Alum Creek SP--Cheshire Boat Ramp

Alum Creek SP--Cheshire Boat Ramp

Africa Road Galena, Ohio 43021

Alum Creek State Park Official Website
Alum Creek State Park map

About this Location

Cheshire Boat Ramp is best accessed by two parking areas along Africa Road just north of Cheshire Road. The northern lot is a boat launch with some interesting, shrubby edge. The southern lot has less edge but has a dirt footpath leading up onto the Cheshire causeway that gives a superb view of the middle reservoir. You are separated from the road by a wall, so the site is not as hazardous as other causeways in Ohio. Look here for loons, grebes, and diving ducks. You can also drive across the causeway to the campground boat launch (see site #6 above) for a closer view of the west shore.

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