Tinkers Creek State Nature Preserve (Blog Hike #1095)

Trails: Seven Ponds and Eagle Point Trails
Hike Location: Tinkers Creek State Nature Preserve
Geographic Location: northwest of Streetsboro, OH (41.28505, -81.39180)
Length: 2.1 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: October 2025
Overview: A pair of short flat trails featuring many wetlands.
Park Information: https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/tinkers-creek-state-nature-preserve
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming October 30, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: From Streetsboro, take SR 303 west 3.4 miles to Stow Road and turn right on Stow Rd.  Drive Stow Rd. north 3 miles to Old Mill Road and turn right on Old Mill Rd.  The signed parking area for Tinkers Creek State Nature Preserve is 0.9 miles ahead on the left just after crossing a railroad track.  Park here.

The hike: Known for its numerous naturally occurring wetlands and kettle lakes, the 355-acre Tinkers Creek complex of parks is owned by the State of Ohio but maintained by Summit County through its Metroparks.  Before it became a state park, the park's central area was operated as a private park known as Colonial Spring Gardens.  The state purchased the land in 1966, and the park opened in 1973.

            Today Tinkers Creek State Park and Tinkers Creek State Nature Preserve are both managed as part of Summit County's vast 3000-acre Liberty Park.  Tinkers Creek's amenities are limited to just fishing and paddling on the park's pond, an archery range, and a rentable picnic shelter.  For hikers, the state park has only a single short trail, but the state nature preserve has 2 trails, both of which provide excellent views into the wetlands.  This hike uses both of those trails, and thus it features the longest and best hike Tinkers Creek has to offer.

Crosswalk leading to Seven Ponds Trail

            Both trails start at the same parking area, so you could hike either trail first.  I headed south to cross Old Mill Road on the marked crosswalk and hike the longer Seven Ponds Trail first.  True to its name, the Seven Ponds Trail forms a semiloop through a wetland area that contains 7 ponds.  In fact, the Tinkers Creek area has many more than 7 ponds, and this trail provides a good sample of the area.  The wetlands ensure that bugs are quite bad here in the summer, but I had a pleasant bug-free hike on a mild sunny afternoon in mid-October.

Hiking the entrance trail

            The wide entrance trail heads south on what may be an old road with an active railroad track across the preserve boundary to your right.  At 0.2 miles, the trail splits at an unmarked intersection to form its loop.  This hike continues straight and uses the trail going left as our return route, thus heading around the loop counterclockwise.  A few hundred feet later, you reach the first pond on the left.  The fall colors were nearing peak when I hiked here in mid-October, and while a bench beside the tranquil pond looked inviting, I decided it was too early in the hike for a rest.

First pond

            The trail angles left to increase its distance from the railroad track while passing some more ponds.  The terrain in this entire preserve is very flat, and there is no noticeable elevation change on this hike.  0.6 miles into the hike, you reach another trail intersection.  We will eventually turn left to continue the loop, but first turn right to begin a short spur trail to the southernmost point on this hike.

Grassy wet prairie at south end of spur

            The spur trail heads south through some mixed pine and broadleaf forest on a peninsula between 2 wetlands.  Soon the peninsula narrows, and just past 0.8 miles you reach the end of the peninsula, the end of the spur trail, and a viewpoint.  This viewpoint looks southwest across a large grassy wet prairie, and the fall colors of the grasses were a spectacular orange and red when I hiked here.

Canada goose in pond

            Backtrack to the loop, then turn right to continue the loop.  You pass more ponds, one of which had a Canada goose swimming around on my visit.  I was hoping to see a lot of waterfowl on this hike, but I came at the wrong time of day or year: the one goose is all I saw.  At 1.6 miles, you close the loop.  Turn right to retrace your steps back to the parking lot.

View at end of Eagle Point Trail

            The other trail, the Eagle Point Trail, leaves the other/north end of the parking lot.  The Eagle Point Trail is a short 0.15 mile one-way out-and-back, and it leads north through shrubby deciduous forest to a wooden overlook platform.  The platform offers a nice view to the northeast across another large grassy wet prairie similar to the one on the south spur trail.  After enjoying the view, retrace your steps to the parking lot for a second time to complete the hike.