Dillon State Park encompasses along the Licking River in Nashport,

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 ...

. Black Hand Sandstone in Dillon State Park has resulted in the park having a wide variety of natural features, including wooded

hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall und ...

and scenic

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ve ...

. One of the attractions in Dillon State Park is

Dillon Lake Dillon Lake is a reservoir in Muskingum County, Ohio Muskingum County ( ) is a county located in the east-central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,410. Its county seat is Zanesville. Nearly bi ...

, which covers 1,560 acres and offers a wide range of activities, including

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

and fishing. In addition, the park has many trails available for

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

biking Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

, and

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

. The park is often used for sightseeing due to its

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

views.

History

Dillon State Park was named after Moses Dillon, who is known for constructing the original Y-Bridge in

Zanesville Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 cen ...

. He purchased the land in 1803 where the park now stands. Between 1811 and 1834, the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

was constructed, which passed near the Dillon region. The road connected central

to the east coast, extending from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The road passed through

, the town directly next to Dillon State Park. Furthermore, the road significantly boosted local economic activity as traffic increased. As the traffic along the route grew,

became a major stopover along this road. In 1961, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

initiated flood control projects across Ohio. The project created the Dillon Dam, designed to control and manage the waters of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers, which had caused major floods in the past. This flood control

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

ultimately resulted in the creation of Dillon Lake, which the park now surrounds. The addition of the dam and the creation of the lake transformed the area's landscape, necessitating the construction of new roads to provide people with access to the park. The park was officially established as a public recreation area in 1968 by the

Ohio Department of Natural Resources The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is the Ohio government agency charged with ensuring "a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all." Functions ODNR regulates Ohio's oil and gas indus ...

. Since then, the park has significantly developed to accommodate visitors by implementing various activities and multi-use trails.

Geology

Evidence of geological features that formed over millions of years ago can be found in the park today. The sand from the eastern mountains

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

and collected around the ancient sea of this region hundreds of millions of years ago. The Black Hand Sandstone in the park dates back to the Early

Mississippian Period Mississippian may refer to: * Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago * Mississippian cultures, a network of precontact cultures across the midwest and Easte ...

, around 300 to 350 million years ago when the area was a coastal plain and surrounded by shallow seas. Sand

from nearby mountains to the east, compressed over millions of years to form this sandstone. Unique to the Ohio area, Black Hand Sandstone is coarse, durable, and massive in nature.

Flora and fauna

The park includes a wide variety of plant and animal species.

White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

and

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

can be spotted along the park's trails, while the migration of ducks, geese, and swans can be observed on Dillon Lake.

Bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

sightings have also been reported by visitors. According to locals lone

coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely relat ...

roam the park. Inside the lake, there are populations of

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

hybrid striped bass A hybrid striped bass (''Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis''), also commonly referred to by the portmanteau wiper, is a freshwater hybrid fish between white bass (''Morone chrysops'') and striped bass (''M. saxatilis''). In the United States, wipe ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

saugeye The saugeye (''Sander canadensis'' × ''vitreus'') is a hybrid freshwater fish between walleye (''Sander viterus'') and sauger (''Sander canadensis'') of the family Percidae. They are commonly stocked in the midwestern United States for recreation ...

, and

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxi ...

for fishing. The park's plants include a variety of

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

trees like

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

. Shield lichen can also be found around the park, growing on trees.

Activities and attractions

Dillon State Park offers boat and dock rentals. The park also provides hiking and mountain biking trails across many different terrains. The trails are between half a mile and 18 miles in length. An accessible swimming beach is also available at this park. The facilities located nearby include showers, lockers, a snack bar, a bathhouse, and a wading pool for children. For entertainment, there are various games and activities for residents to enjoy, such as:

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

horseshoes Horseshoe is a shoe for horses and by analogy is applied to many things with a similar shape. Horseshoes (game), a tossing game played with a horseshoe Horseshoe(s) or Horse Shoe(s) may also refer to: Places Settlements and jurisdictions * Horse ...

paddle ball Paddle ball is a one-person game played with a paddle and an attached ball. Using the flat paddle with the small rubber ball attached at the center via an elastic string, the player tries to hit the ball with the paddle in succession as many tim ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

shuffleboard Shuffleboard (Deck shuffleboard) is a game in which players use cues to push weighted discs, sending them gliding down a narrow court, with the purpose of having them come to rest within a marked scoring area. As a more generic term, it refers t ...

and a playground. The Park has 195 campsites and 29 cabins in total. The campground includes a family campground, equestrian campsites and vacation cabins.

References

{{coord, 40.007, -82.105, type:landmark_region:US-OH_dim:5000, display=title Wikipedia Student Program State parks of Ohio