Natural Ohio Adventures

Support

Hello! My name is Jacob Teed, and for two years now I have been developing this website with the hopes of creating something that helps people explore every nook and cranny of Ohio. Although I received over 120,000 visitors last year, I broke even by only $15. I would like to take this website to the next level and make it as extensive as possible, but I'm going to need your help to get there! If you appreciate and use this resource, please give what's below a read and if you're feeling really generous, become a Patron to our cause on our Patreon Account for $1 a month. However, I can't force you to do anything, and if you prefer not to donate, then all I can ask of you is that you enjoy my website, and maybe find a few new places to explore in the process!

Almost all of my life I've lived in Ohio. Growing up in Columbus I was lucky enough to live within walking distance of Highbanks Metro Park. I spent of majority of my summer days here, exploring the park's ravines, woods, and towering river bluffs. As a freshman in high school my family moved to Northeast Ohio, and I fell in love with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the surrounding Cleveland and Summit Metro Parks. Because of all of this, I've come to love and appreciate Ohio more than I ever thought was possible.

I've always felt people are so unnecessarily negative towards Ohio, especially the people who actually live here! It's been obvious to me that people don't appreciate this state the way I do, and I wanted to create something to show everyone how beautiful Ohio can be if you know where to look. So in the summer of 2014, me and my friend Patrick Stepanek did just that by creating the Natural Ohio Instagram Page, an account devoted to sharing the natural beauty of Ohio and developing a community of Ohio explorers. The page grew surprisingly quickly, and as of today has over 50,000 followers. From here the community has grown into states all across the United States, and now has over 400,000 followers among several dozen accounts. I wanted to expand the community beyond Instagram, so in 2015 I released what today I consider my proudest accomplishment: NaturalOhioAdventures.com. The site's main purpose is a resource for Ohio (and Indiana) residents to use to help them find waterfalls, overlooks, and trails that often can't be found anywhere else. Over the past two years I've been researching and adding to the site, and I now have over 240 different locations for people to discover. There's nothing in the world I love more than exploring with nothing more than a terrain map, and getting to discover natural locations as an almost job has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. However, although the site received over 120,000 visitors last year, I broke even by only $15. The cost of gas to drive to far out new locations, monthly website builder and domain fees, and getting my website on google adds up quickly, and I just can't feasibly pour much money into something that makes $1.25 a month.

There's so much left of Ohio to be added to my site, and I can't do it alone. Through enough patrons, I can begin hiring local hikers (such as yourself) to discover and report new locations to me. Additionally, with every additional supporter I can begin the process of eliminating ads from the site, which, trust me, I hate just as much as you probably do. I've never been in this for money, if I was I would've given up on this website I long time ago. I think there's nothing more important in the world than a strong connection with nature and the outdoors, and this website is helping grow that mentality to Ohio.  If you use and enjoy what I created and would like to see it improve, then there's nothing I'd appreciate more than you becoming a patron on our Patreon Account for $1 a month. However, I can't force you to do anything, and if you prefer not to donate, then all I can ask of you is that you enjoy my website, and maybe find a few new places to explore in the process!
Thank you and happy exploring!

​Jacob Teed

Because Ohio has much more to discover than what meets the eye