Arcola Creek Park

Notice: Construction work is underway at Arcola Creek Park. Plans include a larger paved parking lot, flush restrooms, a shelter, picnic tables, grills and a bench swing. Crews will begin parking lot improvements on July 1, 2025. Please expect intermittent closures in the coming months. We will do our best to post specific closures on social media, however, plans may be impacted by weather conditions and other circumstances. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we make these improvements.

This is one of the last remaining natural estuaries in Ohio. Steelhead trout spawn and migratory birds find shelter here. The Nature Conservancy, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Friends of Arcola Creek (a Lake County preservation group) have all been instrumental in the preservation of the natural refuge.

Park History

The town of Ellensburg was built at the junction of Arcola Creek and Lake Erie. It was a thriving community of ship builders, fishermen and commerce. Arcole Iron Works was located south of the mouth of the creek (then called Cunningham Creek after Captain John Cunningham who purchased property there in the early 1800s). Arcole Iron Works was, at one time, the largest industry in Ohio. Bog iron, discovered in Madison Township near North Ridge Road in 1812, and the abundance of timber provided the raw materials for iron furnaces. Iron stoves, kettles, hollowware and other heavy castings were made at the foundry.

Ticks have been found in this park and are part of the natural environment.

To protect the health of anyone who eats Ohio-caught fish, an annual advisory for how often these fish can be safely eaten is prepared by the Ohio Department of Health in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Click here for more information.