Kiser Lake Wetlands State Nature Preserve
Champaign County, Ohio · 0.6 trail miles in ODNR's guide
Our take written by Nature Awed
Kiser Lake Wetlands in Champaign County keeps two prairie fen areas left from Mosquito Lake Bog, which filled the upper Mosquito Creek Valley before the lake was built.
ODNR lists summer fen wildflowers such as queen-of-the-prairie and shrubby cinquefoil, and plants including Kalm's lobelia, grass-of-parnassus and Ohio goldenrod. There are 0.6 miles of trail inside Kiser Lake State Park.
Our plain-language reading of the ODNR text quoted on this page. It adds no facts of its own.
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page for this preserve and ODNR's permit page before relying on this summary.
What ODNR says about it
Summer prairie and fen wildflowers including queen-of-the-prairie and shrubby cinquefoil; marsh wildlife. Alkaline fen and marsh. Two prairie fen areas are the last vestiges of a 360-acre area known as Mosquito Lake Bog which occupied the upper Mosquito Creek Valley prior to the construction of Kiser Lake. The Grandview Heights section in the southcentral part of the park includes a meadow on the edge of the lake.
The Headwaters section in the southeast part of the park includes meadows, marsh and woods. Unusual plant species present include shrubby cinquefoil, Kalm's lobelia, grass-of-parnassus, smaller fringed gentian, big bluestem, queen-of-the-prairie, Ohio goldenrod and poison sumac.
Visiting
Open 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset
Stay on designated trails
Pets are not permitted
No restrooms
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page before relying on these hours.
Trails
0.6 miles of hiking trails
In ODNR's preserve guide
| Address | 3975 Kiser Lake Rd, St. Paris, 43072 |
|---|---|
| Trails (miles) | 0.6 |
| Visitor information | Located within Kiser Lake State Park |
Kiser Lake Wetlands Champaign 3975 Kiser Lake Rd St. Paris, 43072 0.6 Located within Kiser Lake State Park
Access permit
Kiser Lake Wetlands State Nature Preserve is not on ODNR's list of preserves that require an access permit, and its ODNR page as quoted here doesn't call for one. ODNR also says: An access permit is required to leave trails within a state nature preserve.
(ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit).
The land on ODNR's map
| LANDS_NAME | COUNTY | PROP_TYPE | SUM_CALC_ACRES | MANAGING_AGENCY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiser Lake Wetlands State Nature Preserve | CHAMPAIGN | Dedicated Nature Preserve | 53.75 | Division of Natural Areas and Preserves |
| Mapped acres | 53.75 (our sum of the parcels ODNR's GIS layer maps under this name) |
|---|---|
| Access permit | No whole-preserve permit requirement identified in the sources we check; named-area or activity permits may still apply |
| Centre of mapped land | 40.1784, -83.9536 (our calculation; not an entrance or parking lot) |
Statewide rules
Ohio Administrative Code chapter 1501:17 sets rules for nature preserves and natural areas under ODNR's supervision or its designated custodian, on pets, drones, picnics, collecting and more. Can I…? quotes them rule by rule, with their exceptions.
Pets are prohibited at all state nature preserves, except Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve where leashed pets are only allowed on the multipurpose paved trail.
Check before you go. Verify current hours, access and trail information on ODNR: Kiser Lake Wetlands State Nature Preserve and ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit; our checker last found the quoted words there on October 14.
Nearest other preserves
Straight-line miles between the centres of mapped land (our calculation), not driving distance.
- Davey Woods State Nature Preserve · Champaign County · about 3.7 miles
- Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker State Nature Preserve · Champaign County · about 6.3 miles
- Owens Fen State Nature Preserve · Logan County · about 11 miles
- Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve · Champaign County · about 12 miles
- Mccracken Fen State Nature Preserve · Logan County · about 12 miles