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117 parks in 7 regions

Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area

Pedro / Ironton · Wayne National Forest

Managed by U.S. Forest Service — Wayne National Forest

143acres

25trail miles

1939established

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: U.S. Forest Service — Wayne National Forest (search this park)
Location confidence: Verified property location
Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area, 6518 OH-93, Pedro
Check current conditions: Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets: ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits: Yes — hunting is permitted across much of Wayne National Forest with a valid Ohio license, subject to Forest Service rules. Pine Knob Campground on the Ironton District stays open into late December specifically to support winter hunting. Check current Forest Service maps for closures near developed recreation areas.

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

Long before this was a quiet lake it was a loud industrial place. The Vesuvius Iron Furnace ran here in the hot-blast era, hundreds of men working it around the clock, turning out some of the finest iron in the region. Southern Ohio's Hanging Rock Iron Region fed furnaces like this one for decades, and the forest you're camping in was largely cut down to fuel them. That's the irony baked into the name: a lake named for a furnace, in a forest that regrew after the furnace ate it.

The recovery was deliberate. In 1937 three men — D.D. Hill of Oak Hill, Leona LaBold of Portsmouth, and G.E. Carlyle of Ironton — donated their land interests so the recreation area could be established, because the Forest Service couldn't buy the ground outright. Two years later the Civilian Conservation Corps dammed the narrows of Storms Creek and made the lake. By the summer of 1941 newspapers were reporting thousands of visitors to an area that wasn't even finished yet.

Today the rock chimney and stone walls of the furnace still stand at the base of the dam — you can walk right up to them. The lake is 143 acres but feels considerably larger, because the old winding creekbed means you can never see more than part of it from any one spot. It sits inside Wayne National Forest, Ohio's only national forest, though ODNR's Division of Wildlife handles the fish management. Rock houses, cliff overhangs, and wildflower slopes fill the surrounding hills, and this is the Forest's premier developed recreation site.

Things to do in the park

Walk to the Vesuvius Iron Furnace ruins at the base of the dam
Swim at Big Bend beach (typically open late May through early September)
Rock House interpretive trail — wildflowers, cliff face, and a rock overhang
Longbow Archery Trail with 25+ field targets
46 miles of horse trails, open roughly April 15 to December 15
Two family campgrounds (Iron Ridge and Oak Hill), plus a group camp sleeping up to 50 and shelters for up to 150

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

Ironton, less than 10 miles away, for supplies and restaurants
Hanging Rock OHV Trail System for off-highway vehicle riding
Irish Run Natural Bridge — 51 feet long and strong enough to stand a crowd on
Shawnee lookout tower, the only original 1930s fire tower left in the forest
Other Wayne NF campgrounds: Burr Oak Cove, Lamping Homestead, Leith Run on the Ohio River, Hune Bridge, Lane Farm

Hiking trails

More than 25 miles of hiking trails, plus the 46-mile Lake Vesuvius Horse Trail System (9 trails, 4 trailheads, one horse camp). Highlights: the fully accessible 0.32-mile Vesuvius Boardwalk along the shoreline with fishing rails and a shaded pier, the 0.75-mile Rock House interpretive trail under a rock overhang, and the 0.5-mile Longbow Archery Trail with 25+ field targets.

Wildlife you might see

White-tailed deer and wild turkey
Strong songbird and raptor populations — this is a birding destination
Spring wildflowers along the Rock House cliff face
Rugged rock outcroppings and caves throughout the hills

Fishing

Lake Vesuvius: bass, catfish, crappie, and bluegill. Managed by ODNR's Division of Wildlife even though the land is federal. Boat ramp on site; accessible fishing rails along the boardwalk.

Hunting

Yes — hunting is permitted across much of Wayne National Forest with a valid Ohio license, subject to Forest Service rules. Pine Knob Campground on the Ironton District stays open into late December specifically to support winter hunting. Check current Forest Service maps for closures near developed recreation areas.

Getting on the water

Lake Vesuvius is 143 acres of quiet water in a steep-sided creek valley, and because the lake follows the old winding Storms Creek bed you never see the whole thing at once. Small-water fishing and paddling rather than powerboating.

Launches & facilities

Boat ramp

On site near the dam, accessible by car. Many anglers launch their own small boats here.

Vesuvius Boardwalk

A 0.32-mile fully accessible boardwalk connecting the boat ramp and the dam, with accessible fishing rails and a shaded fishing pier.

Big Bend beach

The designated swimming area, typically open late May through early September.

Good to know

This is a small, quiet lake — bring a kayak, canoe, or small johnboat rather than a ski boat.
The boardwalk is one of the better accessible fishing setups in southern Ohio.
Fish management is handled by ODNR even though the land is federal, so Ohio fishing regulations and licenses apply.

The Volcano That Cast Cannon

Someone in 1833 named a furnace in southern Ohio for the volcano that buried Pompeii, and it lived up to the name. Vesuvius Furnace was one of dozens of charcoal iron furnaces in the Hanging Rock Iron Region, a strip about 100 miles long running from Kentucky to Hocking County. It made pig iron, about 8 to 12 tons a day and some 3,000 tons a year, and it used up around 300 acres of timber every year to make the charcoal.

The furnace was a pioneer. Under its manager William Firmstone it experimented with the hot blast, a way of preheating the air to save fuel. During the Civil War, the Hanging Rock region was one of only three places able to produce iron of the quality that heavy cannon needed, and the Wayne National Forest says the hulls of the Merrimac and the Monitor were fired from ore mined here.

Behind the legend

The dates are where the sources fight. The historical marker says Vesuvius began with the cold blast and in 1863 was the first to adopt the hot blast. A county furnace register says it ran hot blast from 1837 until 1868, and then reverted. The number of furnaces in the region is 46 in the Forest Service's account and 69 on the marker. The last blast is 1905 or 1906. The stack itself is a wonder, since the Forest Service says the rock chimney was built without mortar.

The Underground Railroad claim also deserves care. Ironmasters were often abolitionists, and the marker says furnace complexes provided safe houses and money. The Forest Service says specific records are hard to come by and that it does not know whether Vesuvius itself was involved, though people tied to it, such as Ironton's founder John Campbell, were. One old account also says a scaffold collapsed at the furnace during construction of the hot blast and killed a man named Joseph Dempsey.

If you go

Walk to the furnace stack at the recreation area and look at the dry-laid stone. Then read the marker about the ironmasters, and stay on the marked paths around the ruin.

Campsites

Iron Ridge Campground

Newly renovated family campground on a ridge east of the lake, ~32 sites, connects to the recreation area by trail

$20–30/night

Oak Hill Campground

~28 sites, the more RV-friendly of the two with newer hookups

$22–32/night

Group camp

Tent camping for up to 50, with tables, fire rings, accessible vault toilets, showers, drinking water

Varies

On site

Showers and drinking water
Accessible vault toilets
Boat ramp
Big Bend swimming beach (seasonal)
Group shelters up to 150 people, one with electricity, both with amphitheater access
Large playing field

Reserve on Recreation.gov →

Field Notes Ohio isn't connected to Recreation.gov, so it can't hold a site or take payment. Tapping through opens it in a new tab — search "Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area" there to finish reserving.

Prefer the phone?740-753-0101

Booked through Recreation.gov — this is a national forest, not a state park. Important: the Ohio Buckeye Pass is NOT accepted anywhere in Wayne National Forest. Federal passes (America the Beautiful, Senior, Access) do apply. Seasonal closures vary by campground; check before a shoulder-season trip.

Restaurants nearby

The Armory Smokehouse

BBQ and smoked meats in Ironton, live music some nights

Directions

Melini Italian Restaurant

Full Italian menu in a handsome old downtown building

Directions

The Depot

A 1907 train station turned restaurant. Closed Sundays

Directions

Frisch's Big Boy

Open 7 a.m. daily — the reliable early-breakfast option

Directions

Gas stations nearby

Speedway (Rich Oil)

24 hours on Route 93, the road toward the lake. High-flow diesel pump

Directions

Marathon Gas

Clean stop on OH-141

Directions

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