The Howard Road Bridge is about 1 mile north of OH-37 and can be reached from either the east side (3B & K Road) or the west side (North Old State Road). It has a large parking area on the east end (mostly for boaters and fishermen, but with restrooms) and a smaller one on the west end (exclusively for horse riders). The bridge itself crosses a narrow portion of the reservoir with a very interesting scrubby inlet on the north side. This is a reliable site for riparian-type birds like Yellow Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Willow Flycatchers, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos during nesting season. This is one of the prime parking areas for horse riders and hikers using the Winterhawk Trail that circumnavigates the northern reservoir from here. Birders can likewise hike the trail, although it can be quite muddy from horse traffic. The best segment for birding is southwest of the bridge, where the trailhead can be found across from the horse-riders parking area. This section of the trail, called the Maple Glen segment, passes through a series of small, forested ravines and is one of the best stands of mature beech-maple forest in the park. This area has nesting Acadian Flycatchers, Scarlet Tanagers, Hooded Warblers, and Cerulean Warblers.

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.