Hueston Woods State Park has been “busier than ever” this summer, with millions of dollars in renovations and a new trail sponsored by Haiku North America that opened July 2.
This new trail aims to promote literacy and learning while enjoying nature.
“Folks staying within the park and visitation to our programs has always been good, but it’s never a slow day anymore,” said Park Manager Kathryn Conner.
The park has numerous renovation projects lined up for the summer. The weekend of July 1, the campground’s new shower house opened to give campers a “more comfortable feel,” with a larger changing space and doors on showers instead of curtains, Conner said.
A new bridge is also being built along Main Loop Drive in front of the campground as part of a $2.5 million project to fix a section that floods when Four Mile Creek rises after heavy rainfall. The new bridge will replace the current pipes that go under the road.
The lodge remains open as the indoor pool and pool area are being renovated, Conner said. The new pool will open in the fall.
Conner said the best place to start a trip to the park is at the Nature Center that opened June 2022.
The Nature Center has live displays of birds of prey, including owls and hawks, red foxes, a bobcat and reptiles, including snakes and turtles. The park has naturalist programs Wednesday through Sunday all summer, with activities from hiking to archery to kayaking. A list of activities and events can be found here.
“The Nature Center really kicks off your adventure at the park, you get an up-close look at animals that you normally wouldn’t,” Conner said. “It does a really great job of helping people start to understand what they might see in the woods.”
Park Naturalist Katy Rich said the activities are usually well attended. She said “watercraft activities usually fill up” because they’re the most popular. To sign up, visitors must go to the Nature Center in person.
On a recent Friday evening at dusk, 16 visitors, mostly parents with children, climbed into two pontoon boats for a guided tour of the 625-acred Acton Lake by boat. The group was especially curious about the bald eagle nests within the park. During the tour, a singular bald eagle flew across the sky and the passengers were too captivated, mouths agape, to grab their phones for a picture as they had to the many other birds on the lake.
From the lead boat, Naturalist Shawn Conner talked about the prisoners who built the park facilities in the 1950s under the Oxford Honor Camp.
“Most of the buildings we still use today were built by these prisoners,” he said.
The park has a 200-acre nature preserve that was believed to be used for maple syrup production by the Hueston family, Conner said.
“This space of land has never been touched,” he said. “It’s extremely rare.”
Julia Corso and her partner Kathy Kelts were on the pontoon tour after missing it during their annual visit to Oxford last year. They traveled to Oxford from Cambridge, Massachusetts, with their son Bennett Corso to visit family.
“Growing up we went to Hueston Woods, but it’s something you end up taking for granted,” she said. “It’s different coming from the city.”
On the Main Loop Drive around the park, across from the Sycamore Grove picnic area, the new Haiku Trail is marked by a large, green and red awning with an ODNR logo.
“The Haiku Trail invites you to walk slowly, appreciate the trees, birds and the people you’re with and to savor each poem on display,” the trailhead’s sign said.
Alongside the trail, clear streams trickle over rocks. A wooden viewing bench overlooking a clearing of the stream. The poetry is displayed on large signs shaped like leaves that are screwed into trees along the path.
“The footprint, in an old riverbed, Orion,” said one of the haikus by Patricia J. Machmiller.
“We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful state park and I personally am very honored to be able to take care of it in the way that we do,” Conner said.
