MOHICAN'S BIG LYON'S FALLS--
and a new BIG stairway
Sue and I celebrated a terrific, late summer day recently with a romp on my favorite area hike from the covered bridge in the Mohican State Park up the river gorge to Big and Little Lyon's Falls, then on up to and across the Pleasant Hill Lake dam with a finish stroll along the opposite side of the river back to the bridge.
Much to my amazement we discovered a newly constructed stairs climbing out of the Big Lyon's formation making a nice (and safe) shortcut to the upper falls trail. I remember climbing that rock formation as a younger man, then, in more recent years, having to back-track from the big falls a bit then working around the rock formation to get up to Little Lyons.
That's a young Applecreek area couple (right) beginning their climb on the new stairway out of the chasm created by Big Lyon's falls over geologic time in this 5,600+ acre combination of state park and forest.
This marvelous construction comes to us via the courtesy of the all-volunteer, Mohican Trails Club which completed the 115 step project September 5, 2012. With a rise of 7" per step that's nearly 70 feet of ascent now comfortably accomplished by modern and safe stairs. Materials alone were estimated to cost nearly $8,000 according to the club's spokesman Mark Welty.
The park (1,100 acres) is generally located in the middle of the forest (4,525 acres). Think of the park being along the river from the campground near state route 3 south of Loudonville, upstream past the covered bridge and on up to just below the Pleasant Hill Lake dam where the park and forest abut Muskingham Conservancy District land surrounding the lake.
The hike is somewhat over two miles from the covered bridge up to Big Lyon's Falls; about half of that segment along the Mohican River before it turns away from that pristine waterway and begins its ascent to the falls.
After climbing the above stairs you still have a bit of an ascent through the heavily forested land to and past Little Lyon's Falls and on up to the lake's dam. You pass the smaller falls on top of its formation and can enjoy a dangerous peek over the rim.
Unfortunately, with the recent dry summer there is just a trickle of water at each of the falls.
Between the little falls and the dam we were treated to the harsh, cracking sound of timber failing although we never heard the massive thump of a fallen tree. Regardless, we were reminded this was more than a leisurely stroll through an urban park. Much more.
That's Sue (right) as we rounded the rock formation approaching the dam which impounds Pleasant Hill Lake, an 850 acre body of water with 13 miles of shoreline which was built in the 1930s as a flood control facility. It presents a very nice view (below) before we gentle our way down the face of the dam for the 3/4 mile walk back to the covered bridge.
The state has plans (for better fiscal times) to pave the level trail from the dam downstream, to pass under the covered bridge and into the adjacent picnic area so handicapped folks will be able to enjoy that 3/4 mile segment of the heavily wooded length along the river.
