Hike Location: Portage Lakes State Park
Geographic Location: southwest of Akron, OH (40.96588, -81.54591)
Length: 5 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: October 2025
Overview: A loop hike partly along the shore of Turkeyfoot Lake.
Park Information: https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/portage-lakes-state-park
Hike Route Map:
On The Go Map
Photo Highlight:
There are several places where you could start the Shoreline Trail. To save the best part of the hike for last, I started at the southeast corner of the large beach parking lot and hiked the loop clockwise. Walk east on the road that accesses the Tudor House, a famous summer wedding venue, and turn right to begin the single-track dirt Shoreline Trail, which is marked with powder blue rectangular paint blazes.
The first 0.9 miles head first south and then west to stay close to the park boundary on the left. A residential area sits across the park boundary, and the going is easy but uninspiring. Cross a closed park road, and ignore the green-blazed Fox Trace Trail, a short-cut option that exits right. At 0.9 miles, you come out at the rear of the Big Oaks Picnic Area. Walk a short distance on the picnic area road, then turn right to stay on the Shoreline Trail as it exits the picnic area. True to the picnic area's name, the forest here features some nice oak trees; the terrain remains very flat.
1.15 miles into the hike, you cross the park road you drove in a half hour or so ago. Ignore 3 trails that exit right: the orange-blazed Covey Way, the yellow-blazed Pheasant Run Trail, and the red-blazed Rabbit Hill Trail. All 3 of those trails offer more chances to short-cut the hike. A gradual descent leads to a crossing of the park's boat launch access road at 1.6 miles.
Immediately after crossing the road, the Planet Walk Trail enters from the left and begins sharing the treadway with the Shoreline Trail. The Planet Walk Trail owes its name to the Astronomy Club of Akron, which is located within the park. Signs describe the planets in our solar system, 1 planet per sign, but our hike only passes Uranus and Neptune. Now near the north boundary of the park, the Planet Walk section winds toward and around the boat launch parking area.
To begin the return arm of our loop, walk up the boat launch access road to where the Shoreline Trail enters the woods on the left. This part of the trail system is a maze, and it is poorly marked. In general you want to head west and then south in the narrow strip of woods between the park road on the right and Latham Bay on your left. 2.7 miles into the hike, you intersect the red-blazed Rabbit Hill Trail, which enters from the right along with an old road. Angle left and then right to keep heading south on the Shoreline Trail. The next 0.3 miles tread a sunny grassy strip with dense shrubby woods on the right and a wetland on the left.
At 3 miles, you reach a major trail intersection with trails going right, straight, and left. The trails going right and straight are short-cut trails you passed earlier, so you want to turn left to stay on the Shoreline Trail. Now back in the woods, the trail traces around the south end of Latham Bay to reach the dog park parking lot at 3.5 miles. Follow the powder blue blazes as they head through the parking lot and enter the woods on the other side.
After crossing the park's disc golf course, you climb slightly to intersect a park road at 3.7 miles. Turn left to quickly reach the disc golf parking lot, then continue the trail as it exits the rear of the parking lot and descends to Turkeyfoot Lake. Upon reaching the lake, turn right to begin the pleasant lakeside section of the Shoreline Trail.
You cross a few more holes on the park's disc golf course; watch for flying discs. At 4.1 miles, you reach the park's swimming beach. Walk across the soft sand beach and re-enter the forest. The last part of the Shoreline Trail treads around a narrow peninsula that juts into Turkeyfoot Lake. This peninsula provides the best lake views on this hike, and it is the reason I configured this hike the way I did. Treading a narrow strip of woods between the large beach parking lot on the right and the Tudor House on the left returns you to your car to complete the hike.
Hike Video: (coming August 28, 2026)
Directions to the trailhead: On the southwest side of Akron, take I-277 to SR 93 (exit 2). Exit and go south on SR 93. Take SR 93 south 4.6 miles to the signed state park entrance on the left. Turn left to enter the park, then continue straight at the next 2 intersections. Drive the park road 1.1 miles to the large beach parking lot, and park in the southeast corner of that parking lot, the corner furthest from the Visitor Center.
The hike: Long before I-77 was even a thought, the Portage Lakes formed part of the main north/south highway through eastern Ohio. The lakes occupy an area of high ground in northeast Ohio where the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers are separated by less than 19 miles. Because paddling a canoe is easier than carrying a canoe, travelers would use the lakes to cut the 19 miles down to less than 8 miles of actual portages. Starting in Lake Erie, travelers would paddle up the Cuyahoga, then across the lakes and the portages to the Tuscarawas, then down the Tuscarawas and Muskingum Rivers to reach the Ohio River. In fact, waters from the lakes drain into both the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers.
In 1828, the portage route was replaced with the Ohio and Erie Canal, and several of the park's lakes were built then to supply water for the canal. The canal operated until the great flood of 1913 did severe damage. After the canal closed, the Ohio Department of Public Works maintained the lakes for recreational purposes, and in 1949 the land was transferred to the newly created Ohio Department of Natural Resources to form the state park.
Today Portage Lakes State Park is a day-use only park, but it offers many activities and amenities including paddling and swimming on the lakes, many picnic shelters, an excellent disc golf course, and 9 hiking trails. The Shoreline Trail described here is the park's longest trail, and it forms a long two-lobed loop with several short-cut options near the middle. True to its name, the Shoreline Trail stays in sight of Turkeyfoot Lake for nearly 1/3 of its distance, and it offers a pleasant and fairly flat journey through the forest along the lake.
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| Start of Shoreline Trail |
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| Hiking near the park boundary |
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| Exiting the Big Oaks Picnic Area |
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| Middle of the loop |
At 2.3 miles, you reach the park's boat launch and this hike's first excellent lake view. The boat launch is located on Latham Bay, which is a large L-shaped inlet of Turkeyfoot Lake. I saw many waterfowl including mallards and coots here, and some benches and picnic tables encourage you to sit, rest, and rehydrate near the midpoint of this hike.
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| Boat launch on Latham Bay |
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| Hiking along the wetland |
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| Hiking along Turkeyfoot Lake |
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| Turkeyfoot Lake |
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