Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.
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The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop around Ohio, with all 26 sections.
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Mounds & Earthworks43 ancient sites, including the Great Serpent Mound and the Newark Earthworks.
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Historic Sites39 places, from Fort Steuben and Zoar to Camp Chase and the Rankin House, from the frontier to the Civil War.
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Road Trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail.
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Lake Erie Beaches20 public beaches from Conneaut to Toledo and the islands, with a map.
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Oddities & Roadside Attractions19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops, plus a Mothman just over the line.
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Caves & Caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters, with a map.
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Waterfalls34 falls from the Cuyahoga Valley to the Hocking Hills, with trail notes and a map.
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117 parks in 7 regions

Burr Oak State Park

Glouster · Morgan & Athens Counties
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
2,593acres
28trail miles
1950established

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
Burr Oak State Park, 10220 Burr Oak Lodge Rd, Glouster
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Permitted — the park has hundreds of acres open to hunting, and the adjacent Wayne National Forest adds far more. Valid Ohio license required; contact the park office for current boundaries.

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 story of this land

This is coal country, and coal country empties out. The town that stood here was built on mining, and when the seams played out so did the reason to stay. In November 1931 the nineteen remaining voters met and decided to abandon the place. Only the church — the town's first building — was left standing as a marker of what had been.

Nineteen years later the water came. The Army Corps of Engineers began the Tom Jenkins Dam across the east branch of Sunday Creek in March 1948 and finished it in February 1950: roughly 75 feet high, 944 feet across, half a million cubic yards of earth fill. Burr Oak was dedicated as a state park in 1952. The result is a lake that snakes between forested ridges and hollows rather than sitting in a basin, with a maximum depth around thirty feet and a shoreline that goes on far longer than the acreage suggests.

What that emptiness produced is one of the better backcountry experiences in Ohio. Both the Buckeye Trail and the North Country Trail run around this lake, and the 18-mile Burr Oak Backpack Trail loops the shoreline with primitive campsites and drinking water at points along the way. The park has kept open roadside areas as wildflower meadows. It sits adjacent to Wayne National Forest land, and the small Burr Oak Cove Campground on the reservoir's northwest tip is a known stopover for through-hikers.

Things to do in the park

  • The 18-mile Burr Oak Backpack Trail, with primitive sites and water along the route
  • 22-mile Lakeview Trail circling the lake
  • Storybook Trail — an easy half-mile with a children's story posted along the way, overlooking the lake
  • 18-hole disc golf course and an archery range with targets from 10 meters to 50 yards
  • 500-foot swimming beach with concession
  • Rustic full-service lodge with family suites

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Burr Oak State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Wayne National Forest and the Burr Oak Cove Campground nearby
  • Nelsonville's Public Square and the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway
  • Athens and Ohio University, about 30 minutes south
  • Moonville Rail-Trail and tunnel, a regional curiosity

Hiking trails

Roughly 28 miles of hiking trail. The Lakeview Trail (including South Shore) runs 22 miles around the entire lake on yellow blazes; the Buckeye Loop is 1.7 miles from the nature center; Red/Camp/Red is 5.2 miles; the Blue Trail 1.8. The separate Burr Oak Backpack Trail is an 18-mile loop with primitive sites.

Wildlife you might see

  • White-tailed deer and wild turkey
  • Wildflower meadows maintained along park roadways
  • Beavers and waterfowl in the coves
  • Songbirds along the Tanager Trail

Fishing

  • Burr Oak Lake (664 acres, average depth ~15 ft): largemouth bass (18-inch fish are common), channel catfish, bluegill, crappie — mostly white with some black — and saugeye. Bank fishing, boat, and dock #4 are all options. Ice fishing in winter.

Hunting

Permitted — the park has hundreds of acres open to hunting, and the adjacent Wayne National Forest adds far more. Valid Ohio license required; contact the park office for current boundaries.

Getting on the water

Burr Oak Lake fills a branching creek valley, so it's all coves and fingers — 664 acres that feel much larger from a boat. Averaging about 15 feet deep, it's a fishing and paddling lake rather than a ski lake.

Launches & facilities

Dock #1
Off Route 78 at the West Side Recreation Area.
Dock #2
Inside the campground area — the convenient launch if you're camping.
Dock #4
Open to fishing directly from the dock.

Good to know

  • Bank fishing is good here — beachfronts, points, and the areas near the picnic shelters all produce.
  • Largemouth around 18 inches are common enough that locals expect them.
  • The lake ices over reliably most winters; check with the park office before walking out.

Santoy, the Wild West of Ohio

Few mining towns in Ohio were as notorious as Santoy. It grew up around the coal that was found in the Sunday Creek valley, and it earned a reputation. So the story goes, a gunfight was once held over a $20 debt: the street was cleared, the two men met for a showdown, and both wound up lying in the dirt, one dead and one critically wounded. In another tale the coal company payroll was robbed by bandits who escaped on horseback, and the Old West came to Ohio.

Then the town ended. A fire in 1924 destroyed the coal tipple and several businesses. Three years later the second mine shaft shut down. In November 1931 the nineteen remaining voters decided to abandon the town. Today only the church, the town's first building, still stands.

Behind the legend

ODNR tells the Santoy tales with the words 'so the story goes' and 'many colorful tales,' which is the right way to hear them: as lore that outlived the town. The gunfight and the payroll robbery are the kind of stories a company town tells about itself. The facts on record are the ones about the ending: the 1924 fire, the 1927 shutdown of the second shaft, and the 1931 vote by the last nineteen voters. The mining itself is well recorded, since coal was found here in the early 1800s and mining towns rose and fell along the valley.

The lake that now fills the valley came later. The Corps of Engineers built the Tom Jenkins Dam in 1950 for flood control, the park was dedicated in 1952, and it borders Wayne National Forest, which has the same coal-mining history.

If you go

Ask the park office whether the surviving Santoy church can be seen, and read what remains of the town. Then hike the Burr Oak backpack trail, which circles the lake and links to Wildcat Hollow in Wayne National Forest.

Mounds & earthworks near Burr Oak State Park

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

Wolf Plains Group

The Plains · Athens County · Southeast Ohio
A field of mounds on a Hocking Valley terrace, mostly lost to the town that grew up over them.
National Register of Historic Places
About 12 miles from this park · Radiocarbon dating suggests early Hopewell

Historic sites near Burr Oak State Park

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

New Straitsville Mine Fire

New Straitsville · Perry County · Southeast Ohio
A coal-country fire set during a miners' strike in 1884 that burned under southeast Ohio for generations and is said to be burning still.
Ohio Historical Society marker
About 20 miles from this park · 1884 to today

Road trips through Burr Oak State Park

Scenic byways and heritage drives that pass this park or run close to it.

Ohio Art Corridor

Appalachian Ohio
A lodge and lake park near Athens.
Heritage driveVaries
2 days · Circleville to Portsmouth

The Buckeye Trail at Burr Oak State Park

Ohio's 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop passes through or beside this park. Tap a section for its route, camping, water and resupply.

9 New Straitsville Section

61 miles · Morgan, Athens, Hocking, Perry
The trail hugs the lakeshore, with camping at Boat Docks 2 and 3
4 parksTrail towns

Campsites

Electric site
81 sites total including electric and equestrian options
$31–35/night
Non-electric site
Quieter loops near the lake
$21–25/night
Primitive backpack sites
Along the 18-mile backpack loop, with drinking water at several points
Minimal / permit

Cabins

Lodge cabin
Managed through the Burr Oak Lodge
$130–170/night

On site

  • Fire rings, flush toilets, showers
  • Private beach and marina
  • Archery range
  • Disc golf course
  • Nature center and programs
  • Horseshoe pits
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 "Burr Oak State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?740-767-3570

Restaurants nearby

The Mine Tavern
Opened 1842 to serve coal miners and still going — burgers and local history
Directions
Starbrick BBQ
Brisket worth the detour. Tucked inside Rocky Outfitters. Closed Mon & Sun
Directions
Tammy's Country Kitchen
Breakfast from 7 a.m. weekdays; closed weekends
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Glouster E-Z Mart
Closest fuel, with a Subway and fresh donuts inside
Directions
Cornerstone
Deli counter and Amish goods in the back
Directions

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