Hiking and Bicycle Trails
Trail Heads
- Vista Point Trail Head (Foot only)
- Going from Athens to the park on Strouds Run Road, this trail head is the first parking area
on the left, soon after entering the park. There are picnic tables (across the road) and pit toilets
here. Trails accessible from here: Vista Point Trail (leading to Homestead Trail), Strouds Run Trail
(leading to South Lakeview Trail, Pioneer
Cemetery Trail, Finger Rock Trail)
- Pioneer Cemetery Trail Head (Foot and
bicycle)
- Going from Athens to the park on Strouds Run Road, this trail head is the first parking area
on the right, shortly past the Vista Point Trail Head. There are picnic tables here. Trails
accessible from here: Strouds Run Trail (leading to Vista Point Trail, which is foot only), South
Lakeview Trail, Pioneer Cemetery Trail, Finger Rock Trail.
- Amphitheater Trail Head (Foot only)
- Going from Athens to the park on Strouds Run Road, take the State Park Road to the left at
the head of the lake. Go about one block, and turn left, and the amphitheater will be to the left.
This is in the campground, so campsites are available, as are toilets. Trails accessible from here:
Homestead Trail (leading to Vista Point
Trail)
- Beaver Pond Trail Head (Foot only)
- Going from Athens to the park on Strouds Run Road, take the State Park Road to the left at
the head of the lake. Go past the ranger station, and start up the hill until a sharp right turn,
where there is a parking pulloff to the left. Trails accessible from here: Beaver
Pond Trail.
- Beach Trail Head (Foot only)
- Going from Athens to the park on Strouds Run Road, take the first right in the park, just
after the State Park Road (which is to the left). Go past the swimming beach, to the turnaround
of the paved road. There is a pavilion here and picnic grounds; restrooms are close by. Trails
accessible from here: Broken Rock Trail, North Lakeview Trail (which can be taken to the horse trails, but no horse entry here)
- Dow Lake Dam Trail Head (Foot and bicycle)
- Going east from Athens on US-50 / OH-32, turn left at the sign for Dow Lake Dam. There
are picnic tables here. Trails accessible from here: South Lakeview
Trail (foot and bicycle; leading to Sycamore Valley Trail, which
is foot only), North Lakeview Trail (foot only, leading to Indian Mound Trail, which is foot only).
- Horse Trail Head (Horse and foot)
- Going from Athens to the park on Strouds Run Road, go through the park, and all the way
up the hill; bear right at the top of the hill onto Scatter Ridge Road. Bear right at every
intersection, and the road eventually becomes gravel and the gravel ends in a turnaround (the dirt
road continues, but is closed to motor vehicles). There are picnic tables here. The trail entry is a
short distance down the dirt road. Trails accessible from here: horse
trails only.
Trails
- Homestead Trail (foot only)
- This is a 1.9-mile loop trail, beginning at the Amphitheater Trail
Head. It intersects with the Vista Point
Trail exactly one mile from the trailhead. The trail is being renovated, but is open.
Currently, it is an open loop, but will become a closed loop. The portion from the foot of the
slope west of the entry bridge to Vista Point has been extensively renovated. The downhill
stretch on the north end will be relocated, and a return loop along the stream (Labath Run) will
be built. Currently, it terminates at an upper bridge near the upper end of the campground, and
hikers must walk almost a half-mile back through the campground (it's currently a 1.5-mile trail
plus the 0.4-mile return walk). It is a moderately difficult trail. Points of interest: Vista Point,
overlooking Dow Lake (0.4 mile from trailhead, going clockwise), and Indian mound (0.95 mile
from trailhead, going clockwise).
- Vista Point Trail (foot only)
- This is a 0.35-mile (about a third of a mile) linear trail, beginning at the Vista Point Trail Head, and leading to the Homestead Trail.
The trail is open but in not the best condition. It is a moderate trail. Point of interest: Vista Point (on the Homestead Trail; turn right at the top of the ridge and go 0.6
mile).
- Broken Rock Trail (foot only)
- This is an old trail, with roughly an "E" shape -- that is, it is an open loop with a connector
trail halfway. It starts near the concession stand at the beach, and goes up the ridge, looping
around above the bluff line, and comes back down to the North Lakeview
Trail, with a total of about 1.5 miles. There is a connector trail to the middle of the loop,
starting at the Beach Trail Head. The uphill trails are very
steep and in need of a lot of work. This is a moderately difficult trail. Point of interest: large rockhouse (shallow cave) below the trail
between the beginning and the connector.
- North Lakeview Trail (foot and horse)
- This trail starts at the Dam Trail Head and goes to the end of the
gravel road south of the swimming beach (the Beach Trail Head). It
is around three miles long, including a long loop around the big cove on the lake. It
intersects with the horse trails where it crosses the stream at the head of this cove. Horses
are allowed on sections of this trail. Bicycles are not allowed.. The Indian
Mound Trail loops off this trail near the dam, and the Broken Rock
Trail intersects with this trail between the big cove and the northern end of the trail. This
trail is moderate, with a few very strenuous points. It is a VERY poorly-built trail, and needs a
LOT of work. Points of interest:
Lake views.
- Indian Mound Trail (foot and horse)
- This is a trail that loops to and from the North Lakeview Trail
near the dam. It supposedly passes by an Indian mound somewhere. The loop off the North Lakeview Trail is 0.7 mile. To hike this trail as a loop from the
Dam Trail Head and back is 1.5 miles. Point
of interest: Indian mound?
- Dam Trail (foot and bicycle)
- This is a planned trail that will extend from Della Drive west of the dam, across to the dam
parking lot, then eastward to the township road east of the park, McAfee Road. It will connect with
the North Lakeview Trail via the existing trailway, and the
South Lakeview Trail via a new extension of that trail. It will also connect with the
Sundown Trail.
- South Lakeview Trail (foot and bicycle)
- This is a lakeside trail that starts at the Dam Trail Head and
ends at the Pioneer Cemetery Trail Head. It is about three miles long
and is open to both bicycles and hikers. The Sycamore Valley Trail
(foot travel only) loops off it. Points of
interest: Lake views.
- Sycamore Valley Trail
- This trail is now closed.
- Pioneer Cemetery Trail (foot and bicycle)
- The Pioneer Cemetery Trail is a short linear trail, 0.4 mile, that extends from the Pioneer Cemetery Trailhead to the Pioneer Cemetery (the old Gillett
Family cemetery) in Gillette Valley (the old spelling was Gillett, the new spelling is Gillette). It
coincides with the South Lakeview Trail for 0.1 mile, and the Finger Rock Trail for 0.25 mile; the final 0.15 mile then leads to the
cemetery. The trail is finished and open, and is easy. Point of
interest: Gillett Cemetery.
- Finger Rock Trail (foot and bicycle)
- The Finger Rock Trail is a linear trail, 1.2 miles, that extends from the Pioneer Cemetery Trail Head to the Athens
Trail. It coincides with the South Lakeview Trail for 0.1 mile
and the Pioneer Cemetery Trail for 0.25 mile. The trail is not yet
finished, but is open, and is moderately difficult. When finished, the trail will be blazed with
white arrowhead blazes on a blue background. Point of interest:
Finger Rocks (0.66 mile from Strouds Run Road), large rock formations on the end of the
ridge.
- Athens Trail (foot and bicycle)
- The Athens Trail is slated to be a major trail system looping around the City of Athens,
passing through Strouds Run State Park. So far, 1.5 miles of this trail are finished, about half
within the state park. The current section begins at Sells Park at the north end of Avon Place off
East State Street in Athens, and terminates at the Finger Rock Trail.
The two sections together make up a 2.7-mile linear trail connecting Sells Park with the Pioneer Cemetery Trail Head. When finished, the trail will be blazed
with white arrowhead blazes on a red background. A backpacking campsite is in the future
plans for the trail within the park. This is a moderate trail.
- Strouds Run Trail (foot and bicycle)
- The Strouds Run Trail is a linear trail, 1 mile approximately, extending from the park
entrance at Strouds Run Road, through the Pioneer Cemetery Trail
Head, through the pavilion area between Strouds Run Road and Dow Lake, to the crew
parking area at the east head of the lake. It is still in the development stages, but is open and is
moderately easy. From the park entrance to the restrooms east of the pavilion, it's kept mown,
but is unmaintained past that point. Points of interest: Lake
views.
- Beaver Pond Trail (foot only)
- This is a linear trail from the Beaver Pond Trail Head, to the
beaver ponds. Point of interest: Beaver ponds.
- Campground Connector Trail (foot only)
- This trail is still being built. It will connect the
campground via the beginning of the Homestead Trail, then going
through the shell storage area to Strouds Run Road. Eventually, it is hoped to make this a fully-
accessible trail completely connecting the campground with the swimming beach.
- Marietta-Chillicothe Trace Trail
- This trail is still in the planning stages. It will connect the Athens Trail
with the Pioneer Cemetery Trail near the South Lakeview
Trail, enabling a loop trail from the Pioneer Cemetery Trail Head, and
providing a safer and more usable cold-weather route for bicyclists and hikers from the ridgetop down
into Strouds Run. It will also provide access to the new backpacking campsite.
- Sundown Trail (bicycle)
- This is a new trail built especially for bicycle use, but not yet completed. Currently, it is in
two sections. One starts from the entrance of the Swimming Beach Road and goes south along the hillsides
to the southern leg of the Broken Rock Trail. The other starts from the east end
of the dam and goes north along the hillsides to the Halley Trail (horse trail).
- Thunderbunny Trail (bicycle)
- This is a new trail built especially for bicycle use. It starts from the Pioneer
Cemetery Trail Head and extends along the ridge sides to the north end of the campground, crossing the
Homestead Trail along the way.
Horse Trails
- Horse Trail System
- All horse trails area accessible from the Horse Trail
Head.
- Main Loop Horse Trail
- This trail begins at the horse trail head, goes down an old road grade to the bottom of the valley
near the head of the Big Cove in the lake, then goes up a township road up Whitesel Run, and forks into
a loop. Going clockwise around the loop, it goes back up on the ridge near Strouds Run Road, then
follows Scatter Ridge to the old township road, where it comes back down to the fork.
- JoAnn Boogie
- This is a trail loop off the Main Loop that extends on Broken Rock Ridge, overlooping the Big Cove.
- Cliff Trail
- This is an alternate route to part of the Main Loop, departing from the Main Loop before it descends to
to the creek bottom, and following a bluff line on the ridge.
- Creek Trail
- This is a cut-through to the Main Loop, following Whitesel Run.
- Debris Hut Trail
- This is a separate trail from Lake Hill Road near the horse trail head, down to the North Lakeview Trail
at the lake.
- Halley Trail
- This is a separate trail from Lake Hill Road near the horse trail head, down to the North Lakeview Trail
at the lake, south of the Debris Hut Trail.
- Hank Trail
- This is a separate trail from Lake Hill Road near the horse trail head, down to the North Lakeview Trail
at the lake, south of Halley Trail. It closely parallels the northern leg of the Indian Mound Trail.
- Amoretto Trail
- South Point Trail
- This is a planned trail that will connect the horse trail system with McAfee Road east of the state park,
near the dam.
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