Killbuck Lakes Park

Killbuck Lakes Park

7996 White Road Burbank, Ohio 44214

Official Website
Killbuck Lakes Park map

Tips for Birding

There are several ponds surrounding the main lake that can be viewed by walking the 1.25-mile Lake Loop Trail. You can view the birds on the larger lake from the boat ramp near the parking area. A scope is helpful.

A 0.7-mile trail leads to a bird blind overlooking the wooded pond on the east side of the park. The trail then goes through fields and woods and connects with the Lake Loop Trail.

There is a trail around the pond on the west side of the park, adjacent to the Lodi Station Outlet Mall.

About this Location

Opportunities for fishing, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and wildlife observation await visitors at Killbuck Lakes.

It’s the first phase of the 408-acre former Baker Sand and Gravel property acquired through a grant from the Clean Ohio Fund. Its centerpiece is a sprawling 47-acre lake surrounded by a 1.25-mile nature trail.

The Primitive Loop Trail is an approximate 0.7-mile loop that ventures off the 1.25-mile Lake Loop Trail and rejoins it later. Along the primitive trail, you’ll find a large wetland with a wildlife observation blind, remnant forest, and open areas where land once used for gravel mining is being steadily reclaimed by nature. The trail also features a new bog bridge constructed by the park district’s natural resource department from live-edge walnut slabs. The bridge helps hikers traverse an area where the soil is wet much of the year. In addition to the nature trail’s narrower profile, the grass in some areas is allowed to grow to six or eight inches. Because the trail is not sharply defined by mowed edges, it blends with the surroundings and sometimes seems to disappear 20 or 30 yards ahead, leading to a sense of discovery as the landscape reveals itself more slowly and naturally.

The lake, left behind by mining operations, also provides important habitat for waterfowl to eat and rest during migration. American coots, grebe, and bufflehead ducks, as well as trumpeter swans, have been seen on the water. Even a bald eagle has been spotted circling in the skies above.

While water is the dominant feature of the landscape, Killbuck Lakes offers small but important areas of remnant forest and wetlands. Trees include beech, basswood, big-toothed aspen, and a variety of oaks:  shingle, swamp, red, white, and burr. Among the shrubs and flowers found in the park are buttonbush, alder, skunk cabbage, and swamp rose. Animals who call the wetlands home include northern leopard frogs, chorus frogs, spring peepers, and the star-nosed mole, a species of concern in Ohio.

The deep-water lakes at Killbuck Lakes are directly connected to a major underground aquifer that is a critical water source for homeowners and farmers in northern Wayne and southern Medina counties. Preservation of the lakes and the land surrounding them enhances the quality of life and helps protect this vital aquifer from contamination.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Roadside viewing

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Official Website and Ken Ostermiller

Last updated February 11, 2023