Stonelick State Park (Blog Hike #137)

Trails: Lakeview, Southwoods, and Red Fox Trails

Hike Location: Stonelick State Park

Geographic Location: east of Goshen, OH (39.21749, -84.06637)

Length: 3.4 miles

Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Dates Hiked: September 2003, August 2017, October 2022

Overview: A fairly easy hike through lowland forest with some nice lake views.

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

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=940184

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: On the east side of Cincinnati, take I-275 to SR 28 (exit 57).  Exit and go east.  Take SR 28 east 2.5 miles to Woodville Pike, and take a soft right on Woodville Pike.  Take Woodville Pike east 7 miles to SR 727 and turn right on SR 727.  Take SR 727 south 1.3 miles to Lake Drive, the park entrance road, on the left.  Turn left, enter the park, and drive 0.7 miles to the lakeside picnic area on the left, which is located just after passing the beach access road.  Park in the picnic area parking lot.  The trail begins at the far end of the picnic area.

The hike: Stonelick State Park is one of those places that one does not just wander into.  Indeed, on one occasion I had planned to go hiking here on a Sunday afternoon, but I left my road map at home.  Thus, I had to rely on road signs to direct me in the right direction, road signs that it turned out did not exist.  On that day, my intended destination was forcibly altered.

            Two years later, with map in hand this time, I finally drove down the park entrance road.  What I found was a friendly, family-oriented park, remarkably uncrowded given its location in populous Clermont County.  This is the place to go to kill a nice afternoon with no itinerary or plans.

The park is also a nice destination for fossil hunters.  The Cincinnati Arch, a narrow, uplifted strip of land that creates a semicircle around the east side of Cincinnati, was created when the Appalachian Mountains uplifted and passes through the park.  Trilobites, brachiopods, and cephalopods are common finds in the park.

In terms of facilities, the park features a 113-site campground, a 200 acre lake with a single boat launch ramp, a public beach located near the trailhead for this hike, and four hiking trails totaling 5.3 miles.  The hike described here uses the three trails along the lake in their entirety.  The fourth trail, the 1.5 mile Beechtree Trail, follows the southern park boundary, exiting our hike just short of midway, and coming out near the park entrance.

Lakeview Trail picnic area trailhead

             Begin at the far end of the picnic area where the yellow-blazed Lakeview Trail enters the woods.  The trail begins parallel to the lake on the left with some traffic from the park road audible uphill to the right.  This land has been in public hands since the late 1940’s, so there are some decent sized maple and beech trees in the forest above the lake.

0.25 miles from the trailhead, the trail climbs gently uphill to cross a tributary to Stonelick Lake right beside the park road before angling left back into the forest.  Still walking parallel to the park road, the trail begins following a ravine on the left that contains another tributary of the lake.

0.5 miles from the start, the Lakeview Trail ends at an intersection with two other trails.  Continuing straight and crossing the park road would lead you to the beginning of the Beechtree Trail mentioned in the introduction.  Our hike turns left onto the green-blazed Southwoods Trail and begins heading northeast.  The trail dips to cross the tributary mentioned above on stepping-stones.  The rocks were stable when I crossed them, though a few downpours could change that situation.

Hiking the Southwoods Trail

             After 0.4 miles of walking through second-growth beech-maple forest, the Southwoods Trail ends at the park road just outside the campground.  If you wanted to shorten this hike, there is a small parking lot located just inside the campground that you could park in, picking up the trail at this point.  From the exit of the Southwoods Trail, angle to the right and cross the park road to pick up the red-blazed Red Fox Trail.  The Red Fox Trail enters the woods and in 200 feet the trail forks.  Unlike the first two trails, which are linear, this trail forms a 2-mile loop.  This description will go to the left at first and return using the trail to the right.

The trail now passes through younger forest with an unusually high percentage of sweetgum trees.  Several creeks are crossed by the trail using metal grates as bridges.  A couple of the grates are beginning to crack and fall apart, so watch your step as you cross.  After 0.6 miles, angle to the left and arrive in a field that contains a couple of old quarries.  Notice the pits to the left that are now filled with water.  The stagnant water makes great breeding grounds for mosquitoes, so be sure to wear plenty of bug repellant for this hike during the warm season.

Entering the field

             Keep left at each intersection to arrive at a small peninsula that just out into the lake.  This is an excellent spot to observe wildlife, as some bushes provide a natural blind for bird viewing.  After observing the lake, begin retracing your steps back to the quarry area.  Ignore an abandoned trail that exits left just after leaving the peninsula, opting instead for the relocated trail that exits left opposite the quarry.

The trail, marked now with some large red paint blazes, passes around a couple of large windfalls as it begins angling to the right.  All trails at Stonelick are wide and easy to follow, so the scarcity of blazes does not create a problem.  SR 133 can be heard only a few hundred feet to the left, but soon the trail angles to the right again and leaves the road behind. 

Hiking the Red Fox Trail

            Ignore a shortcut trail that exits right and continue around the loop. The 2 mile loop closes, and a sharp left turn is needed to return you to the park road.  From here, retrace your steps along the Southwoods and Lakeview Trails to return to the parking lot.  For a longer variation, one could choose the Beechtree Trail instead of the Lakeview Trail, but this option will come out at the park road outside of the picnic shelter.  A right turn and a walk along the park road would be needed to return you to the parking lot to complete the hike.