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

Tap a symbol for a preview, or search for a place. Open the key to show or hide categories.

117 parks in 7 regions

Williamsburg Section

Brown, Clermont · Southwest Ohio
Buckeye Trail Association
53miles
15 of 26clockwise
2counties

Hills and country roads through East Fork State Park and Brown and Clermont counties.

Circles through East Fork State Park (Harsha Lake) and rolling country toward the Cincinnati suburbs.

Highlights

  • East Fork State Park and Harsha Lake
  • Williamsburg village
  • Little Miami River country to the west

Parks on this section

East Fork State Park
The trail loops around Harsha Lake in this park
Open

Historic sites near this section

John Rankin House
An Underground Railroad station on a bluff above the Ohio River
Open
U.S. Grant Boyhood Home and Schoolhouse
Where Ulysses S. Grant lived until he left for West Point
Open
U.S. Grant Birthplace
A one-room cottage that traveled and came home
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 Williamsburg Section page →This section on AllTrails →

Camping

  • East Fork State Park has a big campground and camper cabins
  • Check the BTA section map for others

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

Water

Water at the park; filter creek water.

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

Small towns only; East Fork is the hub.

Food and fuel

Near East Fork State Park
Tealside Diner
Attached to a Marathon station and beloved locally — goetta, chicken and waffles, opens 7 a.m.
Directions
The Chill Out
Burgers and Cajun fries; the closest good food to the park's north side
Directions
Speedway
24 hours in Bethel, closest to the park's south side
Directions

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