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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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

Punderson State Park

Newbury · Northeast Ohio
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
741acres
11trail miles
1951established

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
Punderson State Park, 11755 Kinsman Rd, Newbury
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
The lake and surrounding land were originally purchased by the Division of Wildlife for hunting and fishing in 1948; check with the park office for current hunting-area boundaries and season dates before planning a trip, since managed public hunting can vary year to year here.

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

Punderson Lake exists because a chunk of glacier got stranded. As the ice sheet retreated roughly 12,000 years ago, a massive block broke off and sat buried in debris, and when it finally melted the ground collapsed into the hole it left. Geologists call the result a kettle lake. Most of Ohio's kettles have long since filled with sediment and become bogs — Punderson didn't. It's the largest and deepest natural lake in the state, and it's deep for the same reason it's cold and clear: there's nothing feeding it but groundwater and sky.

Lemuel Punderson arrived in 1808 as a land agent and became Newbury Township's first permanent settler. He called the water 'the big pond,' built a small dam on its south side, and ran the outflow through a grist mill. The family estate on the shore turned into the kind of place people came to — so much so that in 1882 the pioneers of Newbury held a reunion on the lake and read aloud a poem written about it. By the early 1900s Cleveland families were escaping out here for the summer, filling cottages and a small hotel on the surrounding hills.

The manor house took nearly twenty years to finish. Construction on the English Tudor began in 1929, stalled through the Depression and the war, and wasn't completed until 1948 — the same year the Division of Wildlife bought the lake and land. The parks division took over in 1951, remodeled the manor, and opened it to the public in November 1956. Guests and staff have been reporting that Lemuel never quite left ever since, and the lodge does not particularly discourage the story. The other thing to know: this is the snowbelt. Lake Erie dumps feet of snow on Geauga County, which is why Punderson is Ohio's premier winter park — sledding hill, cross-country trails, snowmobile routes, and a dedicated Musher's Trail for dog sleds.

Things to do in the park

  • Championship 18-hole golf course
  • One of Ohio's best disc golf courses, open year-round
  • Ohio's premier winter sports park: sledding hill, cross-country skiing, snowmobile trails, and a dog-sledding Musher's Trail
  • Electric-motor boating and two fishing piers on Punderson Lake

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Punderson State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Chagrin Falls' shops and waterfall-view dining
  • Amish country in Geauga County
  • Cleveland, about 40 minutes northwest
  • Burton's historic village green and maple-syrup festival each spring

Hiking trails

About 11 miles of hiking trails through wetlands, wooded ridges, and the shoreline of Punderson Lake.

Wildlife you might see

  • Great blue herons
  • Canada geese
  • Beavers
  • White-tailed deer
  • Great horned owls
  • Wildflowers including wild geranium and blue-eyed grass

Fishing

  • Punderson Lake (Ohio's largest and deepest natural kettle lake, electric motors only): panfish, bass, and stocked trout depending on season — check current park fishing reports

Hunting

The lake and surrounding land were originally purchased by the Division of Wildlife for hunting and fishing in 1948; check with the park office for current hunting-area boundaries and season dates before planning a trip, since managed public hunting can vary year to year here.

Getting on the water

Punderson Lake is electric-motor only, which keeps it quiet. It's Ohio's largest and deepest natural kettle lake, fed by groundwater rather than a river, so the water runs cold and clear. No boat-in campsites, but the campground is a short walk from the shore.

Launches & facilities

Boat launch
Electric motors only — no gas engines on this lake.
Boat rentals
Seasonal rentals available through the park.
Two fishing piers
Shore access on the lake.

Good to know

  • Bring a kayak or canoe — the electric-only rule makes this one of the better paddling lakes in northeast Ohio.
  • Ice fishing is popular here in winter; this is snowbelt country and the lake freezes reliably.
  • The lake is deep for Ohio, so fish hold differently than in the shallow reservoirs.

Lemuel Never Left

The story attaches to the manor house. Lemuel Punderson, who settled here in 1808 and built the mill on the big pond, is said to have drowned in his own lake — and to have stayed. Guests and staff have reported footsteps in empty corridors on the third floor, doors that open on their own, a figure in period clothing on the stairs, lights and televisions switching themselves on. Some versions add a man in a plaid shirt who appears in the dining room, and a child heard laughing in the halls.

The lodge has never worked very hard to discourage any of it. Ghost tours and paranormal investigations run here regularly, and it lands on nearly every list of Ohio's most haunted places.

Behind the legend

Lemuel Punderson was entirely real. He arrived in 1808 as Newbury Township's first permanent settler, dammed the outflow of the kettle lake, and ran a grist mill on it. He died young by our standards, and the family estate on the shore became a gathering place — in 1882 the pioneers of Newbury held a reunion on the lake and read a poem written about it aloud.

What complicates the ghost story is the building. The manor house wasn't started until 1929, more than a century after Lemuel settled here, and wasn't finished until 1948. Whatever haunts the third floor, it isn't haunting a house Lemuel Punderson ever set foot in. Accounts of how he died vary between tellings, which is usually a sign a story has been improved on over time.

If you go

Stay in the manor if the idea appeals — that's the whole business model, and the building is genuinely handsome regardless. The lodge runs organized ghost tours, which is the right way to do this: you get the stories from people who know them without wandering around someone else's hotel at 2 a.m. The lake, the disc golf, and the winter sports are the reasons to come back in daylight.

Historic sites near Punderson State Park

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

Century Village Museum, Burton

Burton · Geauga County · Northeast Ohio
A museum village of moved 19th-century buildings on a working farm just off Burton's town square, on the Buckeye Trail.
Western Reserve village
About 10 miles from this park · 1798 to about 1900

Historic Kirtland and the Kirtland Temple

Kirtland · Lake County · Northeast Ohio
The village where the Latter Day Saint movement built its first temple, with a story of revelation, dissent and violence.
Headquarters of the early Latter Day Saint movement
About 15 miles from this park · 1831–1838

Oddities near Punderson State Park

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

The Free Stamp

Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
A 35-ton steel rubber stamp reading FREE, tipped on its side in a downtown Cleveland park after the company that commissioned it changed its mind.
Public art
About 25 miles from this park

Caves near Punderson State Park

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

Nelson-Kennedy Ledges (Devil's Icebox and fissure passages)

Garrettsville · Portage County
A 167-acre state park of tall conglomerate ledges, deep fissures and narrow passages, including the Devil's Icebox, Goldhunters Cave and Old Maid's Kitchen.
Rock fissures and passages
About 20 miles from this park

Waterfalls near Punderson State Park

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

Affelder Falls

Russell Township · Geauga County
A 20 foot sandstone cascade on a cold water trout stream in The West Woods, reached by a 1.5 mile trail from the nature center.
20 ftModerate hike
About 2 miles from this park

Chagrin Falls

Chagrin Falls · Cuyahoga County
A wide river waterfall in the heart of downtown Chagrin Falls, viewable from a bridge and streamside park just steps from Main Street shops.
20 ftEasy walkAccessible overlook
About 9 miles from this park

Buttermilk Falls (North Chagrin Reservation)

Willoughby Hills · Cuyahoga County
An easy, family friendly cascade in North Chagrin Reservation, with a wooded overlook deck that highlights the exposed shale geology.
10 to 15 ftEasy walk
About 13 miles from this park

Falls of Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park

Garrettsville · Portage County
Waterfalls tucked among towering conglomerate rock walls and slot like crevices, including a new glass walkway overlook, in a small state park near Garrettsville.
10 to 50 ftModerate hikeAccessible overlook
About 13 miles from this park

Paine Falls

Leroy Township · Lake County
A 25 foot waterfall on Paine Creek viewed from a rim trail in a quiet Lake Metroparks preserve east of Painesville.
25 ftEasy walk
About 18 miles from this park

Campsites

Electric site
167 sites, 20 amp
$33–37/night
Full-service site
20 sites, 30/50 amp with water & sewer
$33–50/night

Cabins

Family cottage
2 bedrooms, near the manor house
$140–175/night

On site

  • Manor house dining
  • Disc golf
  • Cross-country skiing
  • Boat rentals
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 "Punderson State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?440-564-2279

Restaurants nearby

Punderson Manor Lodge Dining Room
Inside the Tudor manor house lodge
Directions
Warren's Spirited Kitchen
Elevated tavern fare in nearby Burton
Directions
Brown Barn Tavern
Popular local favorite in Chardon
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Sunoco
Newly remodeled, closest to the park
Directions
Speedway
A few minutes from the park entrance
Directions

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