By:
Submission
Campground is currently closed due to flooding.
Primitive campsite equipped with picnic table and fire ring; off main trail in eastern portion of preserve.
A free reservation is required and must be displayed on dashboard at campground.
Primary access is off SR 52 on south side of road about 3.5 miles east of US 41.
Quiet little park, me and my boyfriend like to hammock here and just watch the rc planes go by.
A pretty cool park. Saw a bit of wildlife. Spent a good 5 hours there and still didn't cover all the trails. Did about 8 miles so plan accordingly. I went on a Saturday and there were barely any people there so is a nice time to be alone/friends. The only con is some paths are very uneven so be prepared for a foot workout and blistering. Also, the map is not super accurate for the actual path, there are a bunch of off shoots so just use google maps to be sure before you take a turn, could lead to a dead end.
The trail head is on the South side of 52. Google navigated me about half a mile West of where the site entrance actually is located. So drive slow to not miss the turn in, and go a bit further East than what is pinpointed on the map.
At the trailhead, there was a sign in sheet, the posted display map, and a picnic table in a waterlogged/flooded area. There were porta-toilets at the air field, not at the trailhead, but they may have been locked. The air field is a ten minute walk or half a mile in from the trail head.
The field looked recently mowed, but the trails were overgrown by a foot of grass or so. The trails were accessible to horses and ATVs. The soggy ground at the entrance flagged my attention that I may have trouble hiking on foot, so I stuck to the gravel path that dead ended at the air field.
I saw two groups of sandhill cranes and no trash. I saw a dumpster that may have been locked up - so try to hike out with all your waste. Thank you for managing the area!
