breech, trout lily, spring beauty, and drooping and sessile trillium.

Outstanding wildflowers and a large diversity of trees and shrubs can be found in this little island of forest. It features a high diversity of native plants and remarkable lack of the invasive species plaguing much of the other natural spaces in the region.