Alum Creek State Park

About Alum Creek State Park

While sunbathers mingle with thousands on Ohio's largest inland beach, lone fishermen in the north of the park await a tranquil bay in front of slate cliffs, while sunbathing and boating lure in the south. Located on the east side of Lake Erie south of Cleveland, Alum Creek State Park offers a unique combination of scenic beauty, scenic views and a variety of activities.

Although surrounded by agricultural land, the park offers a variety of natural features, and the cliffs of the Ohio Shale are noteworthy because Alum Creek and other streams flow through the rocks. The dark colour of the rock is due to the plant material, the mud that has formed the slate. Shale was formed when mud was washed away from an ancient sea that covered the area several hundred million years ago.

After glaciers retreated about 12,000 years ago, Delaware County's rich soil created a lush beech and maple forest. The original forest has long since been cleared, but a healthy second - growth forest - remains in the park.

The forest is home to a variety of plant species and offers interested observers a beautiful representation of wild flowers and wildlife. The forest floor is covered with large - blooming trillions of flowers such as wildflowers, lilies of the valley, blueberries, lilac, lavender, orange, yellow, pink, red and white - pregnant deer. Man called the forest of Alum Creek Valley his home long before any history was recorded. It is a popular destination for deer, elk, wild boar, black bear, coyote, fox, lynx, mountain lion and other wildlife, as well as for wild turkeys, wolves, elk, lynx and many other species.

The Adena culture lived in the Alum Creek Valley for more than 1,000 years before the Europeans arrived in the 17th century.

Seven hills built by mountain farmers along the creek have been identified, and six were dug up after the valley was flooded, although archaeologists do not believe they are burial mounds.

Much later, several villages along Alum Creek were occupied by Delaware Indian tribes, and a large city was located where the city of Delaware stands today.

In much of what is now downtown, the Indians cultivated 400 hectares of corn fields, and the Algonquin tribe invaded Ohio in the 17th century. They were driven out of the Delaware River Valley by a fierce Iroquois nation to their eastern homeland.

Colonel Moses Byxbe was one of the first settlers in the county and his house was built in 1805 at Alum Creek. The congregation is named after Berkshire's hometown of Berkshire, Massachusetts, after the town of Berkshire in Berkshire County, New York. He owned 8,000 acres along the creek and 30,000 others; there was military land that sold for $2.50 per 10 acres.

After the threat of war in 1812, the border counties began to build structures to defend themselves in the event of an attack from India. Four log houses were built in each county, one at Alum Creek and two at the mouth of the creek and one on the other side.

The fortress had two floors, the second of which towered over the first, providing a place to fire shots, boil water to throw the attackers, and set fire to block buildings. The Cheshire fort, which stood until the Civil War, was later used as a school building, but there were no attempts to rebuild it. A bronze plaque reminds of the place where the fortress once stood and the location of the creek.

Fifty years after the Civil War, the border state of Ohio provided a subway to bring slaves to freedom. More than 40,000 slaves migrated north along this route through Ohio, and some of them died.

The Sycamore Trail, often marked with the eerie white bark of floodplain trees, runs along Alum Creek and along the river.

Africa Road was named after the thirty slaves who were freed from North Carolina and settled with friendly homeowners in the area. After leaving the safe Hanby House in Westerville, the slaves waded into the water of the creek to escape persecutors.

The Alum Creek Dam is the largest dam in North Carolina and the second largest in the United States. The lake was approved by Congress under the Flood Control Act of 1962, and construction began in August 1970 and was completed in 1974.

The 297 family campsites on Alum Creek offer wooded and sunny areas with lake views and scenic views of the river and stream. Each well-designed campsite has a beach and a boat ramp, which is exclusively available to overnight guests.

Each unit has an electricity connection and a heated shower is located in the unit, and heated showers are located within each unit. Alum Creek is conveniently located just a few miles south of the main entrance to the national park on the west side of Lake Michigan.

The 3,000-foot beach has a changing area and concession stand, and the beach is open only during the day and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Alum Creek reservoir contains 3,387 acres of water, with a maximum capacity of 1.5 million gallons per day, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

The northern half of the park is best suited for squirrel and deer hunters, with a narrow bay and a quiet bay offering great views of Alum Creek and its surroundings. The northern part offers tree-lined shores and sheltered coves, and the southern half offers more open areas for hiking, biking, fishing and camping. There is a wide range of hiking trails as well as routes for kayaking, canoeing, hiking and mountain biking.

The Army Corps of Engineers also maintains two shelters on Alum Creek Dam, and the shores of the lake are enriched with bays for fishing, kayaking, canoeing and other recreational activities. A valid hunting and fishing license from Ohio is required, but the hunting permit indicates that many areas are restricted.

Alum Creek State Park is a national park in the state of Ohio with a total area of 1.5 million hectares and a population of more than 3,000 people.

Hikers and cyclists enjoy the rugged north side of the park, and over 40 km of hiking trails wind along the lakeside.

Riders along Howard Road are offered a primitive campsite, but riders must bring their own stables. Pressurised water latrines are available, and pressurised water toilets and flush toilets are also available on the north side of the park, near the entrance to the campsite.

The Little Brown Jug race, which is held from the Delaware County Fairgrounds, is well known, and there are many other horse races and events at Alum Creek State Park in Delaware County.

The Columbus Zoo in the Southwest boasts an extensive collection of wildlife from around the world, and the city of Columbus is located south of Alum Creek and offers park users a variety of activities including hiking, canoeing, biking, fishing, horseback riding, kayaking, golf and much more. The Columbus Clipper Club, Ohio State Fairgrounds and Columbus Meet & Greet are just a few of the attractions in neighboring Columbus.