Picnicking & Shelterhouses  

Fishing

Boating

Trails

More to Do

Hunting

Winter Recreation (conditions permitting)

Area Attractions

Nature of the Area

The hilly, rolling terrain of southwest Portage County is underlain by thick deposits of sand and gravel, known as kames, that accumulated in ancient stream channels as the last glacier retreated more than 12,000 years ago

This area is close to the edge of the ice sheet’s advance, which has had a profound effect on the drainage system and the soil and mineral composition of the area, as well as the topography • The nearby Portage Lakes were formed by huge chunks of ice which broke off the retreating glacier and melted in depressions forming kettle lakes • Other, smaller glacial lakes in the area have aged into bogs or marshes • Alongside the sand and gravel deposits are thick layers of clay that settled out of the calmer waters of an ancient lake that formed as glacial ice blocked the Cuyahoga River

The erosion resistant Pennsylvanian sandstone and conglomerate bedrock is inclined to fracture where exposed, forming high cliffs and ledges that are characteristic geologic features of the area • Second growth forests support a wide variety of trees, from mixed oak forest on ridgetops, to sugar maple and beech associations on deep, well-drained glacial till soils in the valleys

Having been maintained as a park setting for generations, the grounds of Wingfoot Lake are graced by groves of majestic mature trees with large crowns and abundant foliage • The habitat is ideal for small mammals, such as rabbits, skunks and opossum, as well as raptors including bald eagles, owls and hawks • The lake attracts herons and migratory waterfowl

History of the Area

The summit of northeast Ohio, where the Cuyahoga River flows north to Lake Erie and the Tuscarawas River flows south to the Muskingum River, was an important trade and navigation thoroughfare for native Americans • The Delaware, in particular, settled in the area to take advantage of the travel route from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River, as well as enjoy the abundance of game and small lakes

By the early 1800s, Ohioans had devised a scheme to employ the natural waterways as part of an ambitious canal system • Work began in 1825 to dig out the trenches that would serve as the canal channels, and at the Portage Summit, the town of Akron was founded primarily as a new home for the canal workers • The canal enabled local subsistence farmers and millers to reach distant markets with their goods, and made Akron one of Ohio’s most thriving cities

The canal era was short lived, but Akron remained an important manufacturing center with stoneware and sewer pipe industries • In 1898, Akron entrepreneur Frank A. Seiberling founded the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to manufacture bicycle and carriage tires • In 1901, Goodyear began producing automobile tires, and by 1920, Goodyear had become the largest tire company in the world  • The Goodyear Company was a leader in innovation with new and improved products, including rubberized fabric for airships • In 1916, Goodyear purchased 720 acres in southwest Portage County to begin manufacturing of its own blimps – a type of airship with a non-rigid balloon • The 444-acre lake at the site, named Wingfoot Lake in honor of Goodyear’s corporate logo, provided the crucial water supply for the operation • A hangar was constructed on the south shore of the lake, along with workshops, a hydrogen plant and a landing field. Goodyear contracted with the U.S. Navy in 1917 to build nine blimps at the Wingfoot plant, which proved highly useful during World War I for reconnaisance missions • More than 600 military cadets received flight instruction and associated training at the Wingfoot Lake site during the war

After World War II, the Goodyear blimp fleet was pressed into service for advertising and promotional campaigns, including telecasts of college football games • The north shore of Wingfoot Lake was developed for employee outings and corporate retreats in the 1960s • A number of recreational facilities were built, including large picnic shelters with fireplaces, ball diamonds, volleyball and bocce ball courts, paved courts for basketball and tennis, playgrounds and boating facilities. In the 1980s, attendance at Wingfoot Lake Park peaked with more than 100,000 Goodyear employees and their families visiting each year • In 2006, Goodyear closed Wingfoot Lake Park

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife purchased 690 acres of the Wingfoot Lake property in 2009, including Wingfoot Lake • Approximately 121 acres adjacent to the lake was transferred to the Division of Parks and Recreation in 2009 and added to the state park system