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

Adena Mound & Adena Mansion

Chillicothe · Ross County · Southern Ohio
The mound that gave a whole culture its name
Type site of the Adena cultureNational Register of Historic PlacesAdena Mansion is a National Historic Landmark
Directions →Official source →

A governor's estate gave its name to the whole Adena culture, and its view gave Ohio its seal.

Type site
The first mound found to belong to the Adena culture; the culture is named for it
Excavated
1901, by William C. Mills of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society
Height
About 26 feet before excavation
Found inside
The Adena Pipe, now Ohio's state artifact, plus jewelry, projectile points and textiles
Today
The mound was leveled and the spot is now under a road
Mansion
Thomas Worthington's 1807 hilltop house, designed by Benjamin Latrobe, on a 300-acre remnant of his estate

The story

In 1798 Thomas Worthington, a future governor and one of Ohio's first U.S. senators, bought land in the Scioto Valley north of Chillicothe. On a hill above it he built a stone mansion, finished in 1807 to a design by Benjamin Latrobe, and he named the estate Adena. Below the hill, on his land, stood a large mound. In 1901 William C. Mills of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society excavated it and found the burials, pipes and ornaments that defined a culture. Because it was the first of its kind carefully studied, the culture took the estate's name: the Adena.

The mound was leveled after the excavation, and the site is now under a road. Mills's finds included the Adena Pipe, later named Ohio's state artifact. The mansion, owned by the Ohio History Connection, is a National Historic Landmark, and the state seal is said to show the view of Mount Logan from the Adena property.

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 property location
Located from the site's street address
Seasonal access
Adena Mansion & Gardens: April 1 to October 25, Wednesday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m.; closed November to March. Mansion tours are at set times.
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 Governor Who Named a Culture

When Thomas Worthington named his estate Adena, he had no idea that his name would end up on thousands of years of Ohio history. But the mound on his land turned out to be the most famous one in the Ohio Valley, and when scientists needed a name for the mound-building people who came before the Hopewell, they used his.

And from the same hilltop, the story goes, Worthington and his friends looked across the valley at the sunrise over Mount Logan, the view that ended up on Ohio's state seal.

Behind the legend

The naming is documented, and the accounts of the excavation vary slightly: Mills's own report says the summer of 1901, while one museum exhibit gives 1902 to 1904. The mound stood 26 feet high before he dug it, and carbon dating puts its construction between about 100 BCE and 40 CE. The Adena Pipe, found inside, is a carved stone pipe now honored as Ohio's state artifact.

The seal story is told by the Ohio History Connection and repeated in other sources, though no one recorded the all-night meeting. See the Great Seal State Park entry for that legend.

If you go

Tour the mansion and gardens, then look out from the hilltop toward Mount Logan. Drive a mile or two to Mound City for the Hopewell side of the story.

Visiting

Status
Mansion open seasonally
Managed by
Ohio History Connection
Hours
Adena Mansion & Gardens: April 1 to October 25, Wednesday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m.; closed November to March. Mansion tours are at set times.
Admission
Adults $12, seniors $11, children 6 to 12 $6, Ohio History Connection members free.
Please note
The mound itself is gone; the visit is to the mansion, gardens and grounds.
Address
847 Adena Road, Chillicothe, OH 45601
Official information →Directions

Parks nearby

Great Seal State Park
About 4 miles · The hills of the state seal, on the north edge of Chillicothe.
Open
Scioto Trail State Park
About 9 miles · State park and forest with a CCC lake and a hermit's monument.
Open
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
About 4 miles · The national park that protects Mound City and the other Hopewell sites.
Open

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

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