Ellis Lake Wetlands
Butler County, OhioBirding Hot-Spot Amid Industry This 300-acre wetland park along the Miami and Erie Canal corridor is a small oasis in an area otherwise heavily industrialized. This is a birding hot-spot that includes willow-fringed waterbodies, former ice ponds, and the site of a nineteenth-century ice house. Flood-control overflows from the Mill Creek create temporary pools that serve as feeding areas for migrating birds. Protected by West Chester Township ParksThe wetlands park was established through the support of the Clean Ohio Fund, public-spirited donors, Ohio EPA, Mill Creek Alliance, and Butler County’s Board of Commissioners, Engineers Office, and Environmental Services. | How to Find Ellis Lake Wetlands
A parking area is at the end of Firebird Drive, running north off of Union Center Boulevard between Ohio 4 and Ohio 747. About 75 yards east along the paved Miami-Erie Canal Path, at the 1.5-mile marker, a mowed trail leads through the wetlands surrounding Ellis Lake. Continuing on the paved path offers wetland overlooks of the former ice pond. The Miami-Erie Canal Path is handicap accessible, Level 1. The grassy trail may be accessible but becomes overgrown and muddy. |
