Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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  • 117parks & forests
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Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

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Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Guilford Lake State Park

Lisbon · Columbiana County
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
396acres
—trail miles
1834established
6835 E Lake Rd, Lisbon Directions →Official source →

The story of this land

Guilford Lake was built in 1834 as a canal feeder reservoir for the Sandy and Beaver Canal — the same ambitious, doomed private project that runs through Beaver Creek State Park downstream. The full scheme called for 73 miles, two tunnels, thirty dams, ninety locks, three reservoirs and a 400-foot aqueduct. The park is named for E.H. Gill, the canal company's chief engineer for several years, who cut a road through the swampy ground here that became known as Gill's Ford.

When the canal era ended, the neighbors took matters into their own hands. Adjacent landowners breached the embankment in two places, drained the lake, and farmed the bottom. It stayed farmland for decades.

In 1927 the state bought the land intending to rebuild the reservoir, and the Division of Conservation finished a new dam in 1932. Guilford Lake and Ohio's other canal feeder lakes became the first areas dedicated as state parks in 1949. One more thing happened here: in 1863, Confederate general John Hunt Morgan was captured near this vicinity, ending a raid that had carried him and 2,000 men clear across the width of Ohio.

Things to do in the park

  • Quiet fishing from boat, dock or the accessible pier
  • Small beach, with a separate beach for registered campers
  • Kayak, paddle boat and pontoon rentals
  • Summer nature programs
  • Winter: ice skating and ice fishing

Trails

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

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Beaver Creek State Park and Gaston's Mill, about 25 minutes east
  • Lisbon's historic downtown and the Greenway Trail
  • East Liverpool pottery museums
  • Sandy and Beaver Canal remnants throughout the county

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
Guilford Lake State Park, 6835 E Lake Rd, Lisbon
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Waterfowl blinds are available at the park office on a first-come, first-served basis. Valid Ohio license 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.

Hiking trails

Limited formal trail mileage — this is a small fishing and camping lake with a beach and a playground rather than a hiking park.

Wildlife you might see

  • Migratory birds — the lake is a notable stopover
  • Waterfowl throughout the year
  • White-tailed deer in the surrounding rolling terrain
  • Summer nature programs focused on local wildlife

Birding

Guilford Lake State Park's water draws the usual mix of Ohio lake and reservoir birds — waterfowl, herons and the raptors that hunt them.

  • Bald Eagle
  • Spotted Sandpiper
  • Tree Swallow
  • Purple Martin
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • Canada Goose
  • Mallard
  • Wood Duck
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Belted Kingfisher
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Osprey

March–May and September–November, during waterfowl migration, are liveliest on the water. For a full, current checklist, search this park's name on eBird's Hotspot Explorer.

Fishing

  • Guilford Lake (396 acres, max depth about 25 feet): largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. Accessible fishing pier and dock. Ice fishing in winter.

Hunting

Waterfowl blinds are available at the park office on a first-come, first-served basis. Valid Ohio license required.

Getting on the water

396 acres of quiet fishing water, rebuilt in 1932 on the footprint of an 1834 canal reservoir. Boat rentals on site, and a lot of the shoreline is residential.

Launches & facilities

Public boat launch ramp
On the shore, with paddle and pontoon boat rentals available.
Fishing dock and accessible pier
Shore access for anglers including wheelchair users.
Beaches
A public beach plus a separate one for registered campers.

Good to know

  • Waterfowl blinds come from the park office first-come, first-served.
  • The lake freezes reliably — ice fishing and skating are both real seasons here.
  • Much of the shoreline is private homes; respect the residential stretches.

The Engineer Behind the Lake

This lake was built in the 1830s as a feeder for the Sandy and Beaver Canal, and it carries the name of the man who built it: Edward H. Gill, the canal engineer. The name links the lake to a legend at Beaver Creek: the Irish canal builder in the Gretchen story is also called Edward Gill. In that tale, his little daughter Gretchen was sealed into a canal lock and is said to appear there each year, looking for her mother.

The lake is the quiet half of the story. It stayed when the canal failed, and it became a small state park in 1949 on the site of a former pine plantation.

Behind the legend

The two halves are told separately, and they do not always agree on the details. Wikipedia names the lake's namesake as Edward H. Gill, and the Gretchen legend, as it is told at Beaver Creek, gives Edward Gill as the father. The canal itself is well documented. The Sandy and Beaver was 73 and a half miles long, ran only about four years, and failed after a reservoir gave way in 1852.

Guilford Lake is what remained. It offers a small campground, a beach, paddleboat rentals and a boat launch, with many cottages around the shore.

If you go

Walk along the shore and think about the man the lake is named for. Then drive to Beaver Creek State Park to see Gretchen's Lock.

Waterfalls near Guilford 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.

Lanterman's Falls

Youngstown · Mahoning County
A 20 foot waterfall beside the historic, still operating Lanterman's Mill in Mill Creek Park, one of Youngstown's best known landmarks.
20 ftEasy walk
About 21 miles from this park

Campsites

Electric site
40 electric sites; pets permitted on all sites
$33–37/night

On site

  • Showers, flush toilets, dump station
  • Fishing dock and accessible pier
  • Separate campers' beach
  • Playground and basketball court
  • Camp office loans games and sporting equipment
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 "Guilford Lake State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?330-222-1712

Restaurants nearby

Marks Landing
Right on the water. Friday all-you-can-eat fish is the local event
Directions
Guilford Lake Grille
Lake views from every window. Closed Mon & Tue
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Smith Oil
In Lisbon, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Directions

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

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