Description
The Grand River Conservation Campus has been shaped by the generations of people who have lived and worked here—from early settlers who farmed the land, to a private hunting retreat in the early 1900s, to a religious retreat for Jewish and, later, Christian communities.
Today, as part of The Nature Conservancy’s Morgan Swamp Preserve, the Grand River Conservation Campus remains a place where people can enjoy nature through numerous passive recreation opportunities, all within a beautiful backdrop of unique habitats, rare plants and abundant wildlife. In fact, a hemlock yellow-birch forest community, one of the rarest swamp forest communities in Ohio, still thrives on the Campus grounds.
The Campus offers a number of amenities that are open to the public, including the Dr. James K. Bissell Nature Center, nature trails, an accessible fishing pier at Bliss Pond, a canoe/kayak launch on the State Designated Wild & Scenic Grand River and a children’s playground. There is also a pavilion for picnicking and a gymnasium that can be rented out for athletic activities and other events. Click the Visit tab on this page for facilities rental information or check out our schedule of 2024 Bissell Nature Center programs.
