Stay on Old State Road north of Cheshire Road for .5 mile, then turn right into the gravel parking lot at the intersection with Berlin Station Road. The old road (closed to cars) runs east .5 mile to the reservoir shore through very overgrown fields which can be good for sparrows and fruit-eating birds. The shore here is a series of small bays that can be walked during the fall and winter when the water level is low and can be quite good for a variety of birds including shorebirds, gulls, and even raptors. This is an excellent spot for the spring waterfowl migration from March through April. Make sure to walk out to the very end and check the long inlet to the northwest which is wind-sheltered and often has more ducks than the main reservoir. If the water level is high though, the shoreline here is quite inundated and inaccessible; a situation which often continues for much of the spring.

Alum Creek rests in the midst of the fertile agricultural till plains and river valleys of Delaware County. In contrast to the surrounding farmlands, the park offers a diverse array of natural features. Cliffs of Ohio shale are notable in many areas, exposed as Alum Creek and other streams cut through underlying bedrock. The shale was formed as mud washed into the ancient sea which covered the area several hundred million years ago. The dark hue of the rock is due to the mixture of a carbonized plant material and mud that formed the shale.

The rich soils of Delaware County gave rise to a luxuriant beech-maple forest after the retreat of the glaciers about 12,000 years ago. That original forest has long since been cut but a healthy second-growth forest is preserved in the park. The woodlands harbor a variety of plant species and offer the interested observer beautiful displays of wildflowers and wildlife. Large-flowered trillium, wild geranium, bloodroot, and spring beauties carpet the forest floor. The forest is home to fox squirrel, woodchuck, rabbit, white-tail deer, and many other species of wildlife.