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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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

A.W. Marion State Park

Circleville · Pickaway County
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
310acres
5trail miles
1948established
7317 Warner-Huffer Rd, Circleville Directions →Official source →

The story of this land

This is till plain country — flat to gently rolling ground with very fertile soil, laid down by the glaciers that covered this part of America more than 10,000 years ago. The Adena settled here two thousand years ago for exactly that reason. Good soil draws people, and it kept drawing them.

The Division of Parks and Recreation dammed Hargus Creek with an earthen dam in 1948, and the property became a state park under ODNR in 1950.

In 1962 it was renamed for A.W. Marion, the first director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and a Pickaway County native. That is a modest kind of monument — a 310-acre park with a good trail around a small lake — but it is the one the man who built the agency got, and it sits in the county he came from.

In their own words
Christopher Gist, surveyor for the Ohio Company
January 1751

Gist crossed the Pickaway plains near present-day Circleville and was struck by what he saw: level, rich ground, big meadows and wide plains of wild rye, with stands of walnut, hickory, poplar, cherry and sugar maple. Outside the valley of Virginia, he wrote, he had never seen land like it.

Journal of Christopher Gist, 1750-1751; as summarized in the Ohio History Journal, vol. 30

Things to do in the park

  • The 5-mile Hargus Lake Trail, a complete loop around the water
  • 7.3 miles of multi-use mountain bike trail
  • Quiet fishing and paddling
  • Camping close to Columbus without the Alum Creek crowds

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for A.W. Marion State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Circleville — the Pumpkin Show each October is one of Ohio's biggest festivals
  • Deer Creek State Park to the west
  • Columbus, about 30 minutes north
  • Scioto River valley and Hopewell earthworks to the south

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
ODNR park finder (search this park)
Location confidence
Verified property location
A.W. Marion State Park, 7317 Warner-Huffer Rd, Circleville
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Check current park regulations before planning a hunt — the park is small and the lake trail sees steady foot traffic.

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.

Hiking trails

The 5-mile Hargus Lake Trail encircles the lake. A separate 7.3-mile multi-use trail is open to mountain biking.

Wildlife you might see

  • White-tailed deer and wild turkey
  • Waterfowl on Hargus Lake
  • Woodland songbirds around the lake trail
  • Fertile till-plain habitat with mixed woods and field edges

Birding

A.W. Marion State Park's lake and wooded shoreline draw both forest songbirds and lake-edge waterbirds — scan the open water for waterfowl and raptors, and the treeline for songbirds.

  • Belted Kingfisher
  • Red-eyed Vireo
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Yellow-throated Vireo
  • Osprey
  • Warbling Vireo
  • Bald Eagle
  • Wood Thrush
  • Spotted Sandpiper
  • Veery
  • Tree Swallow
  • Hermit Thrush

March–May and September–November, during waterfowl migration, are liveliest on the water. For a full, current checklist, search this park's name on eBird's Hotspot Explorer.

Fishing

  • Hargus Lake (145 acres): largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and channel catfish.

Hunting

Check current park regulations before planning a hunt — the park is small and the lake trail sees steady foot traffic.

Getting on the water

Hargus Lake is 145 acres with a five-mile trail running the whole way around it, which is the best thing about this park. Quiet fishing water close to Columbus.

Launches & facilities

Boat launch
Small-craft access to Hargus Lake.
Shoreline fishing
The lake trail gives access around the entire shoreline.

Good to know

  • The 5-mile loop is the reason to come — you can walk the entire lake.
  • Thirty minutes from Columbus and far quieter than Alum Creek.
  • Circleville's Pumpkin Show in October fills every room and campsite for miles.

The Modest Monument

Some men get statues. A.W. Marion got a small lake. He was the first director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and a native of Pickaway County, and in 1962 the park was renamed for him. It is 310 acres with a good trail around Hargus Lake, and, as the park's own history says, it is a modest kind of monument, but it is the one that the man who built the agency received, in the county he came from.

The ground has been drawing people for a long time. This is till plain country, flat to gently rolling with very fertile soil laid down by glaciers more than 10,000 years ago, and the Adena settled here two thousand years ago for exactly that reason.

Behind the legend

The naming is the record. The Division of Parks and Recreation dammed Hargus Creek with an earthen dam in 1948, and the property became a state park under ODNR in 1950. In 1962 it was renamed for Marion.

The rich soil is why Circleville sits where it does, and Christopher Gist described these same Pickaway plains in 1751 (see the firsthand accounts on this page).

If you go

Walk the 5-mile Hargus Lake Trail and think about the man the park is named for. Then read Gist's 1751 description of the plains in the History tab.

Mounds & earthworks near A.W. Marion State Park

Ancient earthworks within easy reach of this park. Tap one for its history, legends and visiting details.

Circleville Works (lost)

Circleville · Pickaway County · Central Ohio
Circleville was laid out in rings inside a Hopewell circle in 1810, then squared street by street until nothing was left but the name.
Ohio Historical Marker
About 4 miles from this park · The early centuries CE

Arledge Mounds

Circleville · Pickaway County · South-Central Ohio
A rare pair of conjoined mounds hidden in a Pickaway County field.
National Register of Historic Places
About 7 miles from this park · Unexcavated; attributed to the Adena

Cross Mound

Tarlton · Fairfield County · Central Ohio
Cross a 1930s WPA suspension bridge over Salt Creek and climb a short, steep trail to an ancient earthen cross whose arms point almost exactly north, south, east and west.
National Register of Historic Places
About 7 miles from this park · Undated

Luthor List Mound (Burning Mound)

Circleville · Pickaway County · South-Central Ohio
A ridge-top burial mound south of Circleville whose two nicknames both suggest fire.
National Register of Historic Places
About 8 miles from this park · Adena period (about 800 BCE to 100 CE)

Horn Mound

Tarlton · Pickaway County · South-Central Ohio
A pristine mound at the end of a country road, guarded by nothing but a creek.
National Register of Historic Places
About 14 miles from this park · Adena period

Voss Site (Battelle Darby Creek)

Georgesville · Franklin County · Central Ohio
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.
Fort Ancient village
About 25 miles from this park · Lived in at intervals from about 1100 to 1440 CE

Historic sites near A.W. Marion State Park

Forts, villages, furnaces and lighthouses within reach of this park. Tap one for its story and visiting details.

Logan Elm State Memorial

Circleville · Pickaway County · Central Ohio
A small memorial park where, by tradition, the Mingo leader Logan's 1774 lament for his murdered family was read under a giant elm.
State memorial
About 9 miles from this park · 1774

Campsites

Electric site
Small campground near the lake
$31–35/night
Non-electric site
Basic sites
$21–25/night

On site

  • Showers and flush toilets
  • Boat launch
  • Picnic areas
  • Dump station
  • Mountain bike trail access
Continue to ReserveOhio →
Field Notes Ohio isn't connected to ReserveOhio, so it can't hold a site or take payment. Tapping through opens it in a new tab — search "A.W. Marion State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?740-869-3124

Restaurants nearby

Black Diamond Kitchen
Steaks and a full menu downtown. Closed Mondays
Directions
Watt Street Tavern
Open daily with a patio; weekend breakfast from 9 a.m.
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Sheetz
24 hours with a full hot food menu
Directions
Duchess
24 hours in town
Directions

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

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