Van Buren State Park (Ohio)

For the Michigan State Park, see Van Buren State Park (Michigan).

Van Buren State Park
Ohio State Park
Natural Monument (IUCN III)
Van Buren Lake
Named for: Martin Van Buren
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Hancock
Location	^[1]
- coordinates	41°08′00″N 83°38′42″W / 41.13333°N 83.64500°W / 41.13333; -83.64500Coordinates: 41°08′00″N 83°38′42″W / 41.13333°N 83.64500°W / 41.13333; -83.64500
- elevation	751 ft (229 m) ^[1]
Area	296 acres (120 ha)
Founded	1950
Managed by	Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation
Location of Van Buren State Park in Ohio
Website : Van Buren State Park

Van Buren State Park is a 296-acre (120 ha) Ohio state park in Van Buren, Hancock County, Ohio in the United States. The park, named for the 8th U.S. President, Martin Van Buren, was opened to the public in 1950. It is in a small patch of woods in Northwestern Ohio and is surrounded by thousands of acres of fields of corn, wheat and soybeans. Van Buren State Park is open for year-round recreation.^[2]

History

Van Buren State Park is in a region of Ohio that was once populated by members of the Shawnee nation. The Shawnee migrated to the area from south central Ohio. The area in and around the park represented the last stronghold for the Shawnee in Ohio before they were forced to move west of the Mississippi River by the encroachment of Anglo-American pioneers.^[2]

The process of creating Van Buren State Park began in 1939 when a dam was built over Rocky Ford Creek creating what is now Van Buren Lake. This lake was part of a private wildlife preserve. The lake and preserve were transferred to the state of Ohio in 1950.^[2]

Ecology

Van Buren State Park is in a rich agricultural area. Northwest Ohio is part of the Interior Plains region of North America. The land is largely flat with a few hills that are a remnant of the last ice age. Beneath the topsoil lies a layer of dolomitic limestone.

The land was largely forested before it was cleared by farmers. A small patch of woodland, made mostly of beech and sugar maple trees, remains at Van Buren State Park. Typical woodland mammals found in the park include white-tailed deer, red fox, red squirrel, skunk, and opossum. Bird species include the cowbird, woodcock, eastern bluebird, short-eared owl and eastern meadowlark. The park is also home to garter snakes and spring peepers. Wildflowers in the area include chicory, spring beauty, Dutchman's breeches, daisy fleabane and thimbleweed.

Recreation

Camping and trails

There are three separate camping areas at Van Buren State Park.^[2] The family campground is on the eastern end of the park.^[2] It has 29 campsites.^[2] Ten campsites have electrical connections, the other 19 do not.^[2] There is an equestrian campground with 31 campsites, just three have electrical hookups.^[2] These campsites feature tie rails, picket lines and manure bins.^[2] A large, primitive, youth group oriented for up to 200 campers is located in the southeastern corner of the park.^[2]

Van Buren State Park features 6 miles (9.7 km) of hiking trails along the southern shore of Lake Van Buren. The trail is open for hiking, jogging and bird and wildlife observation. There are 12 miles (19 km) of trails open to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders that cross through ravines and woodlands. A three-mile (5 km) trail in the woods on the southern shore of the lake is open to mountain bikes.^[2]

Boating, hunting and fishing

Van Buren Lake is open to boating and fishing. Boating is limited to electric powered boats, rowboats and canoes. There is a launch area on the northern end of the lake just off Township Road 229. The lake is home to a variety of fish species including largemouth bass, carp, bluegill, channel catfish, bullhead and crappie. Hunting is limited to bowhunting only. All hunters and anglers are required to have a license issued by the state of Ohio.^[2]

There are several picnic areas throughout the park.

References

1 2 "Van Buren Lake State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 17, 1992. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Van Buren State Park". Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 2008-12-17.

Protected areas of Ohio

Federal

National parks	Cuyahoga Valley

National historical parks and sites	Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP First Ladies NHS Hopewell Culture NHP James A. Garfield NHS William Howard Taft NHS

National Monuments	Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers

National memorials	David Berger Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

National trails	North Country Trail

National forests	Wayne

National wildlife refuges	Cedar Point Ottawa West Sister Island

National estuarine research reserve	Old Woman Creek

National Natural Landmarks	Brown's Lake Bog Cedar Bog Dysart Woods Fort Hill State Memorial Glen Helen Nature Preserve Tinkers Creek Gorge

State

State parks	Adams Lake Alum Creek A. W. Marion Barkcamp Beaver Creek Blue Rock Buck Creek Buckeye Lake Burr Oak Caesar Creek Catawba Island Cleveland Lakefront Cowan Lake Deer Creek Delaware Dillon East Fork East Harbor Findley Forked Run Geneva Grand Lake St. Marys Great Seal Guilford Lake Harrison Lake Headlands Beach Hocking Hills Hueston Woods Independence Dam Indian Lake Jackson Lake Jefferson Lake John Bryan Kelleys Island Kiser Lake Lake Alma Lake Hope Lake Logan Lake Loramie Lake Milton Lake White Little Miami Madison Lake Malabar Farm Marblehead Lighthouse Mary Jane Thurston Middle Bass Island Maumee Bay Mohican Mosquito Lake Mt. Gilead Muskingum River Nelson Kennedy Ledges Paint Creek Pike Lake Portage Lakes Punderson Pymatuning Quail Hollow Rocky Fork Salt Fork Scioto Trail Shawnee South Bass Island Stonelick Strouds Run Sycamore Tar Hollow Tinkers Creek Van Buren West Branch Wingfoot Lake Wolf Run

State forests	Beaver Creek Blue Rock Brush Creek Dean Fernwood Gifford Harrison Hocking Maumee Mohican-Memorial Perry Pike Richland Furnace Scioto Trail Shade River Shawnee Sunfish Creek Tar Hollow Yellow Creek Zaleski

State nature preserves	Acadia Cliffs Adams Lake Prairie Audubon Islands Augusta-Anne Olsen Aurora Sanctuary Baker Woods Evans Beck Memorial Betsch Fen Bigelow Cemetery Blackhand Gorge Bonnet Pond Boord Brown's Lake Bog Burton Wetlands Caesar Creek Gorge Lou Campbell Carmean Woods Cedar Bog Chaparral Prairie Christmas Rocks Clear Creek Clear Fork Gorge Clifton Gorge Howard Collier Compass Plant Prairie Conkle's Hollow Copperrider-Kent Bog Crabill Fen Cranberry Bog Crane Hollow Crooked Run Culberson Woods Davey Woods Davis Memorial Marie J. Desonier Drew Woods Dupont Marsh Eagle Creek Emerald Hills Erie Sand Barrens Etawah Woods Flatiron Lake Bog Fowler Woods Frame Lake Fen Gahanna Woods Gallagher/Springfield Fen Goll Woods Goode Prairie Gott Fen Greenbelt Greenville Falls Gross Memorial Woods Hatch-Otis Halls Creek Headlands Dunes Hueston Woods Hutchins (Highland) Irwin Prairie Jackson Bog Johnson Ridge Johnson Woods Karlo Fen Kendrick Woods Kessler Swamp Kiser Lake Wetlands Kitty Todd Knox Woods Kyle Woods Ladd Natural Bridge Lake Katharine Lakeside Daisy Lawrence Woods Little Rocky Hollow Mantua Bog Marsh Wetlands McCracken Fen Mentor Marsh Milford Center Railroad Prairie Miller Morris Woods Mud Lake Bog Myersville Newberry North Pond North Shore Alvar Novak Sanctuary Old Woman Creek Owens/Liberty Fen Pallister Pickerington Ponds Portage Lakes Wetland Prairie Road Fen William C. McCoy Raven Rock Rhododendeon Cove Rockbridge Rome Rothenbuhler Woods Saltpetre Cave Sears Woods Seymour Woods Shallenberger Sharon Woods Gorge Sheepskin Hollow Sheick Hollow Sheldon Marsh Shoemaker Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker Smith Cemetery Spring Beauty Dell Spring Brook Sanctuary Springville Marsh Stage's Pond Strait Creek Prairie Stratford Woods Swamp Cottonwood Edward Thomas Tinker's Creek Travertine Fen Triangle Lake Bog Trillium Trails Walter Tucker Tummonds Warder-Perkins Whipple White Pine Bog Forest Zimmerman Prairie

State scenic rivers	Big Darby Creek Chagrin River Conneaut Creek Cuyahoga River Grand River Greenville Creek Kokosing River Little Beaver Creek Little Darby Creek Little Miami River Maumee River Mohican River Olentangy River Sandusky River Stillwater River

Regional

Metro Parks	Ashtabula County Metroparks Cleveland Metroparks Columbus Metro Parks Erie MetroParks Five Rivers MetroParks Geauga Park District Hamilton County Park District Johnny Appleseed Metro Parks Lake Metroparks Lorain County Metro Parks Metroparks of Butler County Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Metroparks of the Toledo Area Mill Creek MetroParks Trumbull County MetroParks

Ohio Department of Natural Resources (web)

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