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

Greenwood Village Earthwork (Cuyahoga Valley)

Sagamore Hills · Summit County · Northeast Ohio
A Late Woodland gathering place on the Old Carriage Trail
Cuyahoga Valley National ParkOn a marked trail
Directions →Official source →

The Old Carriage Trail runs straight through a wooded plateau that Late Woodland people walled off with earth.

Setting
A high, flat plateau between steep ravines, walled off with earth
Recorded
By Charles Whittlesey in 1847, one of two ancient forts he mapped in the valley
Found
Large earth ovens, a few short-lived hearths and, in 1983, a stone ramp, but no houses
Purpose
Read by archaeologists as a ceremonial gathering place rather than a fort
Trail
The Old Carriage Trail runs through it, with an NPS wayside exhibit

The story

On a high, flat plateau above the Cuyahoga River in Sagamore Hills, Late Woodland people raised low earthen walls to set the hilltop apart. The National Park Service says the place was used roughly 800 to 1,600 years ago. Charles Whittlesey recorded it in 1847, one of two ancient forts he documented in the valley, and within about 20 years plowing had badly worn the walls.

Excavations found large earth ovens and a few briefly used hearths, and in 1983 a ramp of stone, but no houses. Archaeologists therefore read it as a place where people came together for ceremonies and feasts rather than a fort or a village. The people who used it lived in villages with cornfields on the river bottoms below. Today the Old Carriage Trail runs straight through the site, with an NPS wayside exhibit.

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
November 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Approximate — boundary or exact point not confirmed
Approximate location
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.

Ovens on the Hilltop

The walls looked like a fort to Whittlesey in 1847. When archaeologists dug, they found no houses and no weapons, just big earth ovens where people had cooked for a crowd.

It was a place to gather, not to hide.

Behind the legend

Whittlesey's 1847 record, the dates and the excavation finds come from the National Park Service. The ceremonial reading is the archaeologists' interpretation of what was and was not found.

If you go

Park at the Red Lock Trailhead, walk north on the Towpath to the Old Carriage Trail and find the wayside exhibit. Look for the low ridges in the woods.

Visiting

Status
Open on the trail
Managed by
National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Hours
Open during park hours.
Admission
Free; Cuyahoga Valley National Park has no entrance fee
Please note
Stay on the trail. The walls are low and worn; look for linear rises in the woods.
Official information →

Parks nearby

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
About 2 miles · Ohio's only national park; the earthwork is inside it.
Open
Brecksville Reservation
About 2 miles · Cleveland Metroparks gorges and trails at the north end of the valley.
Open

Details last checked 2026-11-05. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

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