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
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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

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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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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Zaleski Mound Group

Zaleski · Vinton County · Southeast Ohio
Adena mounds at the gate of Zaleski State Forest
National Register of Historic PlacesState forest
Directions →

A 14-foot, tree-covered Adena burial mound in a little park at the entrance to Zaleski State Forest, a few blocks from a second mound behind the village church.

Ranger Station Mound
Conical, 14.4 feet high, in a small park at the state forest entrance with an ODNR marker
Methodist Church Mound
About 60 by 53 feet and just over 7 feet high, behind Zaleski United Methodist Church at 114 Broadway Street
Markham Mound
On private land
Lost
Three more mounds once stood near Raccoon Creek
The cellar
Villagers dug a cold cellar into the Ranger Station Mound in the 1850s; ODNR removed it and restored the mound in 1959
Listed
National Register of Historic Places, 1974

The story

The village of Zaleski, in the hills of Vinton County, once had six Adena burial mounds near Raccoon Creek. Three survive. The largest, the Ranger Station Mound, is a conical, tree-covered mound 14.4 feet high in a small park at the entrance to Zaleski State Forest, with an Ohio Department of Natural Resources marker. A second, the Methodist Church Mound, stands behind Zaleski United Methodist Church, and the third, the Markham Mound, is on private land.

In the 1850s villagers dug a cold cellar into the north side of the Ranger Station Mound and found a skeleton, which went to a local doctor. In 1959 ODNR removed the cellar and restored the mound's shape. The Methodist Church Mound has never been excavated. The three surviving mounds were listed on the National Register in 1974; the other three were too damaged.

Related sites

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
November 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Location confidence
Verified entrance or visitor center
Published coordinates

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 Cellar in the Mound

To 1850s villagers, a big round hill by the road was a good place to keep potatoes cool. They dug in, and found a person who had been buried there two thousand years before.

A century later the state took the cellar out and gave the mound back its shape.

Behind the legend

The cellar, the skeleton and the 1959 restoration are recorded on the ODNR marker and in the National Register listing. What became of the remains taken to the doctor is not known.

If you go

Stop at the forest entrance before a Zaleski hike, read the marker and walk past the church to see the second mound from the street.

Visiting

Status
Open
Managed by
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Ranger Station Mound)
Hours
The Ranger Station Mound can be seen in the park at the forest entrance during state forest hours. The church mound is on church property and can be seen from the street.
Admission
Free
Please note
These are burial mounds. Stay off them, and be respectful at the church.
Directions

Parks nearby

Zaleski State Forest
About 0 miles · Ohio's second-largest state forest; the mound is at its gate.
Open
Lake Hope State Park
About 4 miles · A lake and furnace ruins inside Zaleski State Forest.
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.