KIRTLAND, Ohio -- Two of my favorite hikes in Northeast Ohio have ties to the Holden Arboretum. However, both Stebbins Gulch and Little Mountain are tracts not directly connected to the arboretum's main Lake County property.

Stebbins Gulch is at its wintry best with icicles hanging from the cliffs as you hike in the stream and climb frozen waterfalls. Little Mountain mixes history with some very impressive outcroppings, ledges, sheer cliffs and mysterious crevices.

The arboretum offers guided hikes to both locations throughout the year. Reservations are required.

But there's a lot to see and explore at the 77-year-old arboretum itself, home to about 120,000 individual plants. It got 120,000 visitors in 2007, an all-time record attendance.

Holden covers about 3,500 acres with forests, ponds and gardens and has more than 20 miles of hiking trails. About 800 acres are dedicated to gardens and collections. Holden has more than 5,800 types of plants and it specializes in woody plants from as far away as China and Korea that thrive in Northeast Ohio.

Its special gardens include the Myrtle S. Holden Wildflower Garden, which covers five acres with nearly 30 habitats. It includes rare Ohio plant species, too. Holden has stellar collections of crab apples, lilacs, viburnums and conifers. The rest of Holden remains stunningly natural and wild.

Two first-rate spots to explore are Pierson Creek and Bole Woods. The Pierson Creek Trail is an easy walk of 1.9 miles. You are in a moist, heavily wooded valley filled with wildflowers and ferns. There are 174 wooden steps that lead down to pretty Pierson Creek, which drops 120 feet per mile. It is an ever-changing environment, with erosion along the stream, especially at high water, and landslides.

Water, heading to the East Branch of the Chagrin River, has carved gullies and steep ravines that run into Pierson Creek. The Pierson Creek Trail loops back, or you can hop onto the Old Valley Trail. It is the longest Holden trail at 2.8 miles and leads back to secluded corners of the arboretum property at its western edge. It connects with the 1.5-mile Woodland Trail that brings you back to civilization.

The Molly Offcut Boardwalk off the Woodland Trail offers a look at a small wetland area along Pierson Creek. The boardwalk, with 60 species of ferns and wildflowers, is at its colorful best in late April and early May.

You can also hop on a short 0.75-mile loop trail that will take you to Strong Acres meadow, filled with swallows, bluebirds, bobolinks and meadow larks. There is also a distinctive barn at the far end of the meadow.

Pierson Creek Valley covers 570 acres.

The trails are well-signed and it's almost impossible to get lost. Maps are also available.

There is a 1.5-mile loop to Bole Woods, a mature beech-maple forest. It is a National Natural Landmark and is east of the arboretum's visitor center. The trail runs east and north through the heart of the old-growth forest that covers 92 acres. The path can be a soupy mess in the early spring. Wildflowers abound in the spring.

Holden Arboretum was established in 1931 by Albert F. Holden, president of the Island Creek Coal Co. and managing director of the American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Co. Holden was familiar with the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University and initially intended to leave his money to the university as a tribute to his daughter, Elizabeth, who died in 1908 at the age of 12. His sister, Roberta Holden Bole, persuaded Holden to look at Northeast Ohio as a home for his tribute.

When Holden died in 1913 at the age of 46, the money was set aside. A site in the Cleveland suburb of Bratenahl and later one at Cleveland's Lake View cemetery were both considered. In 1931, Roberta Holden Bole and her husband, Benjamin, donated a 100-acre site in Lake County. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History helped manage the property.

Everything revolves around the Warren H. Corning Visitor Center. It is the hub for the arboretum's trails and the area around it tends to be the most crowded.

Holden is also popular with birders. You can see four state-endangered species and 13 species of "special interest." It has been deemed an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. Fifteen-acre Corning Lake is the largest body of water at the Holden Arboretum. There are also 25 ponds. Holden hosts maple syrup-making operations in March. The Sugarbush Trail extends into the Warren Bicknell Jr. Sugarbush, where visitors can see how the syrup is collected and processed.

March is maple-syrup season; April is magnolias; April and May are spring wildflowers; May is hawthorns, lilacs and crab apples; June and July are rhodendrons; late May and early June are viburnums; July and August are prairies; and October and November are fall color.

Holden is a place where you can spend an hour or two or most of a day.

Hike the 1-mile Display Garden Trail. There is a wildlife observation tower next to Buttonbush Bog and close to Blueberry Pond.

There are big, old trees -- including a 275-year-old red oak and a 375-year-old white oak -- along the Helen S. Layer Rhododendron Garden Trail.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday from Nov. 1 through March 31.

From April 1 through Oct. 31, the arboretum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for senior citizens (free on Tuesdays), and $3 for children 6 through 12. Children 5 and under are free. Dogs and cats on leashes permitted.

Holden is east of Cleveland and about 75 minutes from downtown Akron. Take state Route 8 north to Interstate 271 to Interstate 90 east toward Erie, Pa. Exit at the Mentor-Kirtland exit (state Route 306). Turn right on Route 306. Go to the bottom of the hill and turn left on Kirtland-Chardon Road. Proceed south for 3.6 miles to Sperry Road. Turn left and proceed 1.4 miles to Holden Arboretum.

For information, contact the Holden Arboretum at 9500 Sperry Road, Kirtland 44094, 440-946-4400, http://www.holden arb.org.

For Lake County travel information, contact the Lake County Visitors Bureau, 35300 Vine St., Suite A, Eastlake, Ohio 44095; 800-368-5253. The Internet site is http://www.lakevisit.com.