Pew Island Scenic Trail

Indian Lake State Park: Pew Island Trail

Trail: Pew Island Trail

Hike Location: Indian Lake State Park

Geographic Location: northwest of Bellefontaine, OH

Length: 0.75 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Overview: A flat, short loop with excellent lake views.

Park Information: http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/indianlake

Google Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=720090

About Indian Lake

 It dates back to Ohio’s canal era in the middle 1850’s.  Located at the headwaters of the Great Miami River the lake quickly became a popular recreation and resort area. In 1949 when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources was formed, Indian Lake was dedicated as Indian Lake State Park.  The park is 6452 acres large. You will, however, notice that much of this is taken up with the lake itself which is 5800 of these acres.  The remaining 652 acres contains the popular 443-site campground, 5 picnic shelters, a 1400 foot swimming beach, and boat launch area.

Camping and Recreation

If you are interested in camping while at Indian Lake, it offers over 4,000 popular campsites for camping. Pet camping sites are also available. The scenic campground also offers heated shower houses, flush toilets, laundry facility, camp commissary, along with a campers’ beach, boat ramp, and docks.  Bike and boat rentals are available and there is a Naturalist Program at the Nature Center. If you are interested in reserving camping or shelter houses go to www.ohiostateparks.reserveamerica.com.

About Pew Island

Indiana Lake must be dredged and the silt that gets dredged up must have somewhere to go hence Pew Island consists of silt that has been dredged from the bottom of the lake and deposited.

Pew Island Trailhead 

The trailhead sits close to the lakefront and offers the best lake views. 

It is best to begin at the parking lot and take the gravel path into the woods. This area connects Crane Town Island to Pew Island. From here, you will quickly reach the fork which forms the loop.  

Some of the rocky area along the trailhead was placed there for aesthetic purposes. Along your left, you will find areas you can sit and enjoy the view.  

We chose to stay on the trailhead and then wind our way around the loop. 

This is perhaps my favorite section because it is often heavy with butterflies in the summer.

We stayed on this trail until we were able to cross the boardwalk which covers the northern marshy portion of the island. This day, we were the only ones on the island and the area was inundated with a heavy collection and cattails and swamp plants. 

If you heard about the trail it’s likely a birder told you.  This area has some attractive water lilies and is an excellent habitat for bird watching. 

The midday sun was beating down upon us as we walked back towards our vehicle. We stopped at the rocks to wipe our sunglasses and snap a photo of the surf coming in. We left this peaceful location and looped back around with plans to return.