Caesar Creek State Park

Caesar Creek State Park is a peaceful retreat with scenic trails, clean campsites, and a calm lake perfect for kayaking. The beachside is cozy—great for relaxing, picnicking, or catching a sunset. A solid spot for nature lovers and weekend getaways.💞😍

Caesar Creek State Park delivers the full Ohio outdoors experience. The lake is the centerpiece—wide open water that feels almost oceanic compared to other state parks. It’s excellent for boating, fishing, or just sitting by the shore watching the light shift over the surface. The trails cover a surprising range: shaded forest paths, steep ridges, and creek crossings that make a short hike feel like a real adventure. Fossil hunting at the spillway is a unique bonus; it’s rare to find a public park where you can literally pick up pieces of ancient history with your hands. Facilities are practical and spread out. Restrooms and picnic shelters are well-kept, especially given the park’s size. There are multiple designated areas for families, with playgrounds and open fields that make it easy to relax with kids. Dogs are welcome, and the large open spaces make it easy to bring them along without feeling crowded. It’s not a manicured, city-park experience—it’s bigger, wilder, and a little raw in the best way. If you want a mix of recreation and real nature, this is one of Ohio’s best spots.

Lots of hiking and camping available at various places. We stayed with the cub scouts and had a great time even in poor weather the first night. Bathrooms were clean and handicap accessible. Fish were biting this time, and we also went swimming at the beach. Which is a sandy/pebbly style with the occasional rock and clay deposit. We made a clay castle. Doesn't get super deep until further out so safe for kids. They seem to be remodeling the beach area. Excited to return this summer, although it tends to be crowded during peak season. Not a great spot to wash the sand off your feet yet so prepare accordingly, fellow haters of sand in our shoes.

I was just in awe of the sheer size of the lake. Many private, and public pull off with trails. Plenty of restrooms.

Be sure to download or print a trail map. Not well marked or signs were worn off. Horseshoe Falls was dry. Swinging bridge was cool.

I met up with a coworker to do a little fishing late in the day. A small catch, and 2 snags. Park closing. Will return, to hit some trails, and catch a bigger bite.

Very popular today on the 4th of July Nice little beach but make sure you wear swim shoes because there are rocks once you enter the water

Love this place, 13 Mike loop for hike, kayaking, boating, Beach, fishing, fossils. Gorgeous. I’ve never gone and been unhappy, from the beach as a child to the trails as an adult on a boat or hiking and trying to lose myself in nature. I love this place

Celebrate Earth Month With Yelp Cincy! Gladly! 'Tis an extraordinary day. One of our favorite local picnic opportunities is a nearby Caesar's Creek Lake and we visit all four seasons. Caesar's Creek Lake has numerous picnic opportunities, and we note that more than a few folks are visiting today. We choose a delightful pull off overlooking the Lake. I've taken care to select crab cakes from a local deli and assembled crab cake sandwiches; alas, no chardonnay - this is state property.

My family and I met at Caesar Creek State park for a little Memorial Day picnic. This was my 3rd or 4th time at the park. What keeps me coming back is how beautiful and well kept it is. We spent most of our time near the beach. The sand and water seem decently clean for a beach and my nieces and nephew had a blast swimming. The park is huge, so there is plenty of space, even on crowded days. Sadly, my mom and sister said that on Memorial Day the bathrooms were absolutely trashed, but I don't remember them being bad on my other visits. I plan to return many more times in the future. They have fishing, a dog beach, playgrounds, and more!

HUGE FAN OF THIS PARK. I just recently hiked the 14+ mile perimeter trail around the lake, as I wanted to get a wonderful overview of the park. It is definitely pretty awesome to have a trail that is that long so close to the city. The trail is super long and mostly overgrown & really muddy--but if you're looking for mileage and a way to just get outside, it's something to add to your list. You can check out my review on the AllTrails app and download a map of the trail there, although the trail is marked well with yellow markers. Know that you do have to go on the main road twice (one of those roads is Route 73 and can be very busy). With that said, there are several other things I would recommend within the park. In fact, I would probably recommend only parts of the perimeter trail (The beginning and the ending certainly have most of the highlights, and you do not need to hike all 14 miles just to see those things: those things would be Horeshoe Falls, the swinging bridge & the prairie town). I also love the rock quarry overlooking the lake. There is plenty of parking around this section of the park. I would grab those hiking boots, park in that area and just take in a little bit around what you can see of the lake (due to the over growth in the park and the fullness of the trees, you can't really see the lake most of the time when you are on the perimeter trail--only in parts). If the rock quarry is on your right as you come down the main road, you can take the bridge over top of the dam and then turn left into the dam parking lot. There is a shorter trail there, as well as a beautiful wild life preserve. It overlooks the rock quarry away from the lake and ropes you around more wild grass and bird nests. Of course, there is more to do in this state park than just hike. If you have a boat or paddle boards or even a canoe or kayak, there are specific places to put that water equipment into the lake. Get outside and explore! This park is a perfect place to do just that.

nice park if you are in the area .. personally think the name is misleading .. think it's a lake not a creek. anyway there is a nature center, hiking trails, ponds, marina, fishing .. ect. I wish i had a boat to go out in the lake ... but i have done some walking around with my camera. Lately bird photography is one of my interests. At the nature center they have bird feeders and it's an easy place to get some decent bird pics. I give it a 5 because it's close to me and someplace easy for me to go. It's free, nearby and can usually find something to photograph. Like walking the short trails and soaking up the nature ... birds singing .. frogs, mature trees .. I feel safe to walk about alone. Is this worth fly here to see ...or traveling hours to see ... personally i wouldn't think so. But it's 30 minutes from me .. and worth that to me to enjoy nature. It's close enough I've went at various seasons .. if your in the area you might find it worth the stop. I've uploaded some pics i hope you find helpful. right now we are in the Covid virus scare .. so alot is closed. The park is open but all bathrooms are closed ... can sit on benches but picnic tables are roped off. will be glad when things go back to normal.

Very modern campground. PLENTY of space between campers. Hard to find. Beautiful lake!! Great mountain bike trails. Challenging and beautiful trails through the woods. Enter right at the campground! Staff was awesome and professional. Restrooms and showers kept clean. Landscaping cared for. Try this place out!

Great flea market to visit. There were lots of vendors and great options. Although the flea market is great, the food court is not. Ordered a chicken tender combo from the main food court and it was ready in 2 minutes. It actually looked terrible and when I broke it open I was unsure what is was made of. Visit the flea market but avoid some locations in the food court at all cost.

This have been a great summer to explore Caesar Creek more! We love the trail to Horseshoe Falls. It's easy and well-maintained. We love to fossil hunt at the spillway. We found a new trail up off of the spillway that has lots of cool birds and a small pond. It's much better in the Spring, but fun in the Summer and Fall too. The beach was a complete surprise this summer too. It was way cleaner then I thought it would be and the water was really warm. Our group had a great time there. I do wish they'd open stuff like bathrooms back up despite the coronavirus. It would make it better for families. We have really enjoyed having this great state park nearby!

Beautiful park, but camping leaves something to be desired. The camping loops are clearly close to the water (maybe 50 ft away in some spots) but the water is impossible to get to. Why put the camping close to the water if you aren't going to create trails or beaches or fishing areas? Also, we went to the gorge area behind the dam, which is pretty, but the bathrooms were closed. Had a sign that said "off season." It's May, can't get much more in season than that!

Wow, the nature center is brand new, the ranger is very friendly and knowledgeable. I picked up a fossil collecting permit and headed to the spillway to gather fossils. The area is super huge. I wish I had more time to collect, as I could have taken 2 days. Got a lot of shells and crinoids and other sundry items. I didn't find any trilobites, but I'm sure with more time I could have. I will definitely come back here again. I'm very impressed by the entire park and the facilities. Good choice for all family makeups.

This review will focus on the beach. I used to go there as a kid but had heard that it was trashed and no fun anymore so I haven't been in at least 25 years! I didn't know that I was as totally missing out!!! I've been kinda bummed because I can't really afford to take my kiddos on a fancy vacation like their dad did. I've really been wanting to go swimming but haven't made it to a pool yet. Since it was so hot today I thought I might check out the beach and show them where I went as a kid. I told them if it's awful, no big deal, we can leave. Turns out, it wasn't awful and they want to go back!!! The beach was great. We got to play in the sand and in the water. They said it was even better than the ocean!!!!! It was not overly crowded and consisted mainly of families. A few things we learned for our next trip though: - wear water shoes!!!! The sand gets HOT and when you get in the water it's really rocky and hurts your feet. We definitely would've stayed longer if we'd had water shoes. - no floatation devices allowed and they are serious about this! The ranger stopped and made everyone with a float get out and said that only life jackets are allowed. I'm happy we found this little oasis close to home. I see many more trips in our future. Oh, I forgot to mention, it's absolutely free!!! You don't have to pay to park, enter the park or anything. Perfect for any budget!

I think I had been to this State Park once before for a festival or something..but I had no idea it had a huge lake and a beach. It's pretty cool that there's a beach you can go to that's only a little over an hour outside of Cincinnati. The beach itself isn't bad. About what you'd expect out of a lake beach. The water is kinda dirty but not overly dirty..again kinda what you would expect. It's a decent size too..not huge, but there is definitely a lot of room to spread out. Even if it gets crowded there seems to be enough area that you can find a nice space to lay out your stuff. There's a nice picnic area that is covered with a decent amount of tables. There's also a decent sized men and women's changing area if you don't feel like wearing your beach clothes to the beach..or don't want to get your car wet and dirty afterwards. We were there on a very warm Saturday afternoon. Again it was kinda crowded but nothing crazy. We packed a nice picnic and utilized their covered picnic area. Like at any beach, the sand was incredibly hot and almost unbearable when trying to walk too and from the lake. Swim shoes might be a good idea to bring along next time. So yeah, had a nice afternoon here. I would definitely come back and I would highly recommend it if you're in the mood to hang out at a beach, but don't have enough time to take a trip out to the coast.

It has been a long time since I visited Caesar Creek State Park but I must say that I'm pretty impressed this time around! There are plenty of trails, around water and interesting rock formations, and what is also fun is that you can get a permit and look for fossils. They do a lot of educational activities and the rangers are helpful and knowledgeable. There is also the lake which is an option for swimming outdoors (didn't go this time but I remember having a good time as a kid). Great fun for everyone in the family, and a generally beautiful place.

Caesar Creek has a lot to offer, with trails for hiking, biking, and bridle, plus the lake for swimming (there's a public beach), fishing, and boating! If you obtain a permit, you can also go fossil hunting on the spillway. It's definitely worth multiple visits to enjoy everything. On our latest visit, we hiked a portion of the 12.7 mile Perimeter Trail around the lake to go check out the new swinging bridge near Horseshoe Falls, and then enjoy the falls themselves. In the usual dilemma of checking out a waterfall, we went after rainfall in hopes of having a nice view of the falls running (and it was beautiful!), but that means the trail had significant muddy sections, so if you do the same, you may want some good footwear and a change of shoes/clothes handy just in case. The section of the trail through the spillway is wide open to the sun, but the section between that and the swinging bridge was nicely shaded in the woods. It was relaxing to catch views of the lake as we went along. The swinging bridge is a fun new addition and had drawn quite a little crowd when we arrived. Great place for a visit!

Had a great time with the horseshoe trail and swinging trail. Definitely kid friendly and very manicured trail. You can venture off and have more of a challenge with the yellow and green trail but nothing to taxing. Covid 19 bathrooms closed and some wear on the trails as far as disrepair of the steps but I figure the wear recently is increased since the quarntine. Wear water shoes for the swinging horseshoe trail there are some fun water places even for kids.

If you are among the rich andd famous who can afford a boat to go out on the lake fishing or sailing or whatever other water sports you like to do, then I'm sure this is the lake for you. If you are a senior citizen whose income is limited and whose opportunities for affordable recreation are also extremely lmiteed, this is not the lake for you I hope none of my State of Ohio taxes are going toward maintaining this facility which I find impossiblle for me to use. We couldn't find one decent spot to fish along the shore, and we were not even allowed to fish off the marina pier. This is only the second time I've evern posted anything on Yelp, but I was so disappointed and felt so strongly about it tht I am posting this.

Wonderful park. The walk to the lake was great and memorable. The bridge was really nice. Definitely worth the visit.

Caesar state 3,741-acre park surround a large lake built by core of engineers. There is a nice trail that closely hugs the lake, because of this avoid hiking it during rainy seasons. The visitor center here is only of the largest in the state. Do watch the movies that are available. The park is located between Xenia and Lebanon. Great family park with much to do.

Caesar Creek State Park has a great loop trail around the lake. You can choose to do the whole trail (~13 miles I think) or just do an out and back. I have done a lot of trail running here over the years. Now I like to bring my kids to hike. You can park at several different spots. The visitor center has a nice lot and clean bathrooms. There is also a playground. I like to park at the Hopewell Day Lodge as we can go two different directions from this parking lot. Enjoy the trails!

There was poop, trash and dead fish everywhere. Worst beach I have ever been to! The amount of poop and the smell was nauseating. The shore was washing up even more poop and it's a health hazard.

After a wonderful stay the year before we brought the family for a what we thought would be great 4th of July celebration. We stayed in the F loop, and had major electrical problems, to the lint that our son and his family went home a day early. Their air would not work. The whole F loop needs to be rewired! The camp host was rude! The only nice person was the man who came to try to fix the electrical problem. Do be advised/warned before staying here! Disappointedly yours

Disgusting! The beach is filled with feces from all the geese and who knows what other animals! It's like a giant litter box! My cat's litter box is cleaner than that beach! Find another place to swim!

OK. I gave three stars because the lake has water and there always seems to be a lot of folks boating - enjoying it. I hear the fishing is good. I have walked many of the lakeside trails and like those. They are easy to walk and in many places you can get down to the water to skip a few rocks or dip a toe. (Swimming only in designated places.) The over-flow spill way is really cool if you want to search for fossils and the education center near the dam is well-kept and worth a look.. The lake is beautiful in the fall and great for sailing or canoeing. Regarding the main beach of the west side of the lake off St. Rt. 73. I saw a post saying the beach area was littered with dog poop. I haven't stepped in that but I challenge you to not step in goose sh#t on your way to the beach. The beach is a traditional Ohio state park beach covered with pebbles, not much in the way of sand - so don't think you are going to be making beautiful sand castles. The beach itself is pretty beat up. You can find more sand on a canoe trip on the Little Miami River and there are several companies that will get you in a kayak or canoe and places to stop along the way for sodas, snacks, etc. Still on the beach - sadly there is a huge concession stand with a covered eating area that is no longer open. So if you go to the beach and want a soda you have to hoof it down to the marina. It is sad the concession stand is not open any longer. In its day, it used to be a fun and lively place. I get there was probably not enough revenue coming in to justify the concession stand being open, but its being closed adversely affects the park and lends to the feel that the park in in decline and further reduces traffic to the beach. It is a vicious cycle. Now when you go to the Ceasar's Creek beach you get the feeling the place is dying, the water of questionable quality and you wonder what you are going to step on when you go for a wade.

Dog poop EVERYWHERE! You can't walk on the sidewalk without stepping in it. All over the beach and on the water line. Just so disgusting. Also a lot of people smoke on the beach so if you're sensitive to that you might want to look elsewhere. Or if you don't like stepping in dog poop. Nice beach though!