Potato Creek State Park

Potato Creek State Park is a stunning park with beautiful, forested hiking trails, a lake, sheltered picnic areas, phenomenal campgrounds, and an educational and informative Nature Center. Lovers of the outdoors can go to Potato Creek to satisfy almost any of their outdoor desires. The park offers over 10 miles of hiking trails, fishing, kayak and canoe rental, horseback riding, camping, mountain biking, swimming, and cross-country skiing in the winter. Potato Creek State Park is truly the outdoor lovers paradise.

The hiking trails are named on a number system (Trail 1, Trail 2, etc.), with the exception of the Friends' Wetland Trail. All of the hikes in the park are very family friendly; the longest hike in the park is 2.5 miles long, and none of the parks are overly strenuous. Although the trails are short, they are all beautiful and tranquil. Trails 1, 3, and 4 all travel along the beautiful Worster Lake, where you can see kayakers and people fishing. The Friends' Wetland Trail takes hikers into a seemingly different environment where they are able to gaze out over multiple wetlands, which are homes to frogs and elegant cranes. Trail 1 starts at the educational Nature Center, where visitors can learn about the park's history. Keep an eye out for turkeys, deer, and birds enjoying the tranquility of this trail.

In addition to hiking, the park offers a boat, kayak, paddleboat, and canoe rental service so visitors can get out on the lake and enjoy its beauty. The rental service provides life vests and paddles for visitors. The rental service is located right next to the beach area where visitors can swim, visit the concession stand for a refreshing ice cream, or enjoy a beach-side picnic. Keep in mind, however, that the beach is only open in the summer months.

Potato Creek earned its name because Native Americans used to collect plants with potato-like roots in the area. English settlers used the area for farming and living, which disrupted the natural environment of the forests and wetlands. The park started a resource management program in order to restore the Potato Creek Wilderness and make it a habitable place for plants and wildlife.  

Overall, the park is a beautiful and diverse area that contains wetlands, prairies, and forests. It is a tranquil place full of a diversity of activities that are fit for outdoor lovers and families. It is easy to get lost in the serenity of this park, and it is certainly a park that is worth exploring.