Portage Lakes State Park

Portage Lakes State Park is a 2445-acre park near Akron, Ohio, managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, where water dominates the landscape: 2034 acres of the park are water against 411 acres of land. Eight lakes give the park its name and its character, drawing visitors for boating, swimming, and fishing rather than backcountry hiking.

The park suits boaters, anglers, and casual walkers more than trail hikers. Its trail network is modest compared to the scale of the surrounding lakes, and the historic Dam/Spillway gives the park a tangible link to its engineered water system.

Plan your visit

Trails

5 named routes 10.15 mi of walkable ways mapped within 2 km

4.00 Shoreline Trail
0.93 Planet Walk Trail
0.36 Covey Way
0.21 Butterfly Trail
0.16 Pheasant Run Trail

Camping & lodging

1 mapped camping locations

Site types & reservations: see the official site.

Know before you go

Address: 5031 Manchester Road, Akron, OH, 44319
Phone: (330) 644-2220
Official site: ohiodnr.gov
Managed by: Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Hours: 6am to 11pm daily. Visitors are permitted to actively engage in legitimate recreational activities outside these hours. If you have questions, call the park office.

On the ground

The Shoreline Trail is the longest named route in the park at 4 miles, tracing the edge of the lake country that gives Portage Lakes its name. Shorter routes fill out the network: the Planet Walk Trail runs 0.93 miles, Covey Way covers 0.36 miles, the Butterfly Trail is 0.21 miles, Pheasant Run Trail is 0.16 miles, and Fox Trace is 0.13 miles. These are ways mapped near the park rather than a single agency-maintained total, so visitors comparing distances should treat each named route on its own terms.

The park's one listed historic feature is the Dam/Spillway, a reminder that the chain of lakes here is a managed water system rather than a purely natural one. The lakes themselves trace back to the last glaciation: early Ohio had few natural lakes, and the ones that did form, including several in the Portage Lakes area, resulted from blocks of glacial ice breaking off and melting into depressions to create kettle lakes. Many of Ohio's natural lakes have since aged into bogs or marshes, and the park's boggy areas support tamarack trees, an unusual find this far from their typical range.

Practical notes

Portage Lakes State Park is located at 5031 Manchester Road, Akron, OH, 44319. Park hours are 6am to 11pm daily, with visitors permitted to continue legitimate recreational activities outside those hours. The park office can be reached at (330) 644-2220.