10558 McKelvey Road
Cincinnati, OH 45240-3930
(513) 851-0611
Location
Welcome to the West Fork Lake website. Better known locally as Winton Woods Lake, the lake is situated in Hamilton County in southwestern Ohio within the metropolitan Cincinnati area.
The 183-acre lake provides flood reduction and a whole lot more. West Fork Lake exists as a cooperative management effort between the Corps of Engineers and the Hamilton County Park District. The Hamilton County Park District offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities and facilities.
The Hamilton County Park District website, including all the recreation opportunities and facilities for the lake, is at:
http://www.greatparks.org/parks/winton-woods.html
Authorization
West Fork Lake (better known locally as Winton Woods Lake) was authorized under the Flood Control Act of 1946. The Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed, built, and operates the project to reduce flood damages downstream from the dam. The dam is 6.5 miles above the confluence with Mill Creek.
Should heavy rains occur, surface water runoff is stored in the lake until the swollen streams and rivers below the dam have receded and can handle the release of the stored water without damage to lives or property.
The Hamilton County Park District website, including all the recreation opportunities and facilities for the lake, is at:
http://www.greatparks.org/parks/winton-woods.html
History
The first operational lake in the Louisville District, West Fork Lake is better known locally as Winton Woods Lake. The Hamilton County Park District changed the name to pay tribute to historical Winton Road, constructed in 1798 as part of a military trace. The Corps began construction of the dam and control tower in 1950 and the lake became operational in 1952.
The Hamilton County Park District website, including all the recreation opportunities and facilities for the lake, is at:
http://www.greatparks.org/parks/winton-woods.html