Mentor Marsh

One of the largest natural marshes remaining along the Lake Erie shoreline, Mentor Marsh became Ohio’s first state nature preserve in 1971.

The marsh is an important breeding and nursery area for several fish that live in Lake Erie. Mentor Marsh and the adjacent Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve are among the best places in the state to witness spring migrations of songbirds. Great numbers of waterfowl, such as blue-winged teal, American wigeon, gadwall, American black duck, northern shoveler, and hooded merganser, also stop at the marsh during seasonal migrations. 

Hours & Directions

Mentor Marsh trails are free and open year-round, dawn to dusk. The Carol H. Sweet Nature Center is open to the public on Sundays, noon to 5pm, from April through October. From November through March, the Nature Center is open 11am to 4pm on the first Sunday of the month. Special nature programs and guided hikes are offered at 2pm every Sunday the Nature Center is open. Hikes are free with registration.

The Nature Center is located at 5185 Corduroy Road, Mentor.

From Cleveland, take Ohio Route 2 east and exit at Ohio Route 44. Go north on Route 44 about a half-mile to the Ohio Route 283 overpass (Lakeshore Boulevard). Go west on Lakeshore to Corduroy Road. A right onto Corduroy will take you to the Nature Center. To reach the northern portion of Mentor Marsh, take Ohio Route 44 north to Headlands Road. Turn left (west) on Headlands. You will see signs for the Zimmerman Trail to the south.

History & Restoration

Mentor Marsh has been a National Park Service–designated National Natural Landmark since 1966 for being one of the most species-rich sites on the Great Lakes shoreline. In 1971, Mentor Marsh was dedicated as the first State Nature Preserve in Ohio. It is also a National Audubon Society Important Birding Area.

This unique wetland suffered dramatically in the late 1960s when salt-mine tailings were dumped into Blackbrook Creek, a tributary of the marsh. By the early 1970s, most of the swamp-forest trees and marsh plants had died. The site was overtaken by reed grass (Phragmites australis), a 15-foot-tall non-native invasive plant. Phragmites grew densely within the nearly 4-mile-long marsh basin, with plants sprouting just two inches apart.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History began a large-scale restoration of Mentor Marsh in 2015. Under the guidance of Museum restoration ecologists, Phragmites plants were sprayed via helicopter and drones, with ground-based follow-up treatments. Phragmites was also physically mashed to allow native plants to grow.

The results so far have been heartening. More than 180 native plant species are sprouting throughout the marsh, and rare marsh birds—American and least bitterns; Virginia, king, and sora rails; common gallinules; and Wilson's snipe—are now nesting. (To listen to vocalizations of Mentor Marsh birds, visit the BirdNET-Pi webpage.) Fish such as female northern pike are returning to spawn where they themselves were born, and yellow perch fingerlings are starting to use the marsh as a nursery. Otters, beavers, wading birds, waterfowl, and shorebird migrants are utilizing the restored marsh as stopover habitat to rest and refuel.

To accelerate desired ground cover, staff, contractors, partners, and volunteers have as of 2024 planted more than 320,000 plants—from live stakes, plugs, pots, flats, and bare root—with 23 species native to the marsh. As part of the campaign, funds were raised to permanently protect 216 additional acres within the marsh.

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve is a stop on the Lake Erie Birding Trail. 

Read more about the story of Mentor Marsh on the Museum's blog.

This video recounts the marsh's history and describes the restoration project.

Upcoming Mentor Marsh Events