Buck Creek State Park: Lakeview Trail (Blog Hike #152)

Trail: Lakeview Trail

Hike Location: Buck Creek State Park

Geographic Location: northeast side of Springfield, OH (39.95723, -83.72011)

Length: 3-5 miles, depending on your route of choice

Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Dates Hiked: July 2004, July 2016

Overview: A warm, sunny walk through young forest featuring good lake views.

Park Information: https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/buck-creek-state-park

Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=172494
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: On the east side of Springfield, take I-70 to SR 41 (exit 59).  Exit and go north on SR 41.  Take SR 41 1.5 miles to East Bird Road and turn right on East Bird Rd.  East Bird Rd. becomes Buck Creek Lane at the park entrance.  Pass the park office, then turn right at the first intersection onto the main park road.  Take the main park road to the marina access road (the third road on the left) and turn left to head for the marina.  Where this road forks, head right.  Park in the parking lot on the right beside the sign marking the trail’s beginning.

The hike: The area around Springfield has a rich human history.  The town of Springfield was founded in 1801, two years before Ohio became a state.  The name Springfield comes from the unusually large numbers of natural springs found in the area.  These springs also explain the large number of bogs and fens in this area, including the famous Cedar Bog located about 10 miles north of the city itself.  Originally, Springfield was an agricultural town, but with the coming of the National Road in 1838 (which you crossed driving in, even though the sign read US 40), Springfield slowly evolved into the industrial center that exists today.  Springfield is also the county seat of Clark County, named for George Rogers Clark, a Revolutionary War hero who led the battles that freed up the area for settlement.

            In contrast to Springfield’s long history, the establishment of Buck Creek State Park in 1975 makes it one of the newer state parks in Ohio.  The immature forest in the park as well as the lack of good shade trees in the campground testify to this park’s youth.  The park sits around CJ Brown Reservoir, created by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1974.  The park visitor center and most of the facilities (including this hike) are located on the east shore of the lake, while the Army Corps’ visitor center is located on the west side.  The dam itself faces west and can be viewed from this hike.

            The trails at the park do not pass impressive natural features such as cliffs, overlooks, or waterfalls, but for a pleasant walk close to home, they will get the job done.  A few short trails as well as the 5-mile one-way Buckhorn Trail leave from the Corps’ visitor center on the west shore of the lake.  Our hike, the Lakeview Trail, is a 2.5 mile linear trail on the east side of the lake that features much of the same scenery as you will see on the longer Buckhorn Trail.  In addition, this trail serves the function of connecting the marina, cottage area, and campground, as well as connecting one to the bridle and snowmobile trail network.

Lakeview Trail trailhead

            From the marina, head north on the sunny mown-grass Lakeview Trail with the lake on the left and the hillside on the right.  This trail is supposed to be for hikers only, but hoof marks and a few other reminders tell you that horses occasionally stray onto this trail as well.  Expect to pass some families fishing along the lakeshore on a nice sunny day.  As you get further from the marina, you will be able to hear but not see the lake (and boats on the lake) through the dense pocket of barberry and honeysuckle bushes on the left.  There are also numerous raspberry briars along the meadow sections of this trail.

            0.5 miles into the hike, the trail ascends to cross the cottage access road, then descends moderately into the oldest forest on the hike.  This area features a few large maple trees, known as wolf trees.  You can see knots where these trees have branched out at a low elevation, indicating that these trees grew up in an open area.  Since this trail is about 85% meadow and 15% forest, this is not a trail for a hot sunny afternoon.  On the bright side, wildlife viewing opportunities abound, and rabbits seemed to be in unusually large numbers on my trip.

Forest section of Lakeview Trail

            0.75 miles from the start, the trail makes its first swipe into the campground, this time coming out at a sewage lid.  Turn left to follow the trail, which soon passes a barbed wire fence that used to mark the property boundary between two farms.  You can also see a large number of hedgeapple (also known as osage orange) trees in this area, further testifying to this land’s agricultural past.

            The trail now becomes more narrow and overgrown, and you will have to duck under some branches that hang out over the trail.  Ignore trails that enter from the right, leading to the campground.  A few views of the lake open up to the left.

CJ Brown Reservoir

            At 1.25 miles, pass the small campers beach and reenter the forest on the opposite side of the clearing.  One last particularly bushy stretch remains before coming out at the campground road at the furthest end of the campground.  You could turn around here and retrace your steps for a hike of about 3 miles. 

            The park map shows the trail tracing the northern perimeter of the campground, but this is not true.  To continue the trail, you will have to walk straight on the campground road for 0.5 miles.  Near the entrance to the campground, look for the campground basketball courts on the left.  If you walk to these basketball courts, you will see the trail heading northeast out of the campground.

Trail leaving campground area

            The Lakeview Trail continues for another 0.5 miles, heading northeast with the lake barely visible to the left.  This entire stretch passes through sunny meadows on a mowed-grass treadway.  The Lakeview Trail ends unceremoniously at the junction with the bridle trail 2.5 miles from the start.  A second option for this hike lets you turn around here and retrace your steps 2.5 miles back to the marina for a round-trip hike of 5 miles.

            My favorite option for this hike uses the bridle trail to get back to the trailhead.  You will not want to take this option if it has rained recently, as horse trails stay wetter longer than hiking trails due to the horse traffic.  Even in dry weather, the trail surface will be rougher than you are used to, and you will notice more flies than usual along the horse trail.  Also, this trail takes you through a section of the park open to hunting, so wear bright clothing during hunting season to avoid accidents.  Even with all of these inconveniences, this route does not suffer too bad from the horse traffic (compared to other horse trails I have hiked), and I would rather hike a loop than retrace my steps any day.

            To use this third option, turn right onto the horse trail and head south on the wide sunny trail.  After 0.3 miles on the trail, turn left at a trail junction; the trail going straight deadends at the campground office.  The trail climbs moderately, but only for a short period of time.  In 0.15 miles, this trail ends at another trail, which runs north-south.  Turn right and head south along a power line swath.

Hiking on the bridle trail

            The horse trail first crosses the campground road and then crosses an abandoned paved road that once crossed the land that is currently beneath CJ Brown Reservoir.  The third road to be intersected accesses the picnic area that sits above the marina.  You should turn right here and proceed to the last picnic area, which provides a nice vista of the lake.  From the right side of this picnic area, pick up the short trail that heads downhill to the lakeshore, where it intersects the Lakeview Trail.  A left turn at this intersection will return you to the marina, completing a hike of 4 miles.