On this mild, sunny morning in northeast Ohio, we visited Trail Lake Park, a refuge in the Portage County Park District. Centered on a 30-acre, man-made lake, the attractive preserve is accessed by paved and earthen trail loops, leading through meadows and mixed pine-hardwood forest that border the lake and its wetlands.
It is an excellent destination for both exercise and nature study. We encountered 22 species of birds this morning and were especially impressed with the wildflower displays. The Park lies in the upper watershed of Tinkers Creek, a major tributary of the Cuyahoga River, and stretches along the southern border of the Herrick Fen State Nature Preserve.
Having escaped the severe heat that currently plagues much of the country, the pleasant weather was surely the highlight of this morning's hike. But the varied natural habitats of this scenic refuge will certainly encourage our return on a regular basis.
