Winter
When the lake is not frozen wintering gulls, ducks, and geese are seen on Chippewa Lake.
Spring
Waterfowl in migration. Flocks of Tundra Swans fly over and often use the lake. Swallows and swifts mass over the lake. The wood edge can attract migrating warbler species.
Summer
Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Savannah Sparrows.
Fall
Migrating warblers and sparrows use the wood edge. Ducks and geese visit Chippewa Lake.

The Krabill Lodge area provides access to Chippewa Lake.

Park in the lodge parking lot and walk down to the lake on the trail between the woods and the edge of the agricultural field. This field hosts nesting Bobolinks in the summer. Watch for sparrows along the trail as they like to fly from the woods to the field. The woods can be a migrant trap, especially in the fall.

It is helpful to carry a scope to the lake. You can view the lake from the picnic table at the lake's edge. You can turn north into the woods for a better view of the north end of the lake. The trail turns right to the south toward a wetland area where Prothonotary Warblers have been seen.

Among the largest natural inland lakes in the State of Ohio, Chippewa Lake was created some 14,000 years ago by the melting of massive glacial ice sheets as they retreated north. Chippewa Lake has a long history of human habitation going back thousands of years when Native Americans visited the fertile wetlands and lake shores to hunt and trade. In recent history, the lake served as a playground for generations of visitors to the storied Chippewa Lake Amusement Park, which closed its doors in 1978 after 100 years.

The Medina County Park District purchased open land on the west side of the lake over a period of years. In 2007, the park district acquired the lake itself. Since then, the park district has opened Krabill Lodge, a reservable enclosed lodge off Ballash Road. Today the lake is open to the public, once again, with a public boat launch off Westfield Landing Road.

Utilizing available grants and mitigation banking, the park district has been able to fund the restoration of streams and wetlands north of the lake, which will improve water quality and enhance habitat for wildlife. Together these restoration projects help preserve this special natural resource for all to enjoy for generations to come.