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A nice, mostly wooded trail around the lake perimeter at Caesar Creek State Park.


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Map Key

15.9

Miles

25.6

KM

Point to Point

932' 284 m

High

852' 260 m

Low

767' 234 m

Up

776' 237 m

Down

2%

Avg Grade (1°)

19%

Max Grade (11°)

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Lake · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Fall hunting.

Overview

This is a mostly well-maintained trail that will take you over a dam, traverse a spillway, across a swinging bridge, and through a pioneer village. There are numerous, excellent views of the lake.

Need to Know

Take the side trail before you cross the swinging bridge to see Horseshoe Falls. Watch for poison ivy between Pioneer Village and abandoned Lukens Rd.; that section gets overgrown.

Description

From the visitors center, follow Clarksville Rd. across the dam. Enter Flat Fork Recreation Area and follow the trail along the shoreline. You'll end up on the spillway. Cross the spillway and reenter the trail, which will take you to the top of the gorge. Follow this trail for a while and you'll cross the swinging bridge. After the bridge continue on the trail, which will eventually dump you out by Wellman Meadows picnic ground. Cross the street to reenter the trail and follow until you reach Pioneer Village. Follow the circle gravel driveway around to reenter the trail across the main road. You'll be dropped onto an abandoned road, which you follow until just before you end up in the lake. Follow this trail until you cross the bridge at Crawdad Falls. After the falls, you'll enter the Fifty Springs camp area.

You'll exit the Fifty Springs area and cross over the Route 73 bridge. It is usually pretty busy with traffic moving at high speed. However, the shoulder is very wide, so the only concern you should have is roadkill. Once you are on the other side of the bridge, you'll need to hop the guardrail to get back on the trail. Look for the painted markings and streamers.

After you have re-entered the trail, you'll follow it to the Furnas Shores boat ramp. Take the ramp up to the main access road. The trail re-enters the woods across the road from the restroom.

The remaining trail is rolling and takes you into several valleys and along some sweepers above the lake shore. Travel across the parking lot for Hopewell Lodge and back into the woods. This section has some of the most technical trail of the hike. At one point you'll dump out onto another abandoned road; follow the arrows painted on the pavement. This is the home stretch and after a creek crossing, you'll be back at the visitors center. If you need to cool down and stretch, there is a nice overlook trail nearby.

Contacts

Land Manager: Ohio State Parks

Shared By:

Rich Muskopf

Trail Ratings

  3.5 from 12 votes

#3918

Overall
  3.5 from 12 votes
5 Star
17%
4 Star
33%
3 Star
33%
2 Star
17%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#41

in Ohio

#3,918

Overall
27 Views Last Month
9,795 Since Aug 19, 2015
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Photos

A bridge
Feb 2, 2022 near Waynesv…, OH
Swinging bridge at Caesar Creek.
Aug 19, 2015 near Waynesv…, OH
Caesar Creek Dam spillway.
Aug 19, 2015 near Waynesv…, OH
Caesar Creek Lake
Aug 19, 2015 near Waynesv…, OH
One of several log buildings at the Pioneer Village.
Aug 1, 2018 near Waynesv…, OH
Horseshoe falls
Aug 1, 2018 near Waynesv…, OH
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Weather


Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 56 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Sep 2, 2023
Michael Hoffman
15.7mi — 5h 30m
Feb 4, 2020
Joel Tjader
Dec 28, 2019
Sam Smith
Jul 28, 2019
Laurie Smart
Jul 11, 2019
JB Hall
7mi — 2h 35m
Apr 27, 2019
Spencer Thomas
4mi — 1h 00m
Apr 8, 2019
R Frisch
very muddy, lots of fallen trees. generally an unenjoyable experience. 14mi — 3h 58m
Apr 4, 2019
Molly Ogden
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