Gatsby was a fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, but in the early 1920s, wealthy New Yorkers did build summer homes on the north shore of Long Island — an area that became known as the Gold Coast.

F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald lived on Long Island for a time, and he became fascinated with Beacon Towers, a huge Feudal castle that stood on a bluff overlooking Long Island Sound in Sands Point. This was believed to be the model for Gatsby’s home in The Great Gatsby, but it was demolished during World War II.

At one time, there were more than 600 mansions on the Gold Coast. Today most of them are gone, but a few of the remaining mansions are open to the public, and some even offer overnight accommodations so you can live like Gatsby — if only for a weekend.

Glen Cove Mansion

Book a “Roaring ’20s Decadent Bed and Breakfast Package” at the Glen Cove Mansion, and champagne and chocolate truffles will be waiting in your room, while 1920s-style drinks await at the pool. You can enjoy a private screening of The Great Gatsby (the 1974 version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow) in your room, and the next morning enjoy breakfast on the patio.

Glen Cove Mansion was once the home of attorney John T. Pratt and his wife, Ruth Baker Pratt, the first Republican congresswoman from the state of New York. Guests are greeted with the same warm tradition set forth by the Pratt family.

In 1967, Glen Cove Mansion became one of the first conference-center hotels in the United States. Since then, the mansion has received many awards and been a setting for motion pictures. It also hosts weddings and social events.

Designed by architect Charles Adams Plat in 1910, the brick Georgian mansion is in the Dosoria Park area of the Gold Coast. Guests enter via a two-story portico and are greeted by a double staircase, imported paneling and antique fixtures.

Guests enjoy the family’s original swimming pool, tennis courts and surrounding gardens on the 55-acre estate. In addition to the “Roaring ’20s,” other special packages are available. For reservations call 866-850-9521 or visit www.glencovemansion.com.

Old Westbury Gardens

Old Westbury Gardens provides a quiet escape, with 200 acres of elbow room in otherwise crowded Nassau County. The grounds are essentially a big, beautiful backyard where the landscape is faithfully preserved, acknowledged by gardening experts as one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.

Old Westbury Gardens is the former home of John S. Phipps, his wife, Margarita Grace Phipps, and their four children. Westbury House was built in 1906 by English designer George A. Crawford and features English furnishings, hand-painted wallpaper, silver chandeliers and busts designed by Josiah Wedgewood.

Concerts and other events take place throughout the summer, and yoga, tai chi, photography and painting classes are held in the garden. Old Westbury Gardens is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Tuesday, May through October, and weekends in April and November.

For a schedule of events call 516-333-0048 or visit www.oldwestburygardens.org.

Oheka Castle

Don your best ’20s attire to attend the Gatsby Garden Party held each year at Oheka Castle. This year the party takes place on June 12, and will celebrate 30 years of Gary Melius’ ownership of the historical home.

Oheka was built in 1919 by Otto Hermann Kahn, a financier, philanthropist and patron of the arts who used the French-style chateau as his summer home. It is the second-largest home in the U.S.; only the Biltmore in North Carolina is larger. Kahn’s lavish parties drew heads of state and celebrities including Enrico Caruso and Charlie Chaplin.

After Kahn’s death in 1934, the home fell into disrepair until Melius bought it and spent more than $30 million to restore it to its former glory, the largest restoration in American history.

Today, Oheka Castle is the setting for weddings, corporate retreats, parties, meetings and receptions. It probably looks familiar since many photos, films and TV shows have been shot there, including Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Royal Pains on USA Network.

Tours of the mansion are available as well as overnight stays. There’s a Gatsby Suite that was seen in the movie What Happens in Vegas. Rooms overlook the vast gardens with Long Island Sound in the distance.

To book a Great Gatsby experience, call 631-659-1400 or visit www.oheka.com.

Planting Fields

The Planting Fields State Park and Arboretum is located in Oyster Bay, where rolling lawns, formal gardens and woodland paths are reminiscent of the Gatsby era. Coe Hall, the mansion on the 400-acre estate, was built for William and Mai Coe, designed in the style of an Elizabethan country home, but with a hidden bar in William Coe’s study, used during Prohibition.

The 400-acre Planting Fields Arboretum contains 1920s-era greenhouses that feature extensive collections of hibiscus, orchids, and camellias, as well as seasonal flowers in raised beds. The Camellia Greenhouse has the largest collection of camellias in the Northeast. Flowers and plants in the gardens are interspersed with reflecting pools and bridges.

William Coe favored dahlias because of their bold texture and rich colors. In 2011, a breast cancer awareness bed of pink dahlias surrounded by pink petunias was added to the gardens.

Coe sold the estate to the state of New York in 1949 for $1 so that it would be preserved and enjoyed by visitors. Tours run May through October, and concerts and theatrical events are offered monthly. For more information call 516-922-9200 or visit www.plantingfields.org.

For more information on the Gold Coast Mansions, contact the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau at 877-386-6654, or visit www.historiclongisland.com.

Fowler Woods north of Mansfield in Richland County is losing its ash trees. And that’s having a big impact on the 187-acre preserve, known for the colorful spring wildflowers that blanket its wet, swampy woods.

A total of 277 dead ash trees have been counted at the preserve entrance along the wooden boardwalk, said spokesman Ryan Schroeder. About 60 have been cut down along the boardwalk that begins near the main parking lot of the preserve, which is about 60 miles southwest of Akron and north of Mansfield.

Some of the felled trees are small, 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Others are larger, up to 8 to 10 inches. They are unsightly, but also a safety hazard, Schroeder said.

Additional trees will likely be felled by state crews in the coming years. A rare species of ash at Fowler Woods has also likely been wiped out by the pest, an invasive beetle from China, he said.

Dead ash trees are especially brittle and that makes them a hazard, he said. Once dead, most will be toppled within five years. They are prone to come down in storms, and that creates a legal liability and concern for the state. The state crews will do their best to remove as much of the dead ash trees as they can.

What’s killing the ash trees is a growing problem: the emerald ash borer. It is a problem affecting other parks and preserves across northern Ohio, in varying degrees.

Emerald ash borers are shiny greenish-colored beetles from China. They are a half-inch long and one-eighth of an inch wide. They fly from May to September. The rest of the year, beetle larvae burrow under bark, killing ash trees in three to five years.

The beetle was discovered near Detroit in 2002, believed to have arrived in the United States in shipping crates from China. Today, it is found in Ohio, 17 other states and two provinces. It has killed an estimated tens of millions of ash trees. Its spread appears linked to firewood shipments.

No broadcast insecticides kill the pest, though sprays are available to save individual ash trees.

Ash trees are facing a massive die-off, similar to what happened to chestnuts starting in 1904 and elm trees starting in 1928. Ohio has about 3.8 billion ash trees; they represent about 10 percent of the trees in northern Ohio.

From 2003 to 2006, Ohio cut down and ground up every ash tree within a half-mile of infestations to prevent the spread of the borer. It was a costly step, and after federal funds were no longer available, the insect moved across the state.

Removing dead ash trees in Ohio could cost as much as $3 billion, $261 for every Ohioan, according to some estimates.

At Fowler Woods, the downed ash trees are surrounded by oak, hickory, beech and maple. More sunlight is reaching the forest floor in areas where the ash trees have been removed. Signs posted at the preserve’s kiosk advise visitors of the tree-cutting action. Most affected are the preserve’s lowlands of elm-ash forests.

About 80 acres of the preserve are wooded; the rest is old farm fields. The preserve features more than 212 species of wildflowers and ferns, 58 species of trees and shrubs and maple-beech trees that are up to 300 years old. It is generally acknowledged as one of the Top 10 wildflower spots in Ohio; they appear in waves from mid-April through May.

It is a quiet, unassuming place with no stunning vistas or overlooks. Visitors may encounter some heavy equipment noises from the adjoining landfill. The preserve features a 1.25-mile wooden boardwalk that enables visitors to view the wildflowers.

Noteworthy are the marsh marigolds, a golden-colored member of the buttercup family that thrives in low-lying wet glades. It is also known as the cowslip or king’s cup, according to an interpretive sign along the trail. The golden flowers line the vernal pools and wet seeps in the preserve. It is an eye-popping sight and the preserve’s biggest attraction.

Also blossoming in April are the hepatica and spring beauties in whites, pinks and purples.

Later in May, the forest floor will be blanketed in trilliums, violets, Dutchman’s-breeches, jack-in-the-pulpit, cohosh, meadow rue, swamp buttercup, Virginia waterleaf and phlox.

The trillium with its three white petals is Ohio’s state flower. It is a favored food of hungry white-tailed deer.

Other species include watercress, beechdrop, yellow watercrowfoot, golden and swamp saxifrages, dwarf ginseng and royal fern, in addition to squirrel corn, trout lily and yellow mandarin.

Among the trees are old-growth beech and maple trees that are up to three feet in diameter and more than 250 years old. The most unusual tree found in Fowler Woods is the balm-of-Gilead, a member of the poplar family.

The pumpkin ash with orange paddle-shaped fruit was once thought to be rare in Ohio. It was found at Fowler Woods and in 16 other Ohio counties. Those trees have probably been eradicated by the emerald ash borer, Schroeder said.

Some of the wooded areas will be covered with water most of the year. There are several large buttonbush swamps on the preserve. It is also known for its ferns.

It is home to plenty of frogs and salamanders. That includes the 13-inch-long tiger salamander and the four-toed salamander that is rare in Ohio. You are also likely to encounter noisy green, leopard, chorus and gray tree frogs plus spring peepers.

What is now the preserve was settled by John Dobbin in 1832. Chester and Hettie Fowler purchased the land in 1917, and lovingly protected a 50-acre block of land from timber harvesting. Their descendants repeatedly declined timber offers, even though the property reportedly would yield in excess of 1 million board feet of lumber.

The family sold the land to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in 1971. It became one of Ohio’s first state nature preserves in 1972.

For more information, contact the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, 614-265-6561, www.ohiodnr.gov; go to Recreation. For questions about the emerald ash borer, contact Schroeder at 419-445-1775.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

Here are 15 more Ohio state nature preserves and historical sites for spring wildflowers:

• Adams Lake Prairie, Adams County.

• Blackhand Gorge, Licking County.

• Caesar Creek Gorge, Warren County.

• Cedar Bog, Champaign County.

• Clifton Gorge, Greene County.

• Marie Desonier, Athens County.

• Eagle Creek, Portage County.

• Flint Ridge, Licking County.

• Gahanna Woods, Franklin County.

• Goll Woods, Fulton County.

• Howard Collier, Seneca County.

• Lake Katharine, Jackson County.

• Miller, Highland County.

• Augusta-Anne Olsen, Huron County.

• Rhododendron Cove, Fairfield County.

The vista of Yosemite Valley stunned me: a majestic waterfall, soaring granite, and a winding river flowing through an endless stretch of pine trees.

I smiled, feeling oddly vindicated by its Brigadoon-like appearance. Yosemite had been an unusual choice for a vacation; my husband and I usually opt for beach resorts when we want to escape Philly for a few days.

After such a long journey, Yosemite had already left us with an indelible image — and we hadn’t even checked into the lodge yet. In fact, we had barely gotten out of the car.

I had sold my skeptical spouse on the idea by calling it a beginner’s visit to a national park, a nature trip for city people — we’d do the same stuff we do at home, like walking and biking, only with different scenery.

I had been to Yosemite twice before in the early 1980s. Then, as a tween growing up in Los Angeles, I didn’t think it was all that special; it was just a forest a few hours away where everyone went camping. Big deal.

As an adult, Yosemite became simply the place in those ubiquitous Ansel Adams prints. But my interest was rekindled by recent family photos taken at the park, making me wonder if I should go back to see the gushing waterfalls, open meadows, towering rocks and rushing streams — and if it could be done without sleeping in a tent.

The answers were yes and yes.

We stayed at the centrally located Yosemite Lodge, which as park novices was probably the smartest thing we could have done. Not only did it have the comforts of home (Wi-Fi, cable and flat-screen TV, plus several on-site food options), we only had to walk about a city block for a spectacular view of Yosemite Falls.

An easy path led us to the bottom of the lower fall, which was impressive enough that we skipped the strenuous, hours-long hike to the top of the upper fall. We then took a short walk to get lunch in Yosemite Village, which features a museum, visitors center, gallery, post office, courthouse, deli and general store, not to mention great people-watching.

After lunch, we hopped on the park’s free shuttle to the start of the Mist Trail. The 1.5-mile round-trip hike to the bottom of Vernal Fall was more of a workout because it was partly uphill, but the view was worth it.

Still jet-lagged, we turned back without braving the additional 500 mist-drenched steps to the top. We shuttled back to the village for coffee and, at sunset, walked to a nearby meadow to take pictures of iconic Half Dome.

The next day, we drove to Merced Grove for a three-mile round-trip trek to see giant sequoias, trees that are taller (and certainly older) than some urban high-rises. We later got sprayed by the water at Bridalveil Fall — an easy walk from the designated parking lot — and took a quick drive up to a scenic overlook called Tunnel View.

On our last day, we rented bikes and rode out to Mirror Lake. I had remembered being enchanted by its reflective nature as a fifth-grader, but now … not so much. The lake has shrunk to pond size and is on its way to becoming a meadow. Still, the trail offered an impressive close-up of Half Dome, the park’s iconic granite summit, and bike riding on dedicated paths among tall pines and flowing waterways was priceless.

After enjoying all that beauty, I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Yose­mite is the third-most visited national park. Actually, I could have guessed as much considering the array of tourists we saw on the trails — women in yoga pants and running shoes, seasoned hikers with backpacks and walking sticks, children wearing sandals and grandparents in collared shirts and sweaters.

And the park’s popularity is why timing proves crucial. Summers at Yosemite are known for crowds and traffic jams, but the park seemed blessedly quiet during our mid-April trip.

That said, we had to book six months in advance for a room at the lodge, though there are other options both inside and outside the park. Also, some waterfalls, scenic overlooks and roads are seasonal; Yosemite Falls, for example, is fed by snowmelt and tends to run dry in early fall.

A note for travelers coming from afar: We drove in on Route 120, which is a twisting, unlit mountain road that I wouldn’t want to navigate at night. Consider an early flight or bookend the trip with overnight stays in San Francisco so that you can arrive at Yose­mite during daylight hours.

That will also help ensure you’ll enjoy the gorgeous views as you descend into the valley; there are plenty of vehicle turnouts, so keep your camera handy. The landscapes become even more breathtaking once you reach the valley floor, and a plethora of travel options — walking, shuttle bus, guided tour or bicycle — makes it impossible not to see something beautiful at every turn.

And, unlike Ansel Adams, you don’t have to worry about running out of film.

Yosemite National Park information can be found at www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm.

The 16,000-acre private preserve in southern Ohio is known for its beauty, its wildness and its biodiversity.

The preserve stretches 12 miles north from the Ohio River through Adams County on the east bank of Ohio Brush Creek and up to six miles east-to-west. It is home to the most rare and endangered plants in the state.

It gets surprisingly few visitors.

The preserve, known simply as The Edge, features woodlands, prairie openings, rocky outcroppings, giant promontories, clear streams, mountain coves, rocky hollows, cedar glades and waterfalls.

Its official name is the Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve. It lies 80 miles east of Cincinnati and 120 miles south of Columbus.

The Durrells, both professors at the University of Cincinnati, led the push to protect the botanical mixing zone that created the area’s incredible biodiversity. It is home to more than 1,200 plant species and is known for its stands of oaks, tulips, American beeches, yellow buckeyes and sugar maples.

It is one of the largest protected landscapes in Ohio, a partnership between the Nature Conservancy and the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.

What it features

The Edge is not a park. Three trails and a small educational center are open to the public, but that’s all. There is a still-developing picnic area with displays off Wagoner Riffle Road.

The Edge features 30 ecological communities, eight of which are considered rare, and more than 135 rare plants and animals. The rarest plant in the preserve may be Canby’s mountain lover or cliff green, a plant found in only one other Ohio location. The northern white cedar is also rare. Its unusual animals include the green salamander and the Allegheny woodrat, the rarest Ohio mammal.

Four of the 11 main tracts are listed as National Natural Landmarks: The Wilderness, Lynx Prairie, Buzzardroost Rock and Red Rock.

The name The Edge comes from the preserve being at the western end of the Appalachian plateau. My most recent visit was a chance to again hike the Wilderness Trail, one of the best day hikes in Ohio.

It is a 2.5-mile loop through the deep woods. The trail goes through cedar glades, along gray limestone cliffs and into prairie openings.

It got its name in 1961 when Dr. Edward Thomas of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society participated in a hike. He later described it in his column in the Columbus Dispatch as a wild hike through “a howling wilderness.” The name stuck.

The yellow-blazed trail opened to the public in 2000. It winds through the 1,200 acres of the Charles A. Eulett Wilderness Preserve. Eulett was a popular Adams County teacher who brought classes to the area and worked with local landowners to protect it.

The mostly woodland trail is lightly traveled; I ran into just two other hikers. It is not always easy to follow. You take an old logging road from the early 1900s into the woods.

The south-facing forest is chestnut oak, black gum and tulip trees. The moist north-facing forest is beech, sugar maple and tulip trees.

The trail leaves Saw Mill Branch and rises above Cliff Run. It is a 60-foot drop to the stream flowing through a deep, shaded gorge. You will see 500-year-old white cedars along the cliffs. Boulders have fallen from the cliffs and are strewn in the bowl-shaped valley.

It is a globally rare plant community. The trees moved south in advance of the last glaciers and adapted to drier conditions.

The trail moves onto what was once an old wagon road in the early 1900s. The forest is dominated by two shrubs: spicebush and paw paws. It then runs northeast along the base of the dolomite cliffs, where springs emerge. It is a prime wildflower spot in the spring.

You cross a small footbridge and enter a white oak forest. Follow the trail downhill to Bread Pan Run for views of Ohio Brush Creek in the distance. Bread Pan Run features several pretty waterfalls.

The trail leaves the run and ascends into a young scrubby forest of eastern red cedar, Virginia pine and tulip tree.

Then you enter an impressive forest of sugar maples and Chinquapin oak growing around fallen boulders from the cliffs above. Ferns and wildflowers abound.

The trail ends at what was once farmer Floyd Shivener’s cornfield, now a restored prairie.

To date, 172 species of birds have been found in The Wilderness. That includes 107 breeding species plus 11 species of high concern.

Directions for trails

To get to The Wilderness, head east from West Union on state Route 125 for 7.2 miles. Turn left on Lynx Road in the hamlet of Lynx. Turn left on gravel Shivener Road and head north 0.7 miles. The road ends at the trailhead.

You can find the trail in a fence opening about 20 paces from the parking lot. Head back up the entrance road and look to your right. You will be hiking the trail clockwise. Visitors are asked to stay on trails to avoid damaging rare plants.

You can also visit the two other spots at The Edge that are open to the public: Lynx Prairie and Buzzardroost Rock.

The 500-acre prairie is known for its cedar glades or eastern alkaline barrens with its thin, rocky soils. There are dolomite and shale outcroppings. Three short loop trails lead through Lynx Prairie, the first tract in The Edge to be acquired in 1959.

There are 10 small short-grass prairies surrounded by forests of Virginia pines and red cedar. They are mostly flat, narrow and wet. Each is filled with different plant species.

Lynx Prairie is a tribute to Dr. E. Lucy Braun (1889-1971), a University of Cincinnati botany professor who studied plants in the area and led the push to preserve what became The Edge. Braun had studied Adams County for its rare plants in the 1920s. The Durrells were Braun’s protégés and fought the fight.

Today, 115 prairie patches survive at The Edge. Studies show that the prairies have shrunk by two thirds since 1938.

The trail into Lynx Prairie begins at the rear of a cemetery behind the East Liberty Community Church. Look in the cemetery’s southeast corner for a fence opening. It is at its colorful best from late July through September.

To get to Lynx Prairie, take state Route 125 east from West Union. In the hamlet of Lynx, turn right and head south on Tulip Road. After 0.3 miles, turn left on Prairie Road into the church parking lot.

Buzzardroost Rock, a one-time Indian lookout, is 75 feet high, topped with a wood-and-steel observation deck.

It rises 500 feet above Ohio Brush Creek and offers some of the best up-high views in Ohio. You can see five miles north and south along the creek.

It is a three-mile round-trip hike from the trailhead off Weaver Road off state Route 125 to Buzzardroost Rock.

The trail is unmarked but easy to follow. You cross Easter Run, a small stream. It gets steeper as you climb higher on the 465-acre tract between West Union and Lynx.

The hike will take you through the woods and past shale barrens and giant boulders that have fallen from the cliffs above. There is a 50-foot-deep cleft atop the rock on the ridgetop, where vultures once nested.

The Cincinnati museum built the education facility. It is west of Lynx Prairie on a bluff overlooking Ohio Brush Creek.

For more information, contact the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, 513-287-7041, www.cincymuseum.org.

You can contact the Ohio chapter of the Nature Conservancy 614-717-2770, www.nature.org. You can reach the preserve at 937-544-2880 or 937-544-2188.

The state of Ohio has eight state nature preserves in Adams County: Chaparral Prairie, Johnson Ridge, Shoemaker, Whipple, Davis Memorial, Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs (part of The Edge), Adams Lake Prairie and Kamama Prairie. For information, call 614-265-6561, or see www.ohiodnr.gov/dnap.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.