This Piedmont Lake (Belmont Co.) eBird hotspot description covers the open water and wetland habitat at the southern end of Piedmont Lake, and includes the creek (Stillwater Creek), cattail marshes, and swampy forests associated with it. Egypt North Rd/CR 100 provides good access to the area.

Roads throughout the Egypt Valley area are mostly dirt/gravel and can be muddy, but four-wheel-drive is not required. There is little signage or information on site. So, it is helpful to consult a map/GPS before exploring here. As of now, it is more popular with hunters than with birders. But there are areas here that are largely unexplored, with great birding potential. No restroom facilities are available. The nearest service station is just outside the small town of Hendrysburg, a good access point into the Egypt Valley area.

To reach Hendrysburg, from I-70, take Exit 202 (Barnesville/Dennison) onto SR 800 North and then make an almost immediate turn into town. From town make a right turn north onto CR 108. Make a right (the second right) at 1.8 miles onto Egypt North Rd/CR 100. This is a good starting point to set your odometer. The road runs west to east through wetland habitats that are great for birds - A roughly 5-mile stretch, starting from the above intersection to a pond and a large cattail marsh at the road’s intersection with CR 399/Butter Milk Rd (unmarked). The far eastern end of the road is near an active mining operation. Watch for large trucks during working hours.

Although most of the surrounding area is hilly, with mixed forest, grassland, and brush, the road winds through mostly low-lying terrain, with scattered ponds, small cattail marshes, and swampy forests. It is attractive to marshland birds, wetland-loving songbirds, and shorebirds (during low-water levels in late summer and fall). There is a mix of public and private land here. Most of the upland portion is part of Egypt Valley Natural Area (look for the small yellow “natural area” signs if you want to hike and explore the forest), but some low-lying sections are private. There are few established trails, in or out of the natural area, but birding is excellent from the road.

To access Piedmont Lake, make a left at 1.9 miles (at the top of a steep hill). The .5-mile-long access road descends to the lake, providing excellent views and direct access. It ends at the edge of a swampy forest. A two-track continues for a quarter mile, but it is rough. There is a parking area near a small boat launch. The lake is shallow here and floating vegetation provides an ideal habitat for dabbling ducks in migration, and shorebirds when there is a mudflat. There are distant views of the far side of the lake and
open water, and a spotting scope would be helpful.

In most places Egypt North Rd/CR 100 is wide enough - and traffic so minimal - that it is safe to pull over to the shoulder, view from the car, or get out and walk along the road. Traveling east there are established parking areas along the creek at 2.4 miles, near a cattail marsh at 2.8 miles, and at a pond and cattail marsh at the last intersection, at 5.1 miles (the eastern end of the described area). There are also pull-offs - and good birding - around a small bridge, at 2.1 miles, where the road crosses the creek. 

Past mining operations have had a large impact on the Egypt Valley area. Mining continues at the eastern edge of the described area. But the formerly mined areas can be viewed as being in a state of “recovery”, and birding and documenting sightings here can have an added significance. 

Piedmont Lake is in Belmont and Harrison counties in the eastern part of the state. The largest portion of the lake lies in Kirkwood and Flushing Townships of Belmont County, with a small segment in Moorefield Township of Harrison County. The lake is on OH-22 midway between Cambridge and Cadiz and approximately 10 miles north of I-70 off OH-800.

The dam was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control. The lake is in the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s (MWCD) chain of lakes and all boating, swimming, camping, and picnicking is under MWCD control. The Division of Wildlife annually leases public fishing and hunting rights on MWCD lakes and lands.

Piedmont Lake was impounded by a dam across Stillwater Creek and is kept at a conservation pool level of 2,270 acres (elevation 913.0 feet), except in times of extreme flooding. The lake reached the conservation pool in March 1942. It attained a maximum depth of 38 feet with a mean depth of 14.9 feet. The lake is approximately 10 miles long.

Piedmont Lake is considered by many to be the most scenic of all the MWCD lakes. It is set in rough, hilly, unglaciated terrain, most of which is heavily wooded. Few buildings are visible throughout its entire length.

Restrooms at the rest area on US-22 and at the marina and adjacent campground are identified on the Piedmont Lake Park map.