Big Creek Park Geauga Park District Hiking Trail Pictures Movie

Big Creek Park Geauga County Park District Pictures and Movie

Big Creek Park is in the Geauga County Ohio Park District. The park has forests and trails spread out big enough for hikers to enjoy. Over six hundred acres of open air experiences are available. Big Creek also has a very nice visitors center with maps and displays. The streaming movie shows the visitors center and the Yorkie dogs having fun near the creek.
Author-Greg Wood-Experience hikingohioparks.com

Big Creek Park Geauga County Park District has 6.4 miles of trails, including 2 bridle paths and 2 paved all-peoples' trails, make Big Creek Park an excellent place for hiking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing. Three picnic shelters and two primitive camp sites are also available.

A 6.4 mile network of trail loops in the vicinity of the picnic and parking areas provides a variety of options for enjoying the surrounding forest afoot.

Natural Habitats:
Most of Big Creek park is forested with a rich beech-maple woods carpeted with colorful wildflowers in spring. Numerous species of song birds migrate from the tropics to nest in this mature forest which also shelters many kinds of woodland animals among the trees.

The uplands are divided by small streams exposing glacial deposits and bedrock in their ravines. Where the valley of Big Creek narrows, hemlock trees line the cool steep slopes. Distinctive plant species are found on the clay slumps and along flood plain areas.

Trails:
The paved Cascade Trail and Ruth Kennan Trail provide outdoor access for everyone
A section of the Buckeye Trail, which encircles the State of Ohio, passes through Big Creek Park. Its path through the park is marked with blue blazes on trees.

NATURAL FEATURES: 642 acres, primarily covered with a mature beech-maple forest, bisected by Big Creek. There are 3 ponds and many small streams in the upland area that expose glacial deposits and bedrock.

WILDLIFE: Bluegill and bass populations are strong in all three ponds. Many species of neotropical songbirds migrate from equatorial rainforests to nest in Big Creek Park, including scarlet tanagers, warblers and rose-breasted grosbeak. Wildlife watchers also enjoy spotting deer, turtles, beaver, frogs, squirrels, chipmunks and other small woodland animals.

Big Creek Park has a 642-acre tract, primarily covered with a mature beech-maple forest, is bisected by Big Creek. Many species of neotropical songbirds migrate from equatorial rainforests to nest in Big Creek Park; wildlife watchers also enjoy spotting deer, turtles, beaver and small woodland animals. An extensive trail system makes Big Creek Park a hiker's dream, while others enjoy horseback riding, picnicking, cross-country skiing, camping, and fishing in one of three ponds.

History:
In 1926 Samuel Livingston Mather purchased almost 1000 acres of land in Chardon Township with hopes of creating a high class resort. However, the onset of the Depression shattered his dreams.

Because of Mather's desire to see the area preserved, 505 acres of land were donated to the State of Ohio in 1955. After its creation, the Geauga Park District entered into a lease agreement with the State in 1965. Several adjoining parcels were later acquired to bring the total to 642 acres. In 1990 the State of Ohio officially transferred ownership of the leased portion to the Geauga Park District.