Adams Lake SP

Birds of Interest

Good birding in breeding season and winter. Look for tanagers (both), Coopers Hawk, herons, and orioles in the summer, ducks and geese in winter.

About Adams Lake State Park

See all hotspots at Adams Lake State Park

Adams Lake State Park lies in an area rich in natural diversity with many unique plants and animals. Wedged between the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to the east and the glaciated land to the north and west, no other area of Ohio boasts a richer abundance of plant species.Known as the Bluegrass Region of Ohio, Adams County harbors scattered pockets of prairie communities, a remnant of the past when the great western prairies reached into Ohio. Sometime after the last glacial advance, the climate turned warmer and drier. It was during such periods that the prairie advanced eastward into Ohio. Purple coneflower, little bluestem, and prairie dock provide an impressive display during the peak blooming season of mid-summer.

This sparsely vegetated xeric, or dry, prairie is situated on a highly eroded slope of calcareous Estill Shale surrounded by a second-growth oak-hickory woodland. Red cedar, post oak, and blackjack oak occur sporadically in the prairie opening. Prairie grasses are sparse but Adams Lake Prairie supports diverse prairie forbs including a stand of prairie dock. Some of the interesting plants found growing at this cedar barren prairie include spider milkweed, shooting star, green milkweed, Carolina buckthorn, American aloe, slender blazing star, and large summer bluets.

Located in Adams County within Adams Lake State Park, which is 1 mile north of West Union on OH-41. The marked entrance to the preserve is at the far west end of the park road.

Content from Adams Lake State Park website, Adams Lake Prairie State Nature Preserve webpage, and Appalachian Discovery Birding Heritage Trail