Cowan Lake State Park

This was our first stay at Lake Cowan in the cabins/​cottages. I am so disappointed. First off they are nasty trailers not cabins or cottages. Everything is in severe disrepair from blinds missing to windows being held in with duct tape. Some are just gone or falling out. Light bulbs missing & light switches not connected to anything. It is advertised as a complete kitchen– but there is the absolute minimum, not even any bowls. The sheets don’t fit the bed & the bedspread is from the 70s. We have stayed at state park cabins in KY, PA, GA, & OH and this is our worst experience. There wasn’t even bar soap in the bathroom or dish soap in the kitchen. All this for only $ 100 a night & we stayed in the «premium» cottage!

I really enjoy coming to Cowan Lake. I first came here as a child with my parents many years ago to swim at one of the beaches. Several years ago a friend and I were looking for a place to spend some time on the weekend and he found out about a place that had lotus flowers growing. We had just recently come back from a trip to Southeast Asia and had seen plenty of them there and did not realize that they grew around here. It turned out to be at Cowan Lake and I was excited as I remembered swimming here when I was young. We drove up from Cincinnati and rented a canoe and discovered a field of lotus flowers in one of the inlets. Now my wife and I come here every summer, often multiple times, in order to enjoy the lake and the flowers and we often bring friends to introduce them to this beautiful sight.
The lake itself is quite peaceful as there is a 10-​horsepower limit for motor boats. Most of the boats that are on the water are sailboats, pontoon boats, and kayaks/​canoes. One of my favorite sights is on a beautiful day when the lake is full of sailboats gliding across the water underneath a blue sky with white puffy clouds. I really enjoy the fact that there are no fast and loud boats disturbing the peacefulness and it also makes it safe for paddling across the open areas of the lake. Fishing is popular at the lake as I often see a lot of people fishing whenever we visit. There are two beaches at the lake, one small one by the camping area and a bigger public one. There’s a small marina by the southwest end of the lake that offers rentals for canoes, kayaks, pontoon boats, row boats, and small motor boats. This is where we always rented before purchasing our own kayak.
The American lotus flowers are a fantastic sight to see. They have leaves that float on the water and rise up out of the water that get up to around two feet in diameter. The bright yellow flowers start as large single green buds on the end of a stem rising out of the water. When they are in full bloom the flower is bigger than your head with a seed pod in the center. They are beautiful and are present in at least two inlets in the lake. The fields of flowers are huge and amazing to wind through in a kayak.
It’s around a one hour drive from Cincinnati and is well worth it in my opinion. I love spending the day here paddling and stopping for swimming and a picnic. Like I said earlier, we come here every summer and recommend it whether you have a boat or need to rent one.