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

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

Old Maid's Orchard Mound

Lithopolis · Fairfield County · Central Ohio
An Adena mound in a Metro Park orchard
National Register of Historic PlacesIn Chestnut Ridge Metro Park
Directions →Official source →

An 8-foot burial mound tucked into an old orchard, with a name nobody has explained.

Size
About 8 feet high, with a diameter of about 75 feet
Setting
In an area of small fruit trees and underbrush, just west of Northern Amanda Road, in Chestnut Ridge Metro Park
Condition
Little changed; cultivation damaged the north side and rodents have dug holes in it
Why Adena
Archaeologists attribute it to the Adena because of its location and shape
Listed
National Register of Historic Places, 1974; one of five Fairfield County mound sites on the Register

The story

Old Maid's Orchard Mound is one of several burial mounds east of Lithopolis, and it lies within Chestnut Ridge Metro Park. It stands about eight feet high with a diameter of around 75 feet, in an area of small fruit trees and underbrush, and it has changed little with time. Cultivation of the ground around the orchard damaged its north side and rodents have burrowed into it, but its integrity is largely intact. Archaeologists have concluded that the Adena built it, based on its location and shape.

Adena mounds usually cover burials, postholes from house foundations or other made features, which makes this one a valuable archaeological site, and it was placed on the National Register in 1974. It is one of five Fairfield County mound sites on the Register, along with the Theodore B. Schaer Mound, the Tarlton Cross Mound, the Coon Hunters Mound and the Fortner Mounds.

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
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.

The Old Maid and Her Orchard

Everyone who reads the name asks the same question: who was the old maid, and whose orchard was it? Nobody in the sources says. The mound sits among small fruit trees and brush, and its name has outlasted whatever story lay behind it.

What the name leaves behind is a small, quiet mound with the orchard growing around it, on a trail in a busy Metro Park.

Behind the legend

The name is a puzzle. The documented facts are the mound's size, its condition and its listing, and the note that it is one of five Fairfield County sites on the National Register. The orchard is the mound's setting today, and the sources do not explain the 'old maid.'

Metro Parks lists it in its Native American Heritage Month material as an Adena mound just west of Northern Amanda Road.

If you go

Ask the Metro Parks staff at Chestnut Ridge for directions to the mound, and pair the visit with the park's other trails.

Visiting

Status
In a Metro Park
Managed by
Metro Parks (central Ohio)
Hours
Located within Chestnut Ridge Metro Park; check Metro Parks for trails and hours.
Admission
Free (check Metro Parks)
Please note
Stay off the mound.
Official information →

Parks nearby

Buckeye Lake State Park
About 17 miles · Ohio's oldest state park, with a floating bog.
Open

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

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