Oatka Creek Park

Under this lush, wooded park lies a soft-gray colored rock called gypsum. Gypsum was used by early farmers as fertilizer, later becoming this country’s first cement. Today it is used in wallboard for home construction. 150 years ago, workers hauled it to the surface with ropes, loaded it into small carts, and pulled it by mules to a mill nearby. Chemically, gypsum is calcium sulfate and gradually turns soil sour (or acidic). Because dogwood, azalea, and mosses prefer this type of soil, these types of vegetation abound in Oatka Creek Park. Oatka Creek Park is best known for brown trout fishing in Oatka Creek when snow doesn’t cover the ground. The terrain is gentle but some of the trails are narrow. This is the place to come for quiet solitude away from the maddening crowds. Terrain: Moderate hills.