Field Notes Ohio

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117 parks in 7 regions

Lake Milton State Park

Lake Milton · Mahoning County
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
1,700acres
10trail miles
—established

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
Lake Milton State Park, 16801 Mahoning Ave
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Hunting or permits
Permitted in designated areas with a valid Ohio license. Check the current park map, since much of the shoreline is residential.

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

Lake Milton sits in the stretch of the Appalachian Plateau that the glaciers overran roughly 12,000 years ago. That matters more than it sounds: the ice flattened the sharp topography, dropped a thick blanket of till, and left behind a landscape that supports an unusually wide variety of plants, animals and habitats compared with the unglaciated hill country just south and east.

The lake itself is man-made, formed by a dam on the Mahoning River, and the surrounding shoreline developed into a lake community with cottages, bars and marinas. It has been a Youngstown-area summer destination for generations.

What the state park provides is public access to water that is otherwise heavily ringed by private property — boating, swimming, and fishing on a day-use basis, with a scenic shoreline that supports waterfowl and shorebirds. There is no campground. A storybook trail featuring a children's book opened in 2022, and the park runs hard in winter too, with snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and ice fishing.

Things to do in the park

  • Boating and swimming on nearly 1,700 acres of water
  • About 10 miles of mountain bike trail
  • Archery range and disc golf
  • Basketball and sand volleyball courts
  • Winter: snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and ice fishing

Trails

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

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Berlin Lake, a short drive south
  • Youngstown, about 20 minutes east
  • Mill Creek Park in Youngstown, one of the best city parks in the country
  • West Branch State Park to the west

Hiking trails

Roughly a mile of walking trails plus about 10 miles of mountain bike trail. A storybook trail opened in 2022.

Wildlife you might see

  • Waterfowl and shorebirds along the scenic shoreline
  • Wide habitat variety typical of the glaciated plateau
  • White-tailed deer in the wooded sections
  • Migratory birds using the reservoir

Fishing

  • Lake Milton: largemouth bass, crappie, walleye, channel catfish and bluegill. Ice fishing in winter.

Hunting

Permitted in designated areas with a valid Ohio license. Check the current park map, since much of the shoreline is residential.

Getting on the water

Nearly 1,700 acres of open water, heavily used by the Youngstown area. Much of the shoreline is private, which is exactly why the state park access points matter.

Launches & facilities

Boat launches
Public access points around the lake.
Swimming areas
Check current beach advisories before going in.
Shoreline fishing
Public access at the park; much of the rest is residential.

Good to know

  • Check ODNR water quality advisories before swimming — E. coli has been a recurring issue.
  • You can boat up to several lakeside restaurants here.
  • Ice fishing is a real winter season on this lake.

The Lake That Was Drained to Save a Town

Lake Milton was built for steel. In 1910 the city of Youngstown bought 3,416 acres on the Mahoning River to make a reservoir for its mills, and the flood of March 1913, when the river rose 22 feet, sped the dam along. The 2,800-foot dam held 1,640 acres. Soon there was an amusement park at Craig Beach, with a swimming beach, a roller coaster, boat trips and a busy midway, and taverns, a dance hall and a skating rink on the east side.

Then the dam began to fail. In March 1986 the gates were opened and the lake was drained, because if the dam had burst, the town of Newton Falls, five miles downstream, would have been underwater. About a thousand homeowners, cottage leasers and businesspeople banded together to ask the legislature for the money to fix it, and the state took over the lake. In 1988 it was dedicated as Ohio's 72nd state park.

Behind the legend

Local accounts fill in the fight. A 1928 report noted possible instability, reports of distress came in 1969 and seepage in 1970, and preliminary work to anchor the wingwall did not start until 1974. The repairs were estimated at about five million dollars, and the city of Youngstown, the owner, would not pay. Details differ by source: ODNR dates the dam to 1913, Wikipedia says 1917, and ODNR says the gates were opened in 1986 while another account says the repair fight began in 1984.

What is not in doubt is the result. Lake Milton still has a park, a lake and a ring of lakefront homes.

If you go

Look at the dam and the wingwall the neighbors fought to save, then walk the shore. The east side was the old midway, dance hall and skating rink.

Waterfalls near Lake Milton 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 15 miles from this park

Day-use park with no campground. E. coli has been detected in the water across various samplings over the years — check current ODNR beach advisories before swimming.

Where to camp nearby

Berlin Lake (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Corps of Engineers campground on Berlin Lake, about 15 minutes away
Directions
West Branch State Park Campground
State campground on West Branch Reservoir, about 30 minutes north
Directions

Restaurants nearby

Castaway Craig's Pub & Grub
Docks for boaters across from Craig's Beach. Closed Mondays
Directions
Halliday's Winery
Wine, pizza and live music by the lake. Closed Mondays
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Lakers Inc
Open 5 a.m. to midnight, well-run local stop with propane
Directions

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