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.
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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

Alum Creek State Park

Delaware · Delaware County
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
4,630acres
10trail miles
1974established

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
Alum Creek State Park, Delaware
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Permitted in designated areas of the park with a valid Ohio license. Given the park's proximity to Columbus suburbs, check current maps carefully for boundaries before hunting.

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

People have lived along Alum Creek for more than 2,000 years — the Adena were here first, and by the pioneer era a blockhouse called Fort Cheshire stood nearby, built two stories tall so defenders could fire down and pour boiling water on attackers. It lasted until the Civil War and finished its life as a schoolhouse.

But the story that matters most here is harder. Alum Creek ran through one of Ohio's active Underground Railroad corridors, and people escaping slavery waded in the creek itself to break their scent for the dogs and slave catchers behind them. Along what is now Africa Road, about thirty freed people from North Carolina built a settlement. The name began as an insult thrown by a pro-slavery neighbor; the residents took it and kept it. The Patterson family built a house on the east side of the creek around 1840, and those buildings served as Underground Railroad stations. Late-1800s county atlases still show Africa's property lines, road crossings, and cemeteries.

Then the Flood Control Act of 1962 authorized a dam, and between 1970 and 1974 the valley filled. Much of what was Africa lies under the reservoir. Most of the three million people who visit each year boat and swim above it without knowing. The park opened in the summer of 1975 and spent the rest of the decade adding beaches, campsites, marinas, and roads — a big recreational lake for a growing Columbus. The Heritage of Freedom Trail near the Galena Boat Ramp now tells the older story, with signage on how freedom seekers navigated by the stars and foraged their way north.

Things to do in the park

  • The largest inland beach in the Ohio state park system — 3,000 feet of sand
  • Heritage of Freedom Trail near the Galena Boat Ramp, interpreting the area's Underground Railroad history
  • 14 miles of mountain bike singletrack, heavily used by Columbus riders
  • Unlimited-horsepower boating — jet skis and water skiing are common
  • Dog park and a Story Book Trail for kids
  • Winter: ice fishing and ice boating

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Alum Creek State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Downtown Delaware — a genuinely good small-city restaurant scene, 15 minutes north
  • Columbus, 30 minutes south
  • Africa Road, which roughly follows the Underground Railroad route
  • Historical marker commemorating the Africa settlement, placed in 2003

Hiking trails

About 10 miles of designated hiking trail, plus roughly 14 miles of mountain bike singletrack (the Phase 1 trail alone is 5.3 miles) and 38 miles of bridle trail — one of the largest horse trail systems in the state park system.

Wildlife you might see

  • White-tailed deer
  • Bald eagles and osprey over the reservoir
  • Great blue herons in the quiet coves
  • Ohio shale cliffs with beech and maple forest above

Fishing

  • Alum Creek Lake (3,387 acres): saugeye, largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, channel catfish. Open to ice fishing and ice boating in winter.

Hunting

Permitted in designated areas of the park with a valid Ohio license. Given the park's proximity to Columbus suburbs, check current maps carefully for boundaries before hunting.

Getting on the water

3,387 acres with unlimited horsepower makes this central Ohio's power-boating lake — jet skis, water skiing, and tubing on summer weekends. Twelve miles long with plenty of coves if you want to get away from the noise.

Launches & facilities

Multiple boat ramps
Including the Galena Boat Ramp on the east side, near the Heritage of Freedom Trail.
Marinas with rentals
Seasonal boat rental available through park concessionaires.
The beach
3,000 feet of sand, the largest inland beach in the state park system, separate from boating areas.

Good to know

  • Weekend afternoons in summer are genuinely busy — go early or find a north-end cove.
  • Ice fishing and ice boating are both permitted when conditions allow; check with the park office on ice.
  • The lake is a strong saugeye fishery, which is less widely known than the recreation side.

The Sycamore Trail

Ohio bordered the slave state of Kentucky, and Alum Creek was one of its escape routes. As the tradition goes, people fleeing slavery followed the creek north at night, along an old route called the Sycamore Trail, with the white-barked sycamores of the creek bank as part of the story. One history says it is thought that more than 40,000 people passed through the area on it.

There is a frontier story here too. Fort Cheshire, a two-story stockade, was built with an overhanging second story that let defenders shoot down and pour boiling water on attackers. It stood until the Civil War and was later used as a schoolhouse. A plaque for it stands at the park's family campground.

Behind the legend

The number is the part that grows with each telling. The Underground Railroad was secret by design, so no one counted, and 'it is thought' is the phrase the history uses. What is documented is the geography: a major route ran along Alum Creek, and the region was an active abolitionist area. The lake itself is new. It was built from 1970 to 1974 under the Flood Control Act of 1962, which is why the park was established in 1974 and covers over 8,000 acres.

Fort Cheshire is known from local histories and remembered by the plaque at the campground.

If you go

Find the Fort Cheshire plaque at the family campground and imagine the boiling-water stockade. Then walk part of the creek corridor and think about the route people took.

Mounds & earthworks near Alum Creek State Park

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

Highbanks Earthworks & Adena Mounds

Lewis Center · Delaware & Franklin Counties · Central Ohio
A wall of engineered clay on a river bluff, and two small Adena mounds in a busy metro park.
Can visitNational Register of Historic Places
About 6 miles from this park · Mounds over 2,000 years old; the earthwork about 700 to 1,300 years old

Shrum Mound

West Scioto · Columbus · Central Ohio
A 2,000-year-old burial mound on a bluff in a Columbus neighborhood, with quarries and condos around it.
Can visitNational Register of Historic Places
About 15 miles from this park · About 800 BCE to 100 CE

Historic sites near Alum Creek State Park

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

Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery

Columbus · Franklin County · Central Ohio
The last remnant of a large Civil War prison camp in Columbus, and one of the largest Confederate cemeteries in the North.
Civil War prison camp site
About 15 miles from this park · 1861–1865

Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites

Marion · Marion County · Central Ohio
The home, library and memorial in Marion where Warren Harding ran the last front porch campaign in 1920.
National Historic Landmark
About 50 miles from this park · 1891–1923; library opened 2021

Road trips through Alum Creek State Park

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

Scenic Olentangy Heritage Corridor

Central Ohio
A big lake park east of the byway.
Scenic byway10.5 miles
1 hour · I-270, Franklin County to US 23, Delaware County

Oddities near Alum Creek State Park

Roadside curiosities, legends and giant things within reach of this park.

Field of Corn (Cornhenge)

Dublin · Franklin County
109 six-foot ears of concrete corn standing in rows in a Columbus suburb.
Public art
About 25 miles from this park

World's Largest Gavel

Columbus · Franklin County
A 12-by-30-by-15-foot steel gavel in a reflecting pool between two judicial buildings.
Giant object
About 15 miles from this park

Caves near Alum Creek State Park

Caves, rock shelters and cave attractions within reach of this park. Stay on marked trails and official tours.

Olentangy Caverns

Delaware · Delaware County
A self-guided audio tour through a limestone cavern on three levels, with Native American and settler history.
Show cavern (limestone)
About 12 miles from this park

Waterfalls near Alum Creek State Park

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

Indian Run Falls

Dublin · Franklin County
A pair of small cascades in a limestone ravine in the middle of Dublin, once home to the Wyandot people, now reached by boardwalk and footbridge.
22 ftEasy walk
About 12 miles from this park

Hayden Falls

Columbus · Franklin County
A limestone plunge waterfall in a Scioto River gorge in west Columbus, reached by a stairway and boardwalk or a stair free overlook above.
25 to 35 ftEasy walkAccessible overlook
About 14 miles from this park

Campsites

Electric site
Large campground, 30/50 amp
$37–41/night
Equestrian site
Near the 38-mile bridle trail system
$19–23/night

On site

  • Heated showers, flush toilets
  • Camp store
  • Dog park
  • Boat rentals
  • Marinas
  • Dump station
Continue to ReserveOhio →
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Prefer the phone?740-548-4631

Restaurants nearby

Son of Thurman
Famous oversized burgers and tavern pizza in historic downtown
Directions
Opa Grill & Tavern
Greek-American with a serious bourbon list. Closed Sundays
Directions
Old Dog Alehouse & Brewery
Brewpub with a large patio, dog-friendly. Closed Mondays
Directions
Dumpling Station
Fresh daily dumplings, cheap and fast. Closed Mondays
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Speedway
24 hours on US-23
Directions
Turkey Hill Mini Market
Kroger fuel discounts, south of town toward the park
Directions

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