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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Explore Ohio

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

Lake ErieWest Virginia27 places277 places77 places73 places35 places519 places1913 places1319 places1916 places168 places810 places1010 places109 places98 places820 places204 places43 places3Barkcamp State Park4 places47 places77 places76 places69 places917 places173 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places2Forked Run State Park3 places32 places26 places610 places103 places32 places2

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117 parks in 7 regions

Forked Run State Park

Reedsville · Meigs County · Southeast Ohio
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
791acres
3.5trail miles
1951established

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
Forked Run State Park, 63300 OH-124, Reedsville
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Hunting is allowed in designated areas of the park and in adjoining Shade River State Forest. Squirrel, deer, grouse and wild turkey are the popular game. A valid Ohio hunting license is required.

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

Forked Run is a park shaped by the Ohio River, which runs a few miles east. Long before there was a lake here, the river carried Native American canoes, served as a territorial boundary, floated flatboats and steamers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and was the gateway to the Northwest Territory. The mouth of the nearby Shade River was a gloomy, rocky spot known as the Devil's Hole, where raiding parties returning from western Virginia crossed the Ohio with their prisoners and plunder.

Settlement crept in slowly until coal turned up. Pomeroy, Middleport, Minersville and Syracuse became mining towns, and the coal fed furnaces that smelted iron from the local sandstone. Ohio was one of the country's leading iron producers in the 1860s, making everything from farm tools to Civil War cannons. Salt was just as important: the first salt well was drilled near Pomeroy in 1850 and eighteen salt furnaces at their peak turned out around 3,600 barrels a day. Reedsville and Belleville built boats, and it was on this stretch of river that Captain Horatio Crooks introduced the compound-cylinder steam engine. In 1863 the local militia turned back Confederate General John Hunt Morgan when he tried to ford the river near Pomeroy, and he was captured a few weeks later.

The park itself is younger. It was carved from Shade River State Forest, construction began in May 1951, and the dam was finished in October 1952. The lake was stocked and opened to the public the following year. Today the hills are forested again, after being cleared in the mid-1800s to feed the iron furnaces.

In their own words
Col. Basil W. Duke, Morgan's second in command
Recalled after the war

Duke remembered Morgan confiding that General Bragg had ordered him to stay in Kentucky, and that he meant to cross the Ohio 'notwithstanding his orders.' The raid across Ohio, and its end near Pomeroy, followed from that decision.

Basil W. Duke, History of Morgan's Cavalry (1867), as quoted in Warfare History Network, 'Morgan's Ohio Raid'
Maj. James B. McCreary, Confederate officer
Night of July 18, 1863

Camped near Buffington Island in the fog, McCreary noted that everyone was on edge, since 'the Ohio River is full of gunboats and transports' and a huge force of cavalry was behind them. Morgan waited for daylight. It cost him the raid.

McCreary's diary, as quoted by the American Battlefield Trust, 'Battle of Buffington Island'

Things to do in the park

  • Swim at the 400-foot sand beach
  • Play the 24-hole disc golf course (bring your own discs)
  • Launch a boat: no horsepower limit, but boats over 10 hp must go no-wake
  • Hike the Lakeview, Riverview and Honeysuckle trails
  • Sledding on the park's hills in winter
  • Volleyball, horseshoes and playgrounds in the campground and day-use areas

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Forked Run State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Pomeroy, a historic Ohio River town about 15 miles southwest, with a riverfront and live-music spots
  • Buffington Island Battlefield Memorial Park, site of the 1863 fight that ended Morgan's Raid in Ohio
  • Shade River State Forest, which borders the park
  • Desonier State Nature Preserve

Hiking trails

About 3.5 miles across three trails: Honeysuckle (0.6 mi, easy), Lakeview (2.2 mi, moderate) and Riverview (0.75 mi, moderate). Shade River State Forest, next door, has more.

Wildlife you might see

  • Gray fox, raccoon, opossum, gray squirrel and white-tailed deer
  • Wild turkey
  • Wood thrush, white-breasted nuthatch, scarlet tanager and pileated woodpecker
  • Whip-poor-wills at dusk
  • Spring wildflowers: wild blue phlox, bloodroot, dame's rocket and, later, cardinal flower
  • Dogwood and redbud in bloom on the hillsides in spring

Fishing

  • Forked Run Lake: crappie, largemouth bass, bluegill and catfish. Ohio fishing license required for ages 16 and up.

Hunting

Hunting is allowed in designated areas of the park and in adjoining Shade River State Forest. Squirrel, deer, grouse and wild turkey are the popular game. A valid Ohio hunting license is required.

Getting on the water

The lake is small, roughly 100 acres, but it is a good size for paddling and a relaxed day of fishing. A boat ramp near the dam is handy, and the campground sits on the ridge above the water.

Launches & facilities

Dam boat ramp
Has tie-ups and is wheelchair accessible.
Curtis Hollow Road ramp
Basic ramp with no amenities.

Good to know

  • No horsepower limit, but boats over 10 hp must operate at no-wake speed.
  • The Lakeview Trail runs along the lake; some hikers say access from the beach end is easy to miss.
  • The Ohio River is a short drive east if you want big-water boating.

The Devil's Hole

Not far from the park, where the Shade River comes into the Ohio, there was a place people called the Devil's Hole: a gloomy, rocky mouth of a river that no one wanted to linger at after dark. Native war parties returning from raids into western Virginia used the spot to cross the Ohio, bringing their prisoners and plunder with them. From there they went up the valley of the Shade River, on the long trail that led to their towns on the Scioto.

Ninety years later the same stretch of river turned back another raider. In 1863 Confederate General John Hunt Morgan led his cavalry raid across Ohio and tried to ford the Ohio near Pomeroy to escape into western Virginia. Local militia turned him back there, and the ford he took next, at Buffington Island, was blocked too. His men were caught between Union cavalry and river gunboats on July 19. Morgan fled north and was captured a week later in Columbiana County.

Behind the legend

The Devil's Hole is history and place-name together, and the name is the only supernatural thing in it. ODNR's account of the park rests on documented events: the crossing of the Ohio by raiding parties, and the failure of Morgan's ford at Pomeroy, which sent his raid north to its end. Morgan's defeat at Buffington Island, further upriver, is remembered at a small battlefield memorial park.

The rest of the valley's story is industrial. Coal came first, then salt: the first salt well was drilled near Pomeroy in 1850, and eighteen salt furnaces at their peak made about 3,600 barrels a day. Boat builders in Reedsville and Belleville launched steamers on this stretch of the river, and Captain Horatio Crooks introduced the compound-cylinder steam engine here.

If you go

Walk the Riverview Trail (0.75 mile) for a feel of the ground, then drive to the Buffington Island Battlefield Memorial Park. The Ohio River Birding Trail and the Shade River State Forest are both close.

Mounds & earthworks near Forked Run State Park

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

Reeves Mound

Alfred · Meigs County · Southeast Ohio
A small, low mound in a Meigs County field where Adena arrowheads keep turning up.
National Register of Historic Places
About 15 miles from this park · About 1000 BCE to 400 CE, by the points found

Road trips through Forked Run State Park

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

John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail

Southern and eastern Ohio
A camping park near Buffington Island.
Heritage drive557 miles
3 to 4 days · Harrison, Hamilton County to Near West Point, Columbiana County

Ohio River Scenic Byway

Ohio's southern border
A small Ohio River park in Meigs County.
Scenic byway452 miles
3 to 5 days · East Liverpool to Cincinnati area

Oddities near Forked Run State Park

Roadside curiosities, legends and giant things within reach of this park.

Mothman Museum and Statue, Point Pleasant

Point Pleasant · Mason County, West Virginia
The world's only Mothman museum, across the Ohio River from Gallipolis, beside a 12-foot steel Mothman.
Cryptid museumJust over the line
About 30 miles from this park

Campsites

Electric site
50-amp electric · sunny and shady sites · dump station and showers
$31–35/night
Non-electric site
Ridge-top sites overlooking the lake valley · pets allowed
$21–25/night
Group camp
By reservation
See ReserveOhio

Cabins

Camper cabin
Rustic cabins · rented nightly
See ReserveOhio

On site

  • Showers and dump station
  • Two reservable shelterhouses
  • Playgrounds
  • Boat ramp at the dam with tie-ups (wheelchair accessible) and a second ramp on Curtis Hollow Road
  • Restroom at the beach lot
  • Limited facilities in the winter camping season
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 "Forked Run State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?740-378-6206

Some campers report that back-in sites are short and not always level, so look at the site details on ReserveOhio before you book, especially if you have a longer rig. Facilities are limited in winter.

Restaurants nearby

Court Grill
Pub food and live music in Pomeroy; open Wednesday to Saturday
Directions
Mi Boyz Bar & Grill
Big menu, subs and pizza; highly rated
Directions
The Corner Restaurants
Burgers and comfort food; closed Monday and Tuesday
Directions
Reyes Taqueria & Cantina
Street tacos, open daily
Directions

Gas stations nearby

BP (Tuppers Plains)
Closest station to the park, open daily
Directions
Marathon Gas
Known for homemade breakfast sandwiches
Directions

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