Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
  • 34waterfalls
  • 40historic sites
  • 33road trips

Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

New to the guide?

Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Fort Meigs

Perrysburg · Wood County · Northwest Ohio
The War of 1812 fort that held against two sieges
National Historic LandmarkOne of America's largest reconstructed log forts
Directions →Official source →

A reconstructed War of 1812 log fort overlooking the Maumee River, with blockhouses, batteries and a museum.

Built
February to April 1813 under General William Henry Harrison
Named for
Ohio Governor Return J. Meigs Jr.
First siege
April 28 to May 9, 1813, by the British and Tecumseh's confederacy
Bloodiest day
May 5, when Colonel William Dudley's Kentuckians were ambushed
Second siege
July 1813
Site
62 acres, a National Historic Landmark since August 4, 1969

The story

Ground was broken on February 2, 1813, on a bluff above the Maumee River rapids, under General William Henry Harrison's orders. Fort Meigs was meant as a base for invading Canada, but after a defeat at Frenchtown it became a defensive line, with seven blockhouses, five artillery batteries and about twenty cannon. In late April 1813 a British force under General Henry Procter and Tecumseh's confederacy, which was fighting to stop the settlement of Native homelands, laid siege to it and began bombarding it on May 1.

On May 5 reinforcements of 1,200 Kentuckians arrived, but a detachment under Colonel William Dudley that stormed the British batteries was drawn into the woods and cut down, and nearly 600 Americans were lost. American prisoners were in danger of being killed until Tecumseh is credited with stopping it. The fort held, and the British withdrew on May 9. A second siege in July also failed, and Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of the Thames later in 1813, after which his confederacy fell apart and the treaties and removals of the following decades began. After the war the fort was torn down, and the Ohio History Connection reconstructed it in the 20th century, with a museum, blockhouses, artillery batteries and the traverses troops used against cannon fire.

Related sites

Visiting information you can trust

Check before driving — this site is seasonal, approximate, privately run, or otherwise uncertain. Confirm hours and access with the official source above.
Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Verified entrance or visitor center
Fort Meigs (published coordinates)
Seasonal access
April to October: fort and museum Wednesday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. November to March: museum only, Wednesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m.; the reconstructed fort is closed.
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
Tickets or admission info

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

The Fort That Held Twice

For two summers the fate of the Northwest hung on a log fort in a bend of the Maumee. In May 1813 the British bombarded it for days, and when a relief force from Kentucky stormed the enemy guns, the attack turned into a disaster in the woods.

Tecumseh, the story goes, stopped his own warriors from killing American prisoners. The fort held, and so did the American hold on the Ohio country.

Behind the legend

The dates, the roles of Harrison, Procter and Tecumseh, and the May 5 ambush of Dudley's Kentuckians are consistent across Wikipedia, the American Battlefield Trust and the fort's own history. Casualty counts vary: about 600 Americans lost on May 5 in one account, and 161 killed, 189 wounded and 627 captured in another. The National Park Service credits Tecumseh with saving American lives during the ambush. The reconstruction dates are given as the 1960s or 1970s with renovations in 2003.

If you go

Walk the blockhouses and batteries in the warm months and see the reenactment of the siege on a weekend.

Visiting

Status
Open seasonally
Managed by
Ohio History Connection
Hours
April to October: fort and museum Wednesday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. November to March: museum only, Wednesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m.; the reconstructed fort is closed.
Admission
Adults $12, seniors $10, students $7; members and children under 6 free.
Phone
See the Ohio History Connection
Please note
The fort is closed in winter.
Address
29100 W River Rd, Perrysburg, OH 43551
Official information →DirectionsFind trails nearby on AllTrails →

Hours and prices change. Confirm with the site before you go.

Parks nearby

Maumee Bay State Park
About 18 miles · A lakeshore lodge and beach park on Lake Erie.
Open
Mary Jane Thurston State Park
About 17 miles · Camping and a river beach on the Maumee.
Open

Buckeye Trail

Defiance Section
55 miles · on or near the Buckeye Trail
Open
Pemberville Section
56 miles · on or near the Buckeye Trail
Open

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

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date? Email hello@fieldnotesohio.com.