A recent weekend trip to Columbus required an overnight stay. There were many options available to us between hotels and vacation rental homes.
As anyone from a large family can tell you, hotel rooms get very small the more people you cram into them. Even in a suite with a fold-out bed, hotel rooms make me feel like a sardine crammed in a can.
When the weather is warm, I usually try to find a nice campground nearby. I love the option to sit outside our camper around a fire with quick access to walking trails and gorgeous scenery.
Great choice
I was not disappointed in our choice to stay at Alum Creek State Park in Delaware, Ohio. The first thing I noticed was that the campground was densely forested, creating semi-private campsites. The leaves on the trees allowed sunlight to filter in but formed a natural barrier between sites.
We also noticed trails throughout the park. I found a trail, somewhat like a leaf tunnel, leading to a very vital place, a restroom. My son found a trail through the woods leading to the beach. The handful of official trail lengths varied from the Storybook trail at .5 miles to the Rocks to Roots Trail which was 4.1 miles in length.
We all had different ideas of how to spend our time at Alum Creek. A priority for me was reading and relaxing, along with watching and listening to birds in the tree canopy. However, my son was in his roadrunner mode, wanting to rapidly try every single activity the park had to offer. Luckily for him, there were many things to choose from right in the campground. We played a round of putt-putt, checked out the gaga ball pit, and rode bikes around all the campground loops.
We had a lot of space to cover; there are over 300 sites including many electric and some full hook-ups. I was very relieved when my nephew joined us at the campground. The two boys were excited to spend time together, and I had a break from the constant exploration.
The first thing on the boys’ list was fishing. After catching a few stick bass and perfecting the art of casting in the wrong direction, they decided to swim instead. The water temperature was of no concern when the air temperature rose above 90. I am usually picky about water temperature, preferring it to be nearly 80. The rising heat of the day changed my mind, and I took my stand-up paddle board out on the water.
Alum Creek Reservoir consists of 3,387 acres of water. We spent most of our time at the beach within the campground. The other beach located on the reservoir is the largest inland beach in Ohio’s state park system at 3,000 feet.
While on my paddleboard, I noticed many other boaters on the water. As a convenience to campers, the campground has its own boat launch. There are four other boat launches on the reservoir for public access to the water. Cheshire Road is the dividing line between no-wake in the northern end and unlimited horsepower to the south.
History
While driving to the campground, I couldn’t help but take notice of the unusual road names. Africa Road was named after a community in the 1840s that was active in the anti-slavery movement. A man named Samuel Patterson expanded his farm to provide a safe place for people passing through to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Years later, approximately thirty freed slaves from North Carolina settled on the land.
In the land’s earliest history, it was home to Adena mound builders over 2,000 years ago. In the 1700s, members of the Delaware Indian tribe moved into the Alum Creek area. They were chased out of the Delaware River valley by the Iroquois Nation before settling on the land that later became the city of Delaware along the Olentangy River. They spoke the Algonquin language and had a similar culture. A 400-acre cornfield was located in what is now downtown Delaware.
The biggest change for Alum Creek occurred when Congress authorized the Flood Control Act of 1962. This opened the door for the construction of the dam in August of 1970. The dam would reduce flooding along Alum and Big Walnut creeks and even the Scioto and Ohio Rivers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the dam project in 1974, creating a reservoir now known as Alum Creek Lake.
After I told the two boys they could ride their bikes around but they had to be back before dark, my daughter made me laugh. She said our weekend camping was probably what it was like living in the 1980s. She was right and I wasn’t sad about it.
