Burr Oak State Park is a public recreation area located northeast of Glouster in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The park sits mostly in Morgan County, with part extending into

Athens County Athens County is a county in southeastern Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,431. Its county seat and largest city is Athens. The county was formed in 1805 from Washington County. Because Ohio's first state university, Ohio ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

is centered at Burr Oak Lake. The dam for the lake is federal property under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers, and is named Tom Jenkins Dam. It was built in 1950 for

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

. The maximum depth of the lake is around thirty feet. The lake and park are named for the burr oak tree, a variety of oak. The area of the park is , while that of the lake is . The park was dedicated in 1952. The park borders the

Wayne National Forest The Wayne National Forest is located in the Appalachian part of the US state of Ohio, in the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. It is the first and only national forest in Ohio. Forest headquarters are located between The Plains and Nelsonville, ...

and the Sunday Creek State Wildlife Area.

Tom Jenkins Dam

The Tom Jenkins Dam is a rolled-earth fill structure constructed to control flooding, provide recreation, as well as drinking water for the Athens, Ohio area. Construction began under the Army Corps of Engineers in March 1948 and was completed in February 1950. The dam stands approximately 75 feet (23 m) high and spans 944 feet (288 m) in length, containing roughly half a million cubic yards of earth fill. The created Burr Oak Reservoir that has a maximum depth of thirty feet.

Activities and amenities

The park offers boating, swimming, picnicking, fishing, hunting, camping, cabins, conference center, and lodge. The

Buckeye Trail The Buckeye Trail is a hiking trail and long-distance trail that loops around the state of Ohio. Part of it is on roads and part is on wooded trail. Road portions of the trail are gradually being relocated to separate trail. This trail p ...

passes around the lake, and the

North Country Trail The North Country Trail (NCT, officially designated the North Country National Scenic Trail) is a long-distance hiking trail in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Northeastern United States, Northeastern United States. The trail exten ...

is coincident with the Buckeye in this location. The park features of hiking trails and of hiking trails. Historically, the park has maintained open areas along roadways as wildflower meadow-type areas.

References

External links

Burr Oak State Park
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Burr Oak State Park Map
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Burr Oak State Park Lodge
Regency Hotel Management {{authority control State parks of Ohio Dams in Ohio Protected areas established in 1952 1952 establishments in Ohio Protected areas of Athens County, Ohio Protected areas of Morgan County, Ohio Reservoirs in Ohio Bodies of water of Athens County, Ohio Bodies of water of Morgan County, Ohio