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

Buck Creek State Park

Springfield · Clark County
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
1,596acres
6.1trail miles
1975established

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
Buck Creek State Park, 1976 Buck Creek Ln, Springfield
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Permitted with a valid Ohio license — the park explicitly offers year-round hunting among its activities. Check current park maps for designated areas.

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

This valley was Shawnee country, and in 1780 it became a battlefield. George Rogers Clark led roughly a thousand men up from Kentucky in an attack on the Native settlements of the Ohio Country — one of the first major conflicts in what became Clark County. The campaign forced the Shawnee to abandon their towns here. It's the same pattern repeated across the state in those decades, and the county carries the name of the man who did it.

The creek itself has two names, Buck Creek and Lagonda Creek, and it eventually became the object of a much less dramatic federal project. The Army Corps of Engineers dammed it to create the C.J. Brown Reservoir as part of the flood-control system protecting the Ohio River basin. The state leases the surrounding land from the Corps, and Buck Creek State Park opened in 1975.

What that produced is a big open lake right on the edge of Springfield — 2,120 acres of water inside a 4,016-acre park, with unlimited horsepower boating, a marina, cabins, and a paved trail running six miles from the park into town near Wittenberg University. It is, more than most Ohio state parks, a city's front yard.

Things to do in the park

  • Unlimited-horsepower boating on 2,120 acres with a full marina
  • The 6.1-mile paved Buck Creek Trail connecting the park to Springfield
  • Swimming beach
  • Cabins in addition to the campground
  • Year-round hunting and fishing

Trails

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

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Springfield's downtown restaurant scene, minutes west
  • Wittenberg University
  • Clifton Gorge and John Bryan State Park, about 20 minutes south
  • National Road / US 40 corridor history

Hiking trails

Several hiking trails within the park plus the paved 6.1-mile Buck Creek Trail, which runs from the park west to Plum Street near Wittenberg University in Springfield, looping at its eastern end.

Wildlife you might see

  • Waterfowl and shorebirds across the open reservoir
  • Bald eagles occasionally over the water
  • White-tailed deer through the wooded sections
  • Prairie and meadow habitat around the lake edges

Fishing

  • C.J. Brown Reservoir (2,120 acres): largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, saugeye and white bass. One of the larger open-water fisheries in western Ohio.

Hunting

Permitted with a valid Ohio license — the park explicitly offers year-round hunting among its activities. Check current park maps for designated areas.

Getting on the water

2,120 acres with unlimited horsepower — a genuine open-water lake and one of the bigger ones in western Ohio. Marina on site, and enough room for skiing without crowding out the anglers.

Launches & facilities

Marina and launch ramps
Full-service marina with seasonal docks.
Swimming beach
Separate from the boating areas.
Shoreline fishing
Extensive bank access around the reservoir.

Good to know

  • The lake is wide open, so wind builds chop quickly — watch the forecast in a small boat.
  • The paved trail into Springfield is a genuinely useful way to get to dinner without driving.
  • This is a Corps reservoir leased to the state; water levels move seasonally.

One Creek, Two Names

The creek has two names, Buck Creek and Lagonda Creek, and it has two stories. The first is a war story. In 1780 this valley was Shawnee country, and George Rogers Clark led roughly a thousand men north from Kentucky to attack the Native towns of the Ohio Country. It was one of the first major conflicts in what became Clark County, and it forced the Shawnee to abandon their towns here. The county carries the name of the man who did it.

The second is a plumbing story. The Army Corps of Engineers dammed the creek to make the C.J. Brown Reservoir as part of the flood-control system that protects the Ohio River basin.

Behind the legend

The 1780 campaign is documented, and the reservoir is a much later chapter. The state leases the surrounding land from the Corps, and Buck Creek State Park opened in 1975. It is a big open lake on the edge of Springfield, with 2,120 acres of water inside a 4,016-acre park, unlimited-horsepower boating, a marina, cabins and a paved trail running six miles into town near Wittenberg University.

More than most Ohio state parks, it is a city's front yard.

If you go

Bike the paved trail toward Wittenberg University and think about the two names. Then walk to the shore of the reservoir, where the Shawnee towns once were.

Mounds & earthworks near Buck Creek State Park

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

Enon Adena Mound

Enon · Clark County · Southwest Ohio
A 40-foot mound in the middle of a village street loop, with a general, a prophet and an apple tree in its stories.
Can visitNational Register of Historic Places
About 12 miles from this park · Adena period; exact date uncertain

Carl Potter Mound

Mechanicsburg · Champaign County · West-Central Ohio
A worn-down burial mound in a Champaign County pasture.
National Register of Historic Places
About 12 miles from this park · Prehistoric

Indian Mound Reserve: Pollock Works & Williamson Mound

Cedarville · Greene County · Southwest Ohio
Two earthworks on either side of a creek canyon, one of them a hilltop enclosure with a burned wooden stockade.
Can visitNational Register of Historic Places
About 17 miles from this park · Pollock Works about 100 BCE to 500 CE; Williamson Mound about 500 BCE to 100 CE

Road trips through Buck Creek State Park

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

Historic National Road (US 40)

Eastern, central and western Ohio
A big lake park at Springfield.
Heritage drive225 miles
2 days · St. Clairsville to Indiana line west of Springfield

Lower Valley Pike Scenic Byway

Southwest-central Ohio (Clark County)
A big lake park at Springfield.
Scenic byway11 miles
1 hour · I-70 near Fairborn to US 40 near Springfield

Oddities near Buck Creek State Park

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

Hartman Rock Garden

Springfield · Clark County
A Depression-era folk-art garden of rock replicas, from Independence Hall to a castle made of 20,000 stones.
Folk art
About 6 miles from this park

Caves near Buck Creek State Park

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

Ohio Caverns

West Liberty · Champaign County
Ohio's largest known cave system, known as America's most colorful caverns, open year-round.
Show cavern (limestone)
About 30 miles from this park

Waterfalls near Buck 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.

The Cascades at Glen Helen

Yellow Springs · Greene County
A small limestone cascade in the roughly 1,000 acre Glen Helen Nature Preserve, near the iron rich Yellow Spring that gave the village its name.
10 ftModerate hike
About 14 miles from this park

Cedar Cliff Falls

Cedarville · Greene County
A 25 foot cascade over limestone cliffs on Massies Creek, framed by an early 1800s log cabin and an ancient Adena burial mound nearby.
25 ftEasy walk
About 16 miles from this park

Campsites

Electric site
Large modern campground near the lake
$35–39/night
Non-electric site
Quieter loops
$25–29/night

Cabins

Park cabin
Cabins available near the reservoir
$130–180/night

On site

  • Showers and flush toilets
  • Marina
  • Swimming beach
  • Camp store
  • Paved trail access
  • Dump station
Continue to ReserveOhio →
Field Notes Ohio isn't connected to ReserveOhio, so it can't hold a site or take payment. Tapping through opens it in a new tab — search "Buck Creek State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?937-322-5284

Restaurants nearby

Hi Hat Social
The best-reviewed spot in town — shrimp and grits, sushi, smash burgers. Closed Mon & Sun
Directions
Charlo's Provisions & Eatery
Modern cafe downtown. Closed Sundays
Directions
Meadows Restaurant
Open daily, big portions, the French dip and pork tenderloin are the picks
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Murphy USA
Opens 4:30 a.m., good prices
Directions
Love's Travel Stop
24 hours with RV service; restroom reviews are rough
Directions

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