Park:  Delaware State Park

Trails: Mink Run, Briar Patch, and Lakeview 

 Difficulty: 2.5/5 

Located off of State Route 23, Delaware State Park is an accessible, sprawling gem for Central Ohioans. In the summer, the park is a hot spot for boating, fishing and camping. With five trails ranging from .25 to 1.6 miles, hiking could potentially  be overshadowed by other recreational options. However,  Delaware State Park’s trails unlock a serene, sparsely traveled landscape for hikers willing to lace up their boots in the cold.

High street. Columbus. A strip that serves as a slideshow of the diversity, excitement and growth of Ohio’s capital city. High street runs through the busy downtown core,  promptly splits seas of pedestrians in the bustling Short North district, separates The Ohio State University from its companion bars, restaurants, and music venues, and finally eases you into  the historic Clintonville and Worthington communities. When I was in Columbus earning my B.A., that’s as far  along the route as I had gotten. However, outside of the 270 outer belt, the road flips travelers onto the pastoral side of the Ohio coin. The scenery changes here. The street sides are peppered with barns and farmhouses – some pristine, some worn, some boarded with viney sides frozen in Midwestern time.  Stay on the route and Delaware State Park will be on your right: the almost boundless destination for your scenic drive.

 A bit unsure of where to start, Derek and I slowly cruised down the snow covered street. The main strip led us to the park’s campgrounds. Probably a grid of  fire pits of and picnic tables in the spring, summer and fall, the place was a flat plane of uniform whiteness wrapped by naked, brittle trees. The sun beamed through a thin layer of wispy clouds and over the leafless tree tops. Naturally, there wasn’t a soul in site in the middle of January, so we stopped at the first structure we saw, the campground office. We needed a map; this was the place to find it. I stepped out of the car, and the winter, tempered by the bright sun, hit me with surprising softness. Soon, after a bit of searching, we found our map – several in fact – locked inside the building. Luckily a hunting map was posted on the building window. We surveyed it and chose our starting point: Mink Run.

The parking lot for Mink Run is located on the right of the road you enter the park on. It’s a small lot, with only a handful of spots, but, in the winter, that’s no problem. Derek and I geared up. Or I should say, Derek geared up. He laced his boots, put on his hat and gloves, and packed his book bag with granola bars, water, and his camera. I stood there, staring at my tennis shoes. I made a mental note: Tennis shoes dry… For now.

We started on the path and quickly ran into our first trail sign. If you want to follow our route, be sure take a left, towards the campsite. Here, Mink Run opens up into a bowl of trees with a small, frozen over creek splitting the center. It’s a winding path that runs for one mile with modest slopes. We followed these slopes into the shallow bowl and crossed a bridge over the creek. The bridge certainly isn’t the first choice for Delaware’s wild life. On each side of the bridge lie well worn paths of animal tracks. These tracks are one of the first things we noticed. While the forest certainly sees a sharp decline in human traffic in the winter, the wildlife movement continues unbothered. The forest floor, blanketed in snow, will clue you into this movement in a way it can’t when covered in leaves. From deer tracks tracing the footpath, to coyote tracks crossing it, the winter snow reveals activity unseen in summer days.

We came up on another trail sign and paused. I made another mental note: Tennis shoes -  feel dry, look wet. We took a right on the briar patch trail. Trust me - the name is fitting. If you venture off trail, you’ll find a briar patch, or eight. On this trail, the shoe prints lessened, but there was the neat addition of cross country ski tracks and poles.  We followed this path until we took a right on Lakeview Trail.

Lakeview trail is the premier trail of the park. It first brings you to two long bays and then veers left and traces the coast of the lake. As the main path veers left, you’ll come to a four way intersection. Go straight. This small path, when we went, was untraveled. It takes you directly in the middle of the two bays. About ten feet of grass separates you from the shore. Over the grass lies the  bays, the lake, and the opposite shore. Deer tracks run like seams over the ice.

We turned around continued down the main portion of Lakeview Trail. We didn’t stay on it for long, however. Derek spied an easy route leading to the tip of a narrow strip of land that shot into the lake. A word on off trail hiking: Some Ohio parks allow it - some don’t. If you do it, be mindful of the life around you. Don’t go stomping on deer beds,  ripping thru bushes and kicking dead logs. Take the path of least resistance.

Unfortunately, the Briar patches don’t go away once you leave briar patch trail. We navigated the first patch fairly well. Dark green-brown circles of matted grass were salient in the white snow: Clues again to the vibrant wildlife. This time the clues revealed rest, sleeping deer, not vibrant motion. We carefully walked around them. A dark rusted out drum stuck out in the snow. The pattern of our off trail adventure was set, only there weren’t any more patches of matted grass. Another Rusted Barrel. Briar Patch. Cracked “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter Container.” Briar Patch. Cracked “I can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” Lid. Prickerbush.  Briar Patch. I made a mental note: Tennis Shoes. Look soaked, feel wet. Covered in prickers.

We reached the tip of the narrow strip and saw two people with a dog in the center of the lake. They had more guts than me. Frozen lakes make me nervous. Maybe it’s because I saw It’s a Wonderful Life one too many times as a kid, and it left that sledding scene stuck in my mind. You know which one I’m talking about. We couldn’t figure out what the pair was up to. They weren’t fishing. They were too active. Neither Derek or I had binoculars, and the zoom tool on the camera wasn’t any help. Maybe they saw us and were wondering the same thing. Regardless, Derek and I weren’t alone.

We backtracked onto the trail. After a while, we came to a viewing area with a few fire circles poking through the snow. It was a beautiful sprawling view of the lake, and if you aren’t willing to make a few treks off of the main path, this is the place to stop and enjoy the landscape. Take pictures, or at least some mental snapshots, because once you leave, you will soon be back into the forest. We followed the trail markers back to Mink Run, and spotted the car. Quickly the two of us hopped in, and turned on the heat. I heard a squishy sound as my feet pressed against the floor. Looking down, I made a mental note: Tennis Shoes – Soaked. Next time, remember boots.