Alum Creek SP--Spillway

Alum Creek SP--Spillway

Lewis Center Road Galena, Ohio 43035

Alum Creek State Park Official Website
Alum Creek State Park map

About this Location

Since the dam is mostly earthworks, you can hike across the top for an expansive view of the southern reservoir. Be warned that it is a long hike (see Alum Creek State Park–Dam at Africa Road). There is a large picnic and fishing area below the dam, but it is very open and manicured with no riparian forest at all. Watch for nesting Cliff Swallows and Purple Martins during the spring and summer months and for Turkey Vultures that roost on the nearby power line pylons during fall and spring. The open areas of the dam and picnic area make a good trap for horned larks, pipits, and meadowlarks. If you drive west from here, you can park at a small parking lot at the west end of the dam and hike up the dam for a good view of the beach and a small bay that can harbor gulls and waterfowl.

About Alum Creek State Park

See all hotspots at Alum Creek State Park

Alum Creek rests in the midst of the fertile agricultural till plains and river valleys of Delaware County. In contrast to the surrounding farmlands, the park offers a diverse array of natural features. Cliffs of Ohio shale are notable in many areas, exposed as Alum Creek and other streams cut through underlying bedrock. The shale was formed as mud washed into the ancient sea which covered the area several hundred million years ago. The dark hue of the rock is due to the mixture of a carbonized plant material and mud that formed the shale.

The rich soils of Delaware County gave rise to a luxuriant beech-maple forest after the retreat of the glaciers about 12,000 years ago. That original forest has long since been cut but a healthy second-growth forest is preserved in the park. The woodlands harbor a variety of plant species and offer the interested observer beautiful displays of wildflowers and wildlife. Large-flowered trillium, wild geranium, bloodroot, and spring beauties carpet the forest floor. The forest is home to fox squirrel, woodchuck, rabbit, white-tail deer, and many other species of wildlife.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

Content from Alum Creek State Park Official Website and Ohio Ornithological Society