Lake Loramie State Park: Lakeview and Blackberry Island Trails (Blog Hike #122)

Trails: Lakeview and Blackberry Island Trails

Hike Location: Lake Loramie State Park

Geographic Location: east of Fort Loramie, OH (40.35273, -84.35161)

Length: 4.5 miles

Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: July 2002

Overview: A pair of flat, easy trails along the south shore of Lake Loramie.

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

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=940185
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From downtown Ft. Loramie, go east on SR 362 1 mile to the park.  Where SR 362 turns left at the park boundary, continue straight.  Pass the park office, cross a small creek, and immediately turn left into a small, sunny gravel parking area with a gate at the back.  Park here, making sure not to block the gate.  The trail begins at the gate.

The hike: Many parks in this part of Ohio have ties to the Miami-Erie canal.  Lake Loramie is no exception.  The canal was dependent upon a steady source of water to keep boats moving along its route.  If during the hot, dry summer months the canals were to dry up, the canal’s effectiveness as a means of transportation would be severely hampered.  The solution was to build “storage” lakes that would retain water during the wet season and release it when it was needed.  The land in west-central Ohio was the highest land along the canal’s route, so it became the logical place to build these lakes.

            Five of these storage lakes were built, and when the canal closed in 1920, alternative uses for the lakes were explored.  One of the lakes was sufficiently scenic to be developed as a park.  It became called Lake Loramie after the nearby town of Ft. Loramie.  In 1940, the newly formed Ohio Department of Natural Resources assumed control of the land and Lake Loramie State Park was born. 

Today, the state park is best known for its cabins, its large number of picnic areas, and its sunny campground with many sites along the lake. There are two hiking trails in the park.  The 1.25 mile Lakeview Trail connects two small gravel parking areas on the south side of the lake.  The Blackberry Island Trail provides an unusual loop around an undeveloped island in Lake Loramie.  These trails are combined to form this 4.5 mile hike.

Lake View Trail trailhead

            From the parking area, walk around the vehicle gate and begin a wide, sunny trail with the an inlet of the lake immediately on your left and young forest with dense understory on your right.  A picnic area and campground can be seen across the inlet to the left.  The grassy trail curves right with the water and begins treading a narrow strip of land with plowed fields on either side.  The park borders are unusually shaped with many boundaries on private land, so be sure to stay on the trail. 

Lake Loramie

            After crossing the inlet over a drainpipe, the trail curves right away from the water and enters the young forest on a two-track dirt road.  At an unmarked trail intersection, keep right and stay in the forest, with the lake occasionally coming into view on the left.  This portion of trail is very good for watching and catching insects.

0.75 miles from the first trail intersection, the Lakeview Trail comes to an end at a small gravel parking area dotted by a few picnic tables.  These picnic tables offer good lake views, so sit and rest for awhile and watch for waterfowl such as blue herons, egrets, and kingfishers before starting the Blackberry Island Trail.  The beginning of the Blackberry Island trail can be found by turning left from the Lakeview Trail and walking across a wooden bridge. 

Bridge to Blackberry Island

            The perimeter of the island is covered with a dense understory of honeysuckle, so you will be surrounded by it when you leave the bridge.  In the spring, you will be surrounded by white and yellow flowering shrubs and in the summer bright red berries.  Blackberry Island is cut off from human presence (except for hikers, of course), so it is also a great haven for birds.  Expect to flush quite a few out as you walk between the honeysuckle rows.

At the end of the honeysuckles, the trail forks to form the loop.  The loop is flat, and you could go either direction here.  This description will turn right and use the left as the return route.  The interior of the island contains some large oak and beech trees and is undoubtedly the best forest of this hike.  The trail first heads west and in 0.4 miles a return of the honeysuckle signal you are again approaching the lake.  There is a lookout of the lake here that lets you look west to another small island.  There is also a cedar tree here that looks like it could be decorated during Christmas time.

Blackberry Island Trail

            From this point, the trail heads east back into the mature forest and in another 0.5 miles comes to the east side of the island.  A vantage point here overlooks the park’s cabin area.  Only a short distance remains to close the loop.  Return across the bridge to the picnic area and then retrace your steps back along the Lakeview Trail to complete the hike.  Alternatively, you could place a second car at this parking area, which is accessible by continuing east 1.2 miles from the park office and turning left onto the access road.