Lake Isabella is an east side hidden treasure. Most have heard of it for its fishing but fail to realize this park has much more to offer. Although you are right near Interstate 275 off of Loveland Madeira Road, you will feel like you are at some remote campground.

This past week, I took my kids to Lake Isabella. They had a blast on the playground; the interactive playground was fairly shaded under mature Sycamore trees. The playground has swings, slides, a climbing wall, monkey bars and even a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt featured hidden objects throughout the playground such as a fish, apples and frogs. After enjoying the playground, we took a walk down to the boathouse and enjoyed a snack on the dock. It was very peaceful, and we enjoyed the view of the lake. We even saw a mama duck with her ducklings. Others were there fishing and picnicking.

After our snack, we went back to the playground and I noticed two people looking through binoculars. I was curious as to what they might be viewing. It turns out they were park volunteers that were scouting out trees that were infested with Asian Long-Horned Beetles. These insects are causing damage to trees in Southwest Ohio.

Lake Isabella is currently hosting Last Call Trivia on Thursdays (the last trivia night is this Thursday, August 30) and newer to Lake Isabella are four campgrounds that can be reserved online. This upcoming Labor Day weekend there will be the last Kids’ Mystery Fish Challenge Monday, September 3 from 10 a.m. – noon.

Be sure to check out Lake Isabella whether it be for fishing, playing, picnicking, camping or simply relaxing.

For more information, visit www.greatparks.org.