Lusk-Lock Road is a single lane dirt and gravel road between a cornfield with an elevated berm on one side and a wooded ravine on the other. The road is about .5 mile long with one spot where 2 cars can pass. At the end, the road goes down a hill to a parking area. There’s a trail that goes off to the left (east) and an old lock. There’s a yellow state sign marking it as a public hunting area.

Flowing through some of Ohio’s wildest and most scenic areas, Little Beaver Creek in Columbiana County was the first in Ohio to be designated a wild river (January 15, 1974).

Little Beaver Creek is one of only three rivers in Ohio that have also been included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Program.

Little Beaver Creek is a river of deep valleys, wooded slopes, and occasional rock outcroppings. The river is boulder-strewn, consisting of fast-flowing rapids and riffles, quiet pools, and clear swiftly flowing tributaries. It is a river of great diversity and relatively untouched by development.

In addition to a diverse macroinvertebrate population, Little Beaver supports 63 species of fish, 49 mammal species, 140 types of birds, and 46 species of reptiles and amphibians. Ohio’s largest population of endangered Hellbender salamanders (a category 2 federal species) resides in Little Beaver Creek.

History abounds in the Little Beaver Creek Valley. A historic marker now identifies the spot where, in 1785, Thomas Hutchins began the first U.S. Public Land Survey. At the time, this was the greatest subdivision of land in America and represented the first time land was actually surveyed prior to being sold.

In 1848, the Sandy and Beaver Canal linking the Ohio River with the Ohio-Erie Canal was completed with 30 dams, 90 locks, and 2 tunnels. Remnants of the once thriving canal system are well preserved throughout the region.

Little Beaver Creek State Wild and Scenic River is designated for approximately 36 river miles. Portions of the Middle Fork, North Fork, and Main stem are included in the State and National systems.