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
  • 64ancient mounds
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  • 40historic sites
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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

New to the guide?

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

Portage Lakes State Park

New Franklin / Akron · Summit County
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
411acres
—trail miles
1949established
5031 Manchester Rd, Akron Directions →Official source →

The story of this land

Ohio has surprisingly few natural lakes, and most of the ones it has were made the same way: chunks of ice broke off a retreating glacier, sat buried in debris, and left depressions when they melted. Geologists call them kettle lakes, and several of the Portage Lakes are exactly that. Many of Ohio's natural lakes have since filled in and become bogs and marshes; you can still find the unusual bog plants that go with that habitat in this park.

The name comes from a path. An old Native portage route connected the Cuyahoga River, flowing north to Lake Erie, with the Tuscarawas, which runs south through the Muskingum to the Ohio. That meant you could travel by water from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River with only one eight-mile carry overland — an enormous strategic advantage, and the reason this became a major trading point for Native peoples and then settlers. The park sits at one of the highest points in Ohio, on a genuine watershed divide: some water here ends up in Lake Erie, some in the Gulf of Mexico. The old portage path also formed part of the ancient boundary between the Six Nations and the western tribes, and it was a recognized landmark in the War of 1812, used as a rendezvous point for American troops.

Akron was laid out in 1825 and settled first by Irish laborers digging the Ohio Canal. The lakes were enlarged and managed as canal reservoirs, and the city grew on stoneware, sewer pipe, matches, and eventually rubber. In 1949 the Department of Public Works handed the lakes over to ODNR's parks division. Today it's a heavily used urban-edge park — boating, water skiing, and fishing within minutes of Akron.

Things to do in the park

  • Boating and water skiing across the eight-lake system
  • Swimming beach
  • Five scenic picnic areas around the park
  • Fishing the varied lakes, each with its own character
  • Bog habitat with unusual plant communities

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Portage Lakes State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Akron, minutes north — the Rubber City's museums and restaurants
  • Wingfoot Lake State Park nearby
  • Quail Hollow Park to the southeast
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park, about 30 minutes

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
Portage Lakes State Park, 5031 Manchester Rd, Akron
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Permitted in designated areas with a valid Ohio license. Given how developed this area is, check the current park map carefully.

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

Several miles of hiking trail through the park's varied terrain, including routes past bog habitat. This is primarily a boating and fishing park rather than a hiking destination.

Wildlife you might see

  • Bog plants unique to aging glacial kettle lakes
  • Waterfowl across the eight-lake system
  • Great blue herons and wading birds
  • White-tailed deer in the wooded sections

Birding

Portage Lakes State Park's lake and wooded shoreline draw both forest songbirds and lake-edge waterbirds — scan the open water for waterfowl and raptors, and the treeline for songbirds.

  • Wild Turkey
  • Belted Kingfisher
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker
  • Eastern Towhee
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Indigo Bunting
  • Osprey
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Brown Thrasher
  • Bald Eagle
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee

March–April and October–November for migrating waterfowl and raptors; June–July for nesting grassland and marsh birds. For a full, current checklist, search this park's name on eBird's Hotspot Explorer.

Fishing

  • The Portage Lakes system (2,034 acres across eight lakes): largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, channel catfish, walleye and northern pike. Varied depth and structure across the connected lakes.

Hunting

Permitted in designated areas with a valid Ohio license. Given how developed this area is, check the current park map carefully.

Getting on the water

Eight interconnected lakes totaling 2,034 acres, sitting right at a continental divide. Horsepower rules and character vary lake to lake — some allow skiing, others are quiet no-wake water.

Launches & facilities

Multiple boat launches
Spread across the lake system.
Swimming beach
State park beach separate from the boating areas.
Lakeside restaurants
Several are dockable by boat, which is part of the local culture here.

Good to know

  • Horsepower and wake rules differ by lake — check the posted signs before you open it up.
  • Water skiing is popular on the larger lakes; the smaller ones stay quiet.
  • You can boat to dinner here, which is rare in Ohio.

The Path Where Water Chooses Its Ocean

This park sits on a watershed divide, and it is a line with big consequences. Water on the north side runs to the Cuyahoga River, Lake Erie and the Atlantic. Water on the south side runs to the Tuscarawas, the Muskingum, the Ohio and the Gulf of Mexico. In between was an eight-mile carrying place, the Portage Path. For centuries people hauled their canoes and packs over it, first Native travelers, then French and English traders and trappers, and finally American settlers.

A big Delaware village, Cuyahoga Town, stood at the north end where two trails crossed. Then the path became a border. The Treaty of Fort McIntosh in 1785 set the western boundary of the United States along the Portage Path, with Native land on the far side.

Behind the legend

The treaty history is documented. The Portage Path was named as a boundary in the treaties of Fort McIntosh (1785), Fort Harmar (1789) and Greenville (1795), and Moses Warren surveyed the line in 1797. The treaty of Fort Industry in 1805 opened land to the west, and property in Akron is still recorded as east or west of the Portage Path. The route was abandoned in 1827 when the Ohio and Erie Canal was built along it.

How old the path is depends on who you ask. A local historical society says people improved it as long as 10,000 years ago, and an official marker says perhaps 2,000 years ago by the Mound Builders. Coventry Township, where the park is, was ceded in 1785 by the Delaware, Chippewa, Ottawa and Wyandot. A boundary meant to hold settlement back did not last long. One local historian says it held for only about fifteen years.

If you go

Look for the Portage Path markers and the sculptures at each end, made by the Onondaga artist Peter Jones. Then walk the park's shoreline and think about the water that is still splitting between two oceans.

Waterfalls near Portage Lakes State Park

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

Blue Hen Falls

Boston Township · Summit County
A small, photogenic shale ledge waterfall in a quiet Cuyahoga Valley ravine, reached by an easy to moderate hike on the Buckeye Trail.
15 ftModerate hikeLegend
About 20 miles from this park

Campsites

Electric site
Campground near the lakes
$26–34/night
Non-electric site
Basic sites
$20–26/night

On site

  • Showers and flush toilets
  • Multiple boat launches
  • Swimming beach
  • Five picnic areas
  • 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 "Portage Lakes State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?330-644-2220

Restaurants nearby

Harbor Lighthouse Grille
Right on the water, open daily until 11. The pickle bombs have a following
Directions
Dano's Lakeside Pub
Tucked in a neighborhood; you can dock a boat right in front
Directions
Dockside Grille on Portage Lakes
Big patio with lake views, walleye nuggets. Closed Mondays
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Circle K
24 hours on Manchester Road, the main route into the park area
Directions

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

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