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

Voss Site (Battelle Darby Creek)

Georgesville · Franklin County · Central Ohio
A Fort Ancient village on Big Darby Creek
Fort Ancient villageOn a marked trailMetro Park
Directions →Official source →

The 1.7-mile Ancient Trail loops along Big Darby Creek past a low mound marking the graves of one of the northernmost Fort Ancient villages.

Village
A ring of houses around a central plaza on a terrace above Big Darby Creek
Food
Corn, beans and squash, with deer, turkey, fish, turtles and mussels
Mound
A low earthen mound over the graves of important villagers; Metro Parks calls it reconstructed
Dug
By the Ohio Historical Society in the 1960s, for a reservoir that was never built
Mapped
More recently with magnetometry, without digging
Trail
The 1.7-mile Ancient Trail

The story

The Voss Site is a Fort Ancient village on a terrace above Big Darby Creek, now inside Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park west of Columbus. Between about 1100 and 1440 CE farmers lived here on and off in a ring of houses around a central plaza. They grew corn, beans and squash and ate deer, turkey, fish, turtles and freshwater mussels from the creek. A low earthen mound covered the graves of some of the community's most important people.

The Ohio Historical Society excavated the mound and part of the village in the 1960s, during studies for a Big Darby reservoir that was never built. In recent years magnetometer surveys have mapped the village's layout without disturbing it. A marker on the park's Ancient Trail tells the story, and the village is among the northernmost Fort Ancient settlements known.

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
Verified entrance or visitor center
Published coordinates
Seasonal access
6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. from April through September and 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. from October through March.
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.

Saved by a Dam That Never Came

In the 1960s the valley of Big Darby Creek was slated to become a reservoir, and archaeologists hurried to dig what would be flooded.

The water never came. The creek still runs free past the village, and the land became a park.

Behind the legend

The 1960s excavation for the proposed Big Darby Reservoir is documented in the Ohio Historical Society's report on the O. C. Voss village site. The dates, the diet and the later magnetometry come from Metro Parks and the trail marker.

If you go

Park at the small lot at the north end of Harrisburg-Georgesville Road and walk about 0.3 miles on the Ancient Trail to the marker. Stay off the mound.

Visiting

Status
Open daily
Managed by
Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks
Hours
6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. from April through September and 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. from October through March.
Admission
Free
Phone
614-370-6254
Please note
It is a burial mound. Stay on the trail and off the mound.
Official information →Directions

Parks nearby

Deer Creek State Park
About 17 miles · Central Ohio's resort park, with a lodge and a lake.
Open
A.W. Marion State Park
About 25 miles · Hargus Lake, ringed by a five-mile trail.
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.