Bond Park Lake Loop

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Lake · River/Creek · Views

Need to get in a quick hike? This is a great little trail around a scenic lake in a suburban setting. It takes you around the perimeter of the park through tall pines, around ball fields, and it is relatively flat.

Park in the Ballfield 5/6/7/Ropes Course parking lot. You can access the trail just behind the restrooms. Start out on mulched doubletrack and stay right past the ropes course. Hike to the base of the dam and take a right on the paved greenway, the Paw Paw Trail. Stay on this only .10 of a mile; then stay left and hike up the steps at the end of the dam.

The Lake Trail starts here to the right. Here it's singletrack along the lake with some pretty views of the lake. The trail is easy to follow through here. After a couple bridges, you'll start making lefts around the lake. Always keep the lake on the left. Once you get 3/4 of way around the lake, you'll come to a footbridge that's washed out (as of 12/2016) but you can hop rocks to cross the creek.

After crossing the creek, you'll hike up a paved path till you hit a T-intersection. At this intersection, you take a left. Hike along the paved greenway, again with the lake on your left, for a quarter mile; then take a sharp right onto another paved path, the Pine Cone Trail. You'll hike away from the lake at this point. Follow this path (which also has wide natural surface shoulder to hike on as well) about another quarter mile until you hit another T-intersection. Go straight here onto the mulched doubletrack.

Continue on the mulched doubletrack for approximately another 1/4 mile; you'll cross a road and head up a hill until you are behind the community center. Stay right here and loop behind the community center for another 1/4 of mile. You'll then be back to the park road; go straight, cross the road again and follow it to the right back to the parking lot.

There are several variations and ways to add mileage to this route. There are maps in the parking lots, but the trails are not well marked. That said, if you keep the lake in sight, it's hard to get lost.