Triangle Lake Bog State Nature Preserve
Portage County, Ohio · 1 trail miles in ODNR's guide
Our take written by Nature Awed
Triangle Lake Bog in Portage County is a kettle-hole bog ringed around a cold lake over 35 feet deep, with a floating mat of leatherleaf, sedges and sphagnum, then a ring of tamarack.
ODNR describes the tamaracks turning yellow and dropping their needles each November, and pitcher-plants and round-leaved sundew trapping insects along the boardwalk. ODNR's visitor notes warn that poison sumac is frequent just off the boardwalk, and the guide also carries a poison-sumac caution.
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
Triangle Lake Bog exhibits all of the attributes of a classic “kettle hole” bog. At its center is a cold deepwater lake over 35 feet in depth. Surrounding the lake are concentric communities of similar vegetation from the water’s edge to the higher surrounding landscape beyond the bog basin. At the waters edge is a floating mat of vegetation seemingly reaching across the face of the water. Leatherleaf and swamp loosestrife provide a springboard for other plants growing at the waters edge. Virginia chain fern, tawny cotton-grass, marsh fern, and several species of sedge, along with the omnipresent sphagnum mosses, are found on the raft of floating vegetation. Beyond these small plants in the meadow is a narrow ring of tamarack trees. These stately conifers are among the most unique plants in the preserve. While bearing needles and cones, they are deciduous, dropping all of their needles early each November after turning a spectacular yellow for a few days.
There are several insectivorous species found in the bog. Along the boardwalk one can see the spectacular pitcher-plants growing in rosettes with large leathery pitcher-like leaves. The water trapping leaves also serve as prisons for insects that are attracted to the plant. These, in turn, become nutrition for the plant and insure its survival in the harsh environs of the bog. Also, the tiny leaves of the round leaved sundew are found here in the meadow, luring small insects to what appears to be a meal of nectar, but which becomes a sticky trap that ensnares the hapless diners.
Fruits are important sources of food for the birds and other animals living in the bog. Fruiting shrubs include highbush blueberry, poison sumac, black huckleberry, large and small cranberry, winterberry, and catberry.
Visiting
Open 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset
Stay on designated trails
Pets are not permitted
No restrooms
*Caution* poison sumac is frequent just off the boardwalk
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page before relying on these hours.
Trails
0.3 miles of hiking trails
In ODNR's preserve guide
| Address | 3612 Sandy Lake Rd, Ravenna, 44266 |
|---|---|
| Trails (miles) | 1 (marked ~: A portion of the trail system is accessible.) |
| Visitor information | Caution - poison sumac |
Triangle Lake Bog Portage 3612 Sandy Lake Rd Ravenna, 44266 1~ Caution - poison sumac
Access permit
Triangle Lake Bog 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triangle Lake Bog State Nature Preserve | PORTAGE | Dedicated Nature Preserve | 62.16 | Division of Natural Areas and Preserves |
| Mapped acres | 62.16 (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 | 41.1194, -81.2620 (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: Triangle Lake Bog 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.
- Cooperrider Kent Bog State Nature Preserve · Portage County · about 4.9 miles
- Flatiron Bog State Nature Preserve · Portage County · about 7.5 miles · permit
- Herrick Fen State Nature Preserve · Portage County · about 8.3 miles
- Gott Fen State Nature Preserve · Portage County · about 10 miles · permit
- Beck Fen State Nature Preserve · Portage County · about 11 miles · permit