Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve

Caesar Creek. Jeez louise, I don’t even know where to begin. I wish I could describe every inch of this state park’s delightfully quirky environment. Incredible lake, perfect for fishing, boating, swimming, diving, scuba suiting, water boarding, tiny rafting, skate looping and snake hooping.
As a strict lava lamp enthusiast I am frequently forced to leave my lamps at home, or in the Jeep when I take my pet capybara, Stymie, out for nature walks and candle lit boat rides (romantic and memorable for any date, whether it’s with your favorite pet pal or a special human in your life!). As you can imagine, being apart from my lavas for an extended period of time can create a tremendous amount of stress. However, this is where Caesar Creek really gets me! There is electricity throughout, essentially, the entire nature preserve! This allows me to plug in and relax and really take in mother earth as Stymie takes his afternoon sleepy-​boy naps.
I’m not entirely sure how the electricity works, but I’m not electrician! I’ll leave that up to the electricians.
Trails ahoy! There are so many wonderful trails to traverse within the fenced boundaries of Caesar Creek. Miles and miles of entertainment and unattended, isolated, more or less impossible to fully comb wild land. Lands so wild and free that you could get lost for days and never be found, or have reason to complain! The aforementioned lake is arguably the deepest lake in the United States. Rumored to have been built by indigenous peoples in the mid 13^th century, Caesar Creek Lake is celebrated for it’s underwater and underground tunnels which have survived centuries of geological change to remain the oldest and most labyrinth-​esq series of tunnels in North America.
Stanley Graton, Caesar Creek’s first President and well-​loved philanthropist one stated «Caesar Creek will be the greatest nature preserve, lake, campground and training base these United States has ever seen, and will ever see. Rest assured I will die, and take all of you with me before I yield to Paint Creek. I will destroy them, I will burn them all to the ground. You just see, you just wait and see». Luckily, Graton never burned down the other exemplary parks and preserves in Ohio, though his passion for Caesar Creek is embedded in it’s character and systemic control of the region’s fish and bird population.
Great park! Highly recommended!

Excellent hiking trails and fishing. I’ve caught Bluegill, SM Mouth Bass, Catfish, Carp, Turtle (Yikes). The lake is deep at the edge in most areas so don’t under-​estimate it’s depth. However, if you don’t mind hiking the trails and finding a creek bed that opens up before the lake, there’s a lot of great access to fish without a boat.

Very cool place! If you got a boost they have lake. If you have tent or camper they have campground. And if you like rocks you can get fossils by dam.
Go to visitors center and register and you can legally collect fossils. It’s free. The fossils have waited 300 million years for you to come abd see them. The visitors center has thin booklet to help you know what you find.
Fifteen miles off freeway. Nice side trip worth an hour or two

As one of Ohio’s largest and deepest lakes, Caesar Creek is a fantastic escape only an hour from the city. It’s a relatively new lake as well, built by the army corps in the 1970’s as a reservoir to control flooding for the Little Miami. It’s a great spot for boating, hiking, swimming, fishing (the lake is stocked with a variety of fish), and fossil collecting.
The day we were there, we hiked a trail on the south side of the lake starting at the dam to a really pretty waterfall and creek bed. For as much elevation change as there is around the lake, the path itself was pretty level and wide following along a ridge. I can imagine the paths down to the lake and waterfall get pretty slick and muddy after a rain though. The path is really well marked with yellow paint on tree trunks and continues along a significant portion of the lake. There is a fossil collecting area in the spillway along the path which was packed with families. You need a permit to collect fossils, but they’re available for free at the visitor’s center.
We followed up our hike with a little boating. The lake was packed with jet skiiers, tubers, etc. but it’s so big, you never feel like it’s too crowded. Even on a busy Memorial Day, there was plenty of room for everyone. There are a few boat ramps and a number of docks along the lake for access. There’s also a beach area for swimming that is cordoned off from rest of the lake for safe, calm waters.
We were there all day, and I still feel like we only saw a tiny portion of what Caesar Creek has to offer. We’ll for sure be going back.

For Cincinnati area folk, Caesar Creek is a must-​add spot to everyone’s list of day trips!
Tucked away off I-​71 near Wilmington, there are a plethora of things to keep you busy at Caesar Creek. You can camp, hike, fish, and boat. There is a beach open to swimming. There are multiple playgrounds and picnic areas, and there is even an area for fossil hunting, a youth fishing pond, and a pioneer village.
Some of my favorite places in the park are:
— the Visitor’s Center Trail (long, but provides great views of the lake as well as lush woods),
— the fossil collection area in the spillway (it’s just plain awesome),
— the Flat Fork ridge picnic and playground area (new and nice),
— the lower dam area (a great place to explore), and
— the wildlife viewing area off Burlington Road (great spring/​fall bird watching).
But really, you can’t go wrong at Caesar Creek, so grab a map at the Visitor’s Center and explore.
A few tips before you go to make the most of your trip.
— The beach gets kind of gross with geese poop. Wear flip flops.
— Permits are free, but required for the fossil area. They are available at the Visitor’s Center. Know your license plate number!
— As well, the fossil area is nuclear hot during the summer months. Bring plenty of sunscreen and water.
— A lot of the park is carry in/​carry out, which means no garbage cans. Bring a trash bag. No littering!
— For supplies, the small store at the corner of Oregonia & Clarksville Roads, Spillway Party Supply, is god-​sent. They have drinks, deli sandwiches, basic outdoor supplies, and other necessities. They’re also really nice!

You’ve just got to trust me when I tell you about how incredibly cool this place is. You go fossil collecting here.
During the upper Ordovician Period of the Paleozoic Era, southwestern Ohio was covered by a shallow sea. This is the remains of that sea. If you are even vaguely interested in science, you’ll absolutely love this place.
When you park and look around, you don’t see much, but I dare you to take a couple of steps out, and then look at the ground.
Now go over to the cliff base, and start examining the rocks. See all the little creatures?
If you’re really lucky, you can find a trilobite.
When you first go in, be sure to take the road there all the way down to the building associated with the creek. That’s where they’ll explain everything to you, and where you buy your permit to be there for the day. You get that permit, learn the rules, halfheartedly promise to follow them, and go back to the main place.
Explore. Bring a hat. Sunburn ruins it, as does dark, though. There is no shade. Don’t expect it. You will be hot and sweaty and will REALLY want to bring a drink.
Expect to end up spending way longer than you had anticipated here.