Park Points

What’s New? Plenty!
Thanks to a variety of partners and the ingenuity of our park staff, we have lots of fun, new offerings for our guests this summer. Here’s a sample:

• WiFi  -- WiFi will be available this year at the campgrounds at Dillon, Jackson Lake, Mosquito Lake and Pymatuning (and is already available at the campgrounds at Alum Creek, East Harbor, Grand Lake St. Marys, Hueston Woods, and Rocky Fork).
• Disc Golf -- Buck Creek is unveiling a new 18-hole disc golf course this spring, and a 10-hole disc golf course was completed at East Harbor last fall. (There are also disc golf courses at Delaware, East Harbor, Findley, Forked Run, Great Seal, Hueston Woods, Independence Dam and Pike Lake.)
• Archery Range -- Beaver Creek now offers an archery range and trail. (Several other parks also feature archery ranges, including Barkcamp, Burr Oak, Hocking Hills, Hueston Woods, Punderson, Salt Fork and Shawnee.)
• Mini Golf Course -- The campground at Lake Loramie now sports a mini golf course, thanks to an industrious Eagle Scout and his troop
• Butterfly Gazebos -- Nature lovers can admire beautiful things with wings at the butterfly gazebos at Maumee Bay and Van Buren
• Songbird Aviary -- The songbird aviary at Malabar Farm offers a chance to spend time with a variety of Ohio's beautiful songbirds
• Mountain Bike Trail -- The new 3-mile mountain bike trail at Van Buren is a great place for beginners to gear up for this popular sport
• New Outdoor Pool -- The lodge at Geneva is making a splash with its new, heated outdoor pool. Now lodge guests can cool off as they catch some rays on the Lake Erie shoreline. There is a separate splash area for kids and a relaxing hot tub nearby.
• Golf -- Kids can get into the swing of golfing, thanks to a junior golf program at Hueston Woods. Kids under age 16 get 50% off daily greens fees and season passes, along with half-price cart rental when golfing with a paying adult. Call (513) 523-8081 for details.

Get Fit, Naturally
Do something good for your heart - and soul - and hit the trail. Our state parks offer more than 1,000 miles of scenic woodland trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding so you can get out and get moving. Whether you’re in the mood for a relaxing nature walk, an epic trek, or pulse-pounding climbs and plunges, we have a trail for you.

While you’re out having fun, you’re also taking an important step toward living a healthy lifestyle - the ultimate goal of Ohio’s Physical Activity Plan to encourage all Ohioans, including kids, to be physically active and maintain a healthy weight. Want to know more? See www.opraonline.org and click on Healthy Lifestyles.

Check Us Out on the Web
We have been working hard to make our website more fun and user-friendly, and we hope you like the results! Check us out at www.ohiostateparks.org. We have beefed up and reorganized information on our overnight facilities to make your trip planning easier, and give you all the information you need before making reservations. We have also revamped popular features like the calendar of events and outdoor fun pages, and given a fresh new look to our kid-friendly offerings including the Park Pals activity pages and “Nature Thing of the Month.” You can now find links to all of the great ways to support our parks on one handy page. You can also find dozens of articles from all of the past issues of Ohio State Parks magazine!

A Tiny Bug May Help Solve a Big Problem
Our state parks and state forests are cooperating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s efforts to control the emerald ash borer (EAB), which has destroyed millions of ash trees in the Midwest, and is gaining a foothold in Ohio.

The USDA hopes to battle the bug by introducing a biological control agent - tiny parasitic wasps that attack the EAB’s eggs and larvae. The sting-less, gnat-sized wasps are harmless to humans, but deadly to the immature EAB. The USDA has been rearing the wasps for release this spring, and a few of our state parks or state forests in EAB quarantine zones may be among the USDA release sites.

Still, these little bugs have a big job to do, and they need our help. Please do your part to help save our ash trees: do not bring firewood from home to our parks and campgrounds - purchase firewood from local sources - and burn all your firewood, or leave leftover wood at the site for the next camper.

Parks as Art
Lake Loramie offers beautiful views, inside and out. The Lake Loramie Artist Co-op Gallery (LLAC) features paintings, sculpture, photography and woodcarvings by accomplished artists. Many of the pieces on display were inspired by the scenic landscapes at the park. The gallery is located in the old park office on S.R. 362, across from the public swimming beach. It is open to visitors on weekends, April through December.

We’re Getting Greener…You Can Too
As part of a statewide initiative, Ohio State Parks is participating in an audit of energy usage at all of our facilities. The data we collect will help guide decisions for capital improvements and energy efficiency policies.

Meanwhile, we are taking immediate steps to reduce energy consumption by turning off computers overnight and turning off lights when not in use, turning the thermostat up in the summer and down in the winter, and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. After a successful pilot last May, Lake Hope plans to repeat its successful “no-heat, no-cool” month in the park office (i.e. turn the thermostat off and open the windows on warm days, or wear a sweater when it turns chilly) this May. We encourage you to try these simple steps at home, and invite you to join us in our green campaign when staying at state park facilities.

We have also been ramping up our recycling efforts. Lake Hope has a recycling program for their vacation cottages, and Quail Hollow now serves as a community drop-off point for recyclable materials. In addition to recycling the usual suspects - plastics, aluminum, glass and paper – Malabar Farm invites park visitors to bring in their clean used egg cartons and plastic grocery bags for re-use in the park’s gift shop.