| Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
|
|
|
|
|
| Location | Fayette County, Illinois, USA |
| Nearest city | Ramsey, Illinois |
| Area | 1,980 acres (8.01 km2) |
| Governing body | Illinois Department of Natural Resources |
Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area is a 1,980 acre (8.0 km²) state park located in Fayette County, Illinois, United States. The nearest town is Ramsey, Illinois, and the park is adjacent to U.S. Highway 51. The park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).[1]
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) manages Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area (SRA) for a variety of active recreational uses, including boating, fishing, and hunting. The park centers on Ramsey Lake, a 3/4-mile long, 40-acre (160,000 m2) artificial reservoir begun in 1947. The reservoir is named after Ramsey Creek, a tributary of the Kaskaskia River.[2]
Before the creation of the state park, this parcel of property was called the Old Fox Chase Grounds; and Ramsey Lake occupies a valley named Fox Hunt Hollow in honor of the annual fox hunts that were hosted here by the Central Illinois Foxhunter's Association. Hunting today centers on whitetail deer, which are hunted by bow only, upland birds such as mourning doves, pheasants, quail, and wild turkey, and small game such as coyotes, raccoons, and squirrels.[2]
Ramsey Lake is stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, and sunfish. There is a power limit on the lake (electric motors only). The state park also contains six small fishing ponds and 24 small vernal ponds and patches of non-fishing wetland managed for frogs and other amphibia.[2]
Other outdoor recreation opportunities are provided by a network of state park trails, headed by the 15-mile (25 km) Equestrian Trail and the 2.3-mile (3.6 km) Old Fox Chase Grounds Trail.[2]