Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.
Try:
The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop around Ohio, with all 26 sections.
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Mounds & Earthworks43 ancient sites, including the Great Serpent Mound and the Newark Earthworks.
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Historic Sites39 places, from Fort Steuben and Zoar to Camp Chase and the Rankin House, from the frontier to the Civil War.
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Road Trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail.
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Lake Erie Beaches20 public beaches from Conneaut to Toledo and the islands, with a map.
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Oddities & Roadside Attractions19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops, plus a Mothman just over the line.
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Caves & Caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters, with a map.
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Waterfalls34 falls from the Cuyahoga Valley to the Hocking Hills, with trail notes and a map.
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Explore Ohio

One map for every park, mound, historic site, beach, cave, waterfall and oddity in the app.

Lake ErieWest Virginia27 places277 places77 places73 places35 places519 places1913 places1319 places1916 places168 places810 places1010 places109 places98 places820 places204 places43 places3Barkcamp State Park4 places47 places77 places76 places69 places917 places173 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places2Forked Run State Park3 places32 places26 places610 places103 places32 places2

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117 parks in 7 regions

Massillon Section

Stark, Tuscarawas · East Ohio
Buckeye Trail Association
54miles
3 of 26clockwise
2counties

Canal towpath, river valleys and rural roads through Stark and Tuscarawas counties.

Follows the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath and rural roads south through Zoar and toward Fort Laurens.

Highlights

  • Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail
  • Zoar, a preserved 19th-century village
  • Fort Laurens, an Ohio History Connection site

Historic sites near this section

Fort Laurens
Ohio's only Revolutionary War fort
Open
Schoenbrunn Village
Ohio's first Christian settlement, rebuilt log by log
Open
Zoar Village
A National Historic Landmark built by German separatists
Open
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum and National Memorial
A presidential library, a science museum and a memorial tomb in Canton
Open

Section map and alerts

Show this section on the mapDistances between stops in this section

The Buckeye Trail Association sells a detailed map for this section and posts current trail alerts.

Official Massillon Section page →This section on AllTrails →

Camping

  • Zoar Campsite: a primitive site in Zoar; check in with the local police first
  • Summit Metro Parks camping near Nimisila Reservoir at the start of the section, by advance permit
  • Individual campsite reservations are needed; check the Buckeye Trail Association section map

Campsites are run by different agencies and owners, and the rules and fees change, so confirm before you go.

Lodging near the trail

Hampton Inn Massillon
Hotel, downtown Massillon
In the historic downtown beside the Ohio & Erie Canal trail; guests praise its trail access.
DirectionsCall 330-834-1144

These are places to sleep near the route, not places that advertise to hikers. Confirm that they welcome hikers, and ask about shuttles.

Water

Drinking water at municipal parks, trailheads and businesses in Hartville, Uniontown, Green, Massillon, Navarre, Bolivar and Zoar; treated backcountry water is scarce, so plan taps as waypoints.

Take the stops with you

Save the camps, resupply, lodging, trail towns and parks for this section as waypoints.

Google Maps: stops 1 to 4

The file holds 4 waypoints and a stop-by-stop route line. Locations are approximate, often a town center, so use the stop notes to find the exact spot. Your maps app chooses the roads between stops, usually the fastest, so follow the byway signs where they differ. The GPX arrives in a zip file; unzip it and open the .gpx in a GPS or hiking app. The CSV imports into Google My Maps.

Resupply

Zoar is a Buckeye Trail Town; Bolivar has a 24-hour store.

Food and fuel

Zoar Trail Town
A preserved 19th-century village with canal heritage on the Ohio & Erie Canal.
Oro Azteca Mexican Grill & Cantina
Big-portion Mexican right in the village; open daily
Directions
BellStores (Bolivar)
Open 24 hours, about 3 miles northwest
Directions

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.