Strouds Run State Park
Encyclopedia
Strouds Run State Park is an Ohio
state park located primarily in Canaan Township
, Athens County, Ohio
, with a small part in Ames Township
. It comprises 2606 acres (1,054.6 ha), and includes Dow Lake, a 161 acre (0.65154446 km²) artificial lake. The lake is stocked on a yearly basis with several kinds of fish. It has been stocked with rainbow trout on a yearly basis because the trout cannot survive the winters. The park is almost entirely within the Strouds Run watershed, although it does not include the entire watershed. The park is literally on the fringes of the city of Athens, Ohio
, with park boundaries coinciding with city limits in several places.
, and with the Athens Conservancy
's 75 acre (0.3 km²) Blair Preserve.
In addition, the 264 acres (1.1 km²) Baker Tract, managed by the Athens Conservancy, is a short drive away, with a public access trailhead on Ohio State Route 690.
Significant areas of the park are pine plantations (white and red) from the mid-twentieth century, when the land was purchased, originally as the Athens State Forest. There is also one small baldcypress plantation within the park. However, most of the area is mature hardwood forest. The park features many bluffs and rock outcrops of sandstone. Several beaver ponds are within the park boundaries.
Many of the trails are open to mountain bikes.
The lake is used by Ohio University
for aquatic sports such as crew
. The lake is also a very common destination of Ohio University students to enjoy the weather on sunny spring or summer days.
One of the most recently-purchased areas of the park was acquired in 1953 from the Crumley family, heirs to Dr. John Jackson Crumley, who purchased the land almost a century ago as an experimental tree farm. Dr. Crumley was a classical scholar who also was one of Ohio's early state foresters, who managed the purchase of the original land for Zaleski State Forest
and Hocking State Forest
, and who wrote one of the earliest practical handbooks on forestry.
. The park consists of mostly narrow valleys, narrow ridges, and steep hillsides. Bluffs and rock shelter
s are common throughout the park, formed by the Connellsville sandstone. There are a few springs in the park out of the Ames limestone, including Linscott Spring (which has an historic springhouse). Normal pool elevation of Dow Lake is about 665 feet above sea level, while the highest point in the park is about 1022 feet above sea level.
The forest in some areas of the park is over a century old without significant disturbance. The Riddle State Nature Preserve
is nearby, including Hawk Woods, which is one of Ohio's very few genuine old-growth forests.
Common birds in the park include both black
and turkey vulture
s, Canada geese
, red-winged blackbird
s, red-tailed hawk
s, red-shouldered hawk
s, and barn swallow
s.
Beaver
s and white-tailed deer
are common in the park. Bobcat
s are known to be in the area, but none are known within the park itself.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
state park located primarily in Canaan Township
Canaan Township, Athens County, Ohio
Canaan Township is one of the fourteen townships of Athens County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,780 people in the township, 1,472 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
, Athens County, Ohio
Athens County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,223 people, 22,501 households, and 12,713 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 24,901 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...
, with a small part in Ames Township
Ames Township, Athens County, Ohio
Ames Township is one of the fourteen townships of Athens County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,231 people in the township, 1,047 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
. It comprises 2606 acres (1,054.6 ha), and includes Dow Lake, a 161 acre (0.65154446 km²) artificial lake. The lake is stocked on a yearly basis with several kinds of fish. It has been stocked with rainbow trout on a yearly basis because the trout cannot survive the winters. The park is almost entirely within the Strouds Run watershed, although it does not include the entire watershed. The park is literally on the fringes of the city of Athens, Ohio
Athens, Ohio
Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
, with park boundaries coinciding with city limits in several places.
Adjacent public lands
The park is contiguous with the city's 325 acres (1.3 km²) Strouds Ridge Preserve Project, which includes the Riddle State Nature PreserveRiddle State Nature Preserve
Hawk Woods is an old-growth forest located in central Athens County, Ohio, outside the city of Athens, Ohio. It comprises 106 acres "within the Low Hills Belt section of the Allegheny Plateau". Of these 106 acres, about 85 acres are in the area cited as old-growth forest...
, and with the Athens Conservancy
Athens Conservancy
The Athens Conservancy is a 501 land trust based in Athens County, Ohio. It was founded in 2003. It owns and manages four nature preserves in Athens County:...
's 75 acre (0.3 km²) Blair Preserve.
In addition, the 264 acres (1.1 km²) Baker Tract, managed by the Athens Conservancy, is a short drive away, with a public access trailhead on Ohio State Route 690.
Facilities and usage
Facilities include a campground (pit toilets, no shower), swimming beach, boat dock, boat and canoe rentals, pistol, rifle and clay shooting ranges, picnic grounds and shelters, and hiking trails. Hunting is permitted in season.Significant areas of the park are pine plantations (white and red) from the mid-twentieth century, when the land was purchased, originally as the Athens State Forest. There is also one small baldcypress plantation within the park. However, most of the area is mature hardwood forest. The park features many bluffs and rock outcrops of sandstone. Several beaver ponds are within the park boundaries.
Many of the trails are open to mountain bikes.
The lake is used by Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
for aquatic sports such as crew
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
. The lake is also a very common destination of Ohio University students to enjoy the weather on sunny spring or summer days.
History
The original land for the park was purchased for the Athens State Forest in the 1940s and 1950s. In the late 1950s, construction was started on the Dow Lake Dam, which was completed in 1961, at which point the land became Strouds Run State Park in its entirety.One of the most recently-purchased areas of the park was acquired in 1953 from the Crumley family, heirs to Dr. John Jackson Crumley, who purchased the land almost a century ago as an experimental tree farm. Dr. Crumley was a classical scholar who also was one of Ohio's early state foresters, who managed the purchase of the original land for Zaleski State Forest
Zaleski State Forest
Zaleski State Forest is the second-largest state forest in the U.S. state of Ohio, located primarily in Vinton County, with areas in Athens County as well. The 28,000 acre forest surrounds Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County, and extensively borders the Waterloo Wildlife Research Station in...
and Hocking State Forest
Hocking State Forest
Hocking State Forest is a state forest in Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The forest adjoins Hocking Hills State Park and three nature preserves including Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve....
, and who wrote one of the earliest practical handbooks on forestry.
Natural history
Strouds Run is located within the unglaciated Allegheny PlateauUnglaciated Allegheny Plateau
The Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau is located in an arc around southeastern Ohio into western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This area is a dissected plateau, characterized by sandstone, shale, and many coal seams...
. The park consists of mostly narrow valleys, narrow ridges, and steep hillsides. Bluffs and rock shelter
Rock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s are common throughout the park, formed by the Connellsville sandstone. There are a few springs in the park out of the Ames limestone, including Linscott Spring (which has an historic springhouse). Normal pool elevation of Dow Lake is about 665 feet above sea level, while the highest point in the park is about 1022 feet above sea level.
The forest in some areas of the park is over a century old without significant disturbance. The Riddle State Nature Preserve
Riddle State Nature Preserve
Hawk Woods is an old-growth forest located in central Athens County, Ohio, outside the city of Athens, Ohio. It comprises 106 acres "within the Low Hills Belt section of the Allegheny Plateau". Of these 106 acres, about 85 acres are in the area cited as old-growth forest...
is nearby, including Hawk Woods, which is one of Ohio's very few genuine old-growth forests.
Common birds in the park include both black
American Black Vulture
The Black Vulture also known as the American Black Vulture, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the southeastern United States to Central Chile and Uruguay in South America...
and turkey vulture
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It is also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard , and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow...
s, Canada geese
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....
, red-winged blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
The Red-winged Blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and...
s, red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
s, red-shouldered hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico.-Description:...
s, and barn swallow
Barn Swallow
The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...
s.
Beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
s and white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
are common in the park. Bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s are known to be in the area, but none are known within the park itself.
External links
- Friends of Strouds Run State Park
- Map with 5' contours: http://www.athenstrails.org/maps/srsp0211-5f.gif
