Salt Fork State Park to Receive Improvements

COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director James Zehringer announced capital improvements at Ohio’s largest state park, Salt Fork State Park, on Thursday. The projects, renovations at the Sugartree Marina and upgrading of park campsites, will be funded from the $88.5 million in capital funds that was recently awarded to Ohio State Parks.

“Salt Fork is the largest of Ohio’s state parks and offers so many different opportunities for anyone that enjoys the outdoors,” said Zehringer. “The feedback we are receiving has been exceptional, and I was eager to get to Salt Fork this morning to share the great news with some of our most enthusiastic visitors.”

The Sugartree Marina at Salt Fork State Park has 104 slips and is booked every summer. Using capital improvement funds, the department will be renovating the marina by redecking the dock as well as renovating the concession building. This work will be completed in stages as not to disrupt service to the public.

“We are thrilled ODNR listened to us about the marina, and we are so happy they are turning our second home here at Salt Fork State Park back into a jewel,” said Margaret Pauch of Brunswick, who filled out one of the surveys about Salt Fork. She and her husband, Paul, have been visiting Salt Fork for decades.

The campground at Salt Fork State Park will also be receiving funds for improvement. Twenty of the campsites were recently upgraded to full service with water and sewer. Those 20 sites have consistently had a 70 percent occupancy rate, which is higher than average compared to other sites around the state. Ohio State Parks will be upgrading more sites and making them pull-through sites for larger campers.

These projects, and others like them all around the state, are being made possible by the support of Governor John Kasich, Senate President Keith Faber and the Ohio General Assembly. They demonstrated their support by providing Ohio State Parks $88.5 million for capital improvements to strengthen the infrastructure and modernize facilities in the most recent capital budget.

This funding is not intended to expand Ohio State Parks, but to serve as a step toward improving and updating state parks for the enjoyment of every visitor. This capital improvement funding will be used to improve state park facilities and lodges across the state. Additionally, bathrooms and campsites will be updated or replaced through much of the state parks system. The department is committed to identifying the most immediate needs of Ohio State Parks and will continue to announce projects while moving through this process.

To assist us in identifying key projects, ODNR has launched a website to allow people to submit their ideas for improvements within the Ohio State Parks system. By visiting parks.ohiodnr.gov/improvements, people can fill out a survey to suggest improvements at their favorite state park. The department has received more than 2,000 completed surveys.

Ohio is proud to be one of only seven states in the nation where admission to state parks is free. Many Ohio families and out-of-state residents turn to Ohio State Parks for hiking, fishing, swimming, boating, camping, biking, disc golf, horseback riding and much more.

Last year, 2.3 million people spent at least one night in an Ohio State Park campground, cottage, cabin or lodge. By continuing to improve our state parks system, we have the opportunity to showcase our facilities and draw more tourism dollars into Ohio.