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The National Nature Reserve at Yarner Wood, now part of the East Dartmoor Woods and Heaths NNR, was created in 1952, making it one of the first National Nature Reserves in the country.

It lies in two steep wooded valleys on the edge of Dartmoor together with the ridge in between them, and consists of 150 acres of mainly oakwood with some birch, conifers and heathland. This valuable habitat includes 33 species of butterfly and 650 species of moth, among numerous other animals, and over 300 species of lichen.

The wood is first mentioned in the C16. It was formerly extensively coppiced. It contains several historical features, including the site of Yarrow copper mine, operation in the mid-C19, the Bovey Tracey Pottery Leat which fed a pottery near the town, and several charcoal hearths.

Until 1963, when it was opened to the public, the reserve was used only for ecological research. Permits were still required by the public until 1973. It is now access woodland.

To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of the reserve in 2012, a number of posts and branches were carved by Reece Ingram and David Brampton-Greene, two professional carvers, during a series of workshops, and these have now been installed around the wood.
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