Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.
Try:
The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop around Ohio, with all 26 sections.
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Mounds & Earthworks43 ancient sites, including the Great Serpent Mound and the Newark Earthworks.
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Historic Sites39 places, from Fort Steuben and Zoar to Camp Chase and the Rankin House, from the frontier to the Civil War.
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Road Trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail.
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Lake Erie Beaches20 public beaches from Conneaut to Toledo and the islands, with a map.
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Oddities & Roadside Attractions19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops, plus a Mothman just over the line.
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Caves & Caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters, with a map.
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Waterfalls34 falls from the Cuyahoga Valley to the Hocking Hills, with trail notes and a map.
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Explore Ohio

One map for every park, mound, historic site, beach, cave, waterfall and oddity in the app.

Lake ErieWest Virginia27 places277 places77 places73 places35 places519 places1913 places1319 places1916 places168 places810 places1010 places109 places98 places820 places204 places43 places3Barkcamp State Park4 places47 places77 places76 places69 places917 places173 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places2Forked Run State Park3 places32 places26 places610 places103 places32 places2

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117 parks in 7 regions

Adams Lake State Park

West Union · Adams County · Southern Ohio
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
96acres
0.6trail miles
1950established

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
ODNR park finder (search this park)
Location confidence
Verified property location
Adams Lake State Park, 14633 State Rte 41, West Union
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Hunting or permits
Waterfowl hunting is by lottery, with two blinds issued each season under ODNR's rules. A valid Ohio hunting license is required.

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

The story of this land

Adams Lake was built to give the village of West Union drinking water. When the county developed another water system, the state bought the lake and the land around it in 1950 and made it a state park. It is small, about 96 acres split between land and a 47-acre lake, but it sits in Ohio's Bluegrass region, one of the state's most scenic and biologically interesting corners, and it protects Adams Lake Prairie State Nature Preserve, one of the last pockets of dry prairie in Ohio.

The prairie is an accident of ecology and old fire. Native people's fires and natural ones, grazing by huge animals long ago and periodic drought may all have helped keep this ground open. Long before the lake, two ancient cultures, the Adena and Hopewell, lived here and built mounds. ODNR's own history for the park points north to the most famous of them, the Serpent Mound, and notes that archaeologists still argue over who built it. The county seat's own road has a history too: Zane's Trace, cut from 1796 to 1798, ran 230 miles from Wheeling to Maysville and came through West Union.

Things to do in the park

  • Fish or paddle the lake with a hand-powered or electric-motor boat
  • Walk the paved lakeside trail and the storybook trail
  • Look for the prairie flowers in the nature preserve
  • Picnic, and use the playground, basketball court and disc golf
  • Stop at the new Adams County Welcome Center

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Adams Lake State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Great Serpent Mound, the world's largest serpent effigy, about 10 miles north
  • Fort Hill State Memorial, a hilltop earthwork about 25 miles north
  • Shawnee State Park and Shawnee State Forest, the Little Smokies, about 25 miles east
  • The Edge of Appalachia Preserve and other Adams County nature preserves

Hiking trails

A 0.6-mile paved lakeside trail, a paved storybook trail and short paths through the prairie preserve.

Wildlife you might see

  • Turtles by the dozen along the shore (one visitor counted about 30 in a visit)
  • Canada geese and other waterfowl
  • Rare dry-prairie plants and insects in the nature preserve
  • Bluegill, largemouth bass, crappie, channel catfish, bullhead and carp in the lake

Fishing

  • The 47-acre lake holds largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, channel catfish, bullhead and carp. Only hand-powered and electric-motor boats are allowed. Ohio fishing license required for ages 16 and up.

Hunting

Waterfowl hunting is by lottery, with two blinds issued each season under ODNR's rules. A valid Ohio hunting license is required.

The Prairie at the Edge of Appalachia

Adams County is where Ohio's prairies and its Appalachian hills run into each other. In this small park a scrap of dry prairie has survived, the kind of grassland that once ran in patches across southern Ohio. People say the open ground was kept open by fire, that Native people burned it on purpose and that lightning did the rest, so that when settlers arrived they found clearings in the forest.

Not far north, on a hilltop above Brush Creek, an ancient people made a giant snake out of earth. The park's own history points to it, noting that archaeologists still cannot say for sure who built it.

Behind the legend

The prairie remnant is documented, and ODNR says fire, grazing by large animals and dry spells may all have played a part in keeping it open. The lake is much newer than the story: it was a village water supply, and the state took it over in 1950.

The mound story belongs to the Great Serpent Mound, which sits about ten miles north. See the Mounds tab for the full account of that site and its debated age.

If you go

Walk the lakeshore trail and the prairie preserve in summer for the flowers. Then drive north to the Serpent Mound.

Mounds & earthworks near Adams Lake State Park

Ancient earthworks within easy reach of this park. Tap one for its history, legends and visiting details.

Great Serpent Mound

Peebles · Adams County · Southern Ohio
A gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over.
Can visitNational Historic Landmark
About 10 miles from this park · About 300 BCE or about 1070 CE

Dayton Power and Light Company Mound

Wrightsville · Adams County · Southern Ohio
A large Adena mound preserved on the grounds of a power plant.
National Register of Historic Places
About 12 miles from this park · Adena period

Wamsley Village Burial Mounds

Wamsley Village · Adams County · Southern Ohio
Burial mounds in the same county as the Serpent Mound, excavated and left in place.
National Register of Historic Places
About 15 miles from this park · Adena period

Historic sites near Adams Lake State Park

Forts, villages, furnaces and lighthouses within reach of this park. Tap one for its story and visiting details.

John Rankin House

Ripley · Brown County · Southern Ohio
The hilltop home of an abolitionist family who helped enslaved people crossing from Kentucky, and a story that inspired Uncle Tom's Cabin.
National Historic Landmark
About 25 miles from this park · 1828 to the Civil War

U.S. Grant Boyhood Home and Schoolhouse

Georgetown · Brown County · Southern Ohio
The tannery-town house where the future general and president grew up, restored to the year he left for West Point.
National Historic Landmark
About 30 miles from this park · 1823–1839

Road trips through Adams Lake State Park

Scenic byways and heritage drives that pass this park or run close to it.

John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail

Southern and eastern Ohio
A small park in Adams County on the route.
Heritage drive557 miles
3 to 4 days · Harrison, Hamilton County to Near West Point, Columbiana County

Waterfalls near Adams Lake State Park

Falls inside or within reach of this park. Stay behind railings and on marked trails; wet rock is slick in every season.

Cedar Falls at Edge of Appalachia

West Union · Adams County
A 15 foot limestone cascade in the Edge of Appalachia preserve, on a trail opened to hikers in 2020.
15 ftModerate hike
About 7 miles from this park

The Buckeye Trail at Adams Lake State Park

Ohio's 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop passes through or beside this park. Tap a section for its route, camping, water and resupply.

14 West Union Section

59 miles · Adams, Brown
Near the route; the closest park to the Serpent Mound
1 park

ODNR's current page says there is no camping at Adams Lake State Park. Some older listings mention a small primitive campground, so confirm before you go. For camping near the Serpent Mound, try Shawnee State Park or Pike Lake State Park.

Where to camp nearby

Shawnee State Park Campground
Full campground at the Little Smokies with a lodge, about 25 miles east
Directions
Pike Lake State Park
Campground and cabins on a small lake, about 35 minutes north
Directions

Restaurants nearby

Mi Camino Real
Mexican food with big portions; open daily
Directions
Mikey's Family Restaurant
Old-school diner breakfasts and country cooking; closed Tuesday
Directions
T-Burgs Diner
Hand-patty burgers and shakes; closed Sunday
Directions

Gas stations nearby

West Union 1st Stop
Convenience store and gas, open daily
Directions
West Union 1st Stop (south)
Second location with a deli and fresh cookies
Directions

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.