When it came to fall leaf color, we struck gold – literally. After a less than dramatic leaf color hike the previous week, I was determined to find a color hotspot. Three days of steady rain added a new factor to the planning – perhaps a ridge hike to keep us off sodden trails. With the Lake Trail at East Fork Lake State Park, we found both.

The 7,480 acre park has many trails across its campus, making the on-line trail map somewhat challenging – everything is in such small scale one can not appreciate trail intersections or landmarks. For that reason we relied upon the OuterSpatial app that hosts maps for all of Ohio State Parks and Nature Preserves, and it worked beautifully.

Almost immediately upon leaving the trailhead we knew that we made a good selection – the path was generally dry and the forest was healthy. At times it was like skiing on fresh snow, with fallen leaves obscuring any worn path.

This was how much of the forest floor appeared – a blanket of leaves.

The trees of the wood – Sugar Maple, Beech, Hickory, and Tulip-poplar, were tall and branchless for much of their height, and adorned with leaves of yellow. We were in a golden cathedral.

The trail marched out on ridges that reached out into the 2,160 acre William H. Harsha Lake, where we would get glimpses onto the water.

At the tip of each peninsula we had unobstructed views to enjoy the colors on the ridges of the opposite shore. Interestingly, those trees were not as colorful as the ones on the ridges that we were walking. I suspect that oaks were more abundant on them and will change color a little later in the season.

These peninsulas also seemed to host some of the larger trees that we would see on the hike, including this Red Oak, first noted from about 100 yards away after a turn on the trail.

It is cliche, but the photographer’s outstanding photography still does not capture the enveloping beauty of this landscape. Perhaps it the absence of the fresh scent, or the sound of the breeze in the canopy, because, indeed, a walk through a woodland is a multi-sensory experience.

But not everything in this woods was yellow, as we did find a few specimens with red.

How about a little leaf quiz?

Spicebush, White Oak, Hickory, Sassafras, Sugar Maple.

The tree diversity of this forest can be appreciated by this collection of leaves that were found within a few feet of each other.

Odds and Ends:

I was stumped when I found this large leaf alongside the trail. I wasn’t familiar with a deciduous tree that had such large leaves of this shape. We located the source but the branches and remaining leaves were well above our head and could not be keyed for identification. A little further on in the hike, I found another one with similar leaves that were not quite as large. I keyed it while on the trail to Red Mulberry, but was still not convinced.

Later we passed between two large trees. The one on the right was a White Oak. The one on the left I was not sure of.

The canopy was over 50 feet above our heads so I asked the photographer to take a photo of the leaves with her telephoto lens. On the computer I could enlarge the leaves and I believe that this too was a Red Mulberry, with more typical sized leaves. Yes, Red Mulberries can get up to two feet in trunk diameter and sixty feet in height. I believe the extra large leaves on the first Mulberry was a compensation of the tree trying to capture enough sunlight in the midstory of the forest.

Another exciting tree find was this Sassafras, which was the largest I have ever seen. They tend to be found along fence rows on farms or on the edge of woods, where their trunk diameter is often 6 to 10 inches. This guy was in the middle of the forest, had a diameter of about 18 inches, and was approaching 50 feet in height. I was shocked to learn that the National Champion Sassafras in Owensboro, Kentucky is 7.5 feet in diameter.

It was refreshing to see the wide open understory of the forest with virtually no invasive plants. A native plant that brings green to the forest floor this time of year is Christmas Fern. It is one of the four species of ferns in the Ohio River Valley to not go dormant in the winter. I have read three theories for the origin of its name: That it is still showy during the Christmas season. That it was used by settlers for Christmas greenery. And lastly, that its leaflet resembles a Christmas stocking (circled in second photo below). The last one, while it is the identifying feature in the field, is a reach for me.

Mosses are often overlooked in the forest for much of the year, but in late fall and winter they become more noticeable, as they slowly go about their work of promoting decay.

Another colorful feature of the forest this time of year are the berries of Spicebush. Because they are positioned beneath the leaves of the shrub, they go unnoticed until leaf fall.

The photographer and I were quietly studying items in the forest when this girl, and a companion, just suddenly appeared. She was only 40 feet from us.

Plant of the Day – the photographer found the first specimen and then we noted several others over the course of the hike. The Blunt-lobed Grape Fern was displaying its fertile stalk holding yellow spores. When ripe, the spores will be released upon the wind to travel a distance from the parent plant. Despite the succulent nature of its stems, it, like the Christmas Fern, will remain green, with hints of red and purple, over the course of the winter.

And one last photo of the forest.

In summary, our outing to East Fork Lake was a terrific success as we got to indulge ourselves in outstanding fall color and wander through an amazingly healthy forest. Based on the tree population and the quality of the soil, I would expect this to be a great trail for spring ephemeral wildflowers as well. The park is expansive and offers a multitude of hiking trails. I have seen good reviews for the Tailwaters Trail, which runs along the East Fork of the Little Miami River below the dam, and it may make for a good winter hike for Footpaths.

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Photo credits to Peggy Juengling Burns.

Overview:

Location – The park headquarters’ address is 3294 Elklick Rd, Bethel, OH 45106, about 28 miles from downtown Cincinnati. If you have a specific trail in mind it would be best to navigate directly to its trailhead if possible, as due to the fingers of the lake and existing infrastructure, getting from one point in the park to another can be time consuming.

Parking – large asphalt lot for 30 cars, which also services a nearby lake overlook.

Trail Conditions – generally bare dirt, but there is a gravel section down a slope at the trailhead.

Print Map Link – https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/ohiodnr.gov/documents/parks/parkmaps/eastforktrailmap.pdf. I would recommend that you download the free OuterSpatial app to access the trail map. That will allow you to have a detailed map on your phone and your progress is noted by GPS. The app is particularly useful in parks and preserves where there is no cell signal, provided that you download the map before getting to the hike. I have provided a link to their website below.

Facilities – elsewhere in the park.

Benches – none.

Picnic Tables – elsewhere in the park.

Kids – I would suggest 4 and over.

Dogs – welcomed on a leash.

Suggested Paired Hikes – there are many other trails in the park.

Craft Beer – Mount Carmel Brewery is 14 miles away, heading back toward Cincinnati.

Links:

https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/east-fork-state-park

https://www.outerspatial.com/