Findley State Park: Hickory Grove, Spillway, and Lake Trails (Blog Hike #1092)

Trails: Hickory Grove, Spillway, and Lake Trails
Hike Location: Findley State Park
Geographic Location: northwest of Lodi, OH (41.12366, -82.20602)
Length: 2.7 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: October 2025
Overview: A fairly flat loop through nice forest along Findley Lake.
Park Information: https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/findley-state-park
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming June 26, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: From Lodi, take US 224 west 11.8 miles to the community of Sullivan and SR 58.  Turn right on SR 58.  Drive SR 58 north 7.2 miles to the signed park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, then turn right at the next 2 intersections.  Drive the main park road 1.5 miles to the campground entrance, and park in the large blacktop lot to the left of the campground entrance station.

The hike: Many people think 811-acre Findley State Park is located in northwest Ohio near the City of Findlay, but the park is not spelled the same as the city.  In fact, this park is closer to Cleveland than Toledo.  The park owes its name to Judge Guy B. Findley, who donated farmland to the State of Ohio in the 1930s for the purpose of creating a state forest.  The forest was planted in the early 1940s by the Ohio Division of Forestry with assistance from the Civilian Conservation Corps, and it was transferred to the Ohio Division of Parks and Recreation in 1950 to create the park.

            Today the forest remains a nice feature of Findley State Park, but it also offers many fantastic amenities.  The park offers boating, fishing, and swimming on a 93-acre lake built in 1956, one of the best disc golf courses in Ohio, a popular 157-site developed campground that was nearly full on my visit, several picnic areas, and nearly 16 miles of hiking trails.  Many hiking routes are possible, and the hike described here forms a pleasant loop that starts at the main campground and explores most of the trails east of the lake.

Start of the Hickory Grove Trail

            From the campground entrance station, pick up the Hickory Grove Trail as it heads northeast into the woods.  This park's history as a state forest quickly becomes evident: there are numerous large hickory trees near the trailhead, and large beech, maple, and oak trees are common as you get deeper into the forest.  The trail surface starts as gravel before turning to dirt.  I had to negotiate a few muddy areas when I came here on a cool morning in early October, but overall the going is flat and easy.

Hiking the Hickory Grove Trail

            The first part of the Hickory Grove Trail is part of this park's Storybook Trail, i.e. a trail with signs that tell a children's story one page per sign.  Hiking this direction, you will be reading the story backward.  This hike does not use the beginning of the Storybook Trail, but you could hike a short 0.5 mile loop by going out on the Wyandot Trail and coming back on this trail if you wanted to read the full story in the correct order.

Crossing a small stream

            At 0.25 and 0.5 miles respectively, the Storybook and Wyandot Trails exit right.  Angle left both times to stay on the Hickory Grove Trail.  At 0.65 miles, you intersect the Thorn Mountain Bike Trail for the first of several times.  The Hickory Grove Trail and the mountain bike trail both lead to the spillway, so you could use the mountain bike trail if you wanted a much longer version of this hike.  Be warned that the mountain bike trail has the usual incessant winding, and I did see several mountain bikers when I hiked here.

Findley Lake and spillway

            1 mile into the hike, the trail curves left and dips to cross a small stream on a wooden footbridge; this is the only noticeable elevation change on the Hickory Grove Trail.  At 1.2 miles, you climb out of the ravine to reach the north end of the Hickory Grove Trail at the park's wide, grassy, sunny spillway.  The Thorn Mountain Bike Trail goes right here and continues straight to cross the park's dam.  Our hike turns left to head south on the Spillway Trail with the lake on the right.

Starting the Spillway Trail

            The Spillway Trail follows a wide two-track dirt road that looks like an old park or forestry maintenance or construction road.  The Spillway Trail is completely flat, and what it lacks in charm it makes up for in ease.  At 1.7 miles, you reach the south end of the Spillway Trail at the park's main campground.  Angle left, then immediately look right to find the start of the Lake Trail, the last trail used on this hike.

Hiking the Lake Trail

            The Lake Trail dips through a shallow but steep ravine to head around the west side of the campground; that ravine is the hardest part of this hike.  The Lake Trail is somewhat mis-named.  There are no clear lake views on this trail, and the lake remains out of sight for most of the distance.

Findley Lake at campground boat launch

            A gradual descent brings you past the park's archery range to intersect a park road at 2.15 miles.  We will eventually go left here, but first turn right to walk the road down to the campground boat launch where a couple of picnic tables occupy scenic lakeside spots.  I almost skipped the boat launch, but I found the boat launch to be the most scenic spot on this hike.  Not only did the calm reflective waters look beautiful, but I did some nice bird watching that included a heron and some Canada geese.  After enjoying the lakeside scenery, walk back up the campground boat launch road through the campground to the entrance station to finish this hike.

Creek Ridge County Park in Michigan City, IN (Blog Hike #1091)

Trails: Norm Pahs, Prairie, Steelheaders Boardwalk, and Woodard Loop Trails
Hike Location: Creek Ridge County Park
Geographic Location: Michigan City, IN (41.66908, -86.85200)
Length: 1.3 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: October 2025
Overview: A mostly flat loop through woodland and wetlands.
Park Information: https://laportecountyparks.org/parks/creek-ridge-county-park/
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming September 22, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: In northwest Indiana, take I-94 to US 421 (exit 34B).  Exit and go north on US 421.  Drive US 421 north 0.3 miles to Kieffer Road and turn right on Kieffer Rd.  Drive Kieffer Rd. east 2.1 miles to the signed park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, then turn right at the first intersection to park in the large blacktop lot near the dog park.

The hike: Located on the south side of Michigan City less than 2 miles from I-94, Creek Ridge County Park consists of 112 acres of mostly flat ridgetop land overlooking Trail Creek.  The park's roots date to 1992 when Aubrey and Judith Greenberg donated the land to Indiana's Department of Natural Resources.  LaPorte County subsequently leased the land from the State of Indiana to form the park.

            Creek Ridge County Park has some popular amenities including a dog park, a playground, 3 picnic shelters, and a 9-hole disc golf course.  For hikers, the park offers 4 short trails, none of which measure more than 0.5 miles in length.  This hike uses parts of all 4 trails to form a grand loop tour around the park.  While this park is not a hiking destination by itself, it makes a nice add-on if you are visiting nearby Indiana Dunes State Park or Indiana Dunes National Park.

Start of Norm Pahs Trail

            Start on the asphalt Norm Pahs Trail, an ADA-accessible trail that enters the woods across the mowed-grass area southwest of the large parking lot.  The trailhead area features a dense pine forest, but most of this hike passes through broadleaf forest with plenty of oak, hickory, and beech trees.  Where the asphalt trail turns left, continue straight to begin the dirt/grass Prairie Trail as it continues east along the south boundary of the dog park.  All trails at this park are unmarked and unlabeled on the ground, but they are wide and easy to follow.

Hiking the Prairie Trail

            The Prairie Trail forms a loop through the east end of the park, and it is somewhat misnamed: most of the trail passes through young shrubby forest that is a mixture of red cedar and broadleaf trees.  I have read that bugs and mud can be problems on this trail, but the hiking was pleasant if unspectacular on the cool early October morning when I hiked here.  The terrain is very flat with imperceptible elevation changes.  At 0.5 miles, you pass through a pipeline corridor before curving left and returning to the paved Norm Pahs Trail near the park's restroom building.  Turn right twice to begin a short out-and-back on the Steelheaders Boardwalk.

Trail Creek wetlands

            The Steelheaders Boardwalk switchbacks downhill to reach an overlook of Trail Creek and its associated wetlands at 0.7 miles.  This boardwalk gets its name because every year steelhead and salmon migrate up Trail Creek from Lake Michigan.  I did not see any unusual fish on my visit, but the creekside area was still quite scenic.

Hiking the Woodard Loop

            Retrace your steps back up the boardwalk, then turn right twice to begin the dirt Woodard Loop Trail, which forms a loop through the western part of the park.  A red wooden post marks the start of this trail.  The wide dirt Woodard Loop is more scenic than the Prairie Trail: some large maple trees grow here, and some wooden bridges take you over ravines to keep the trail at a relatively constant elevation.  Just past 1.2 miles, the Woodard Loop ends at the park road.  Angle right to return to the large parking lot and complete the hike.