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.
Try:
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

Paint Creek State Park

Bainbridge / Hillsboro · Highland & Ross Counties
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
5,652acres
6trail miles
1967established

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
Paint Creek State Park, 280 Taylor Rd, Bainbridge
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Permitted in designated areas, and the adjoining Paint Creek Lake Wildlife Area is popular for rabbit and squirrel — gray squirrel in the larger mature stands, fox squirrel in the smaller woodlots. Valid Ohio license 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

The Shawnee considered the Paint Valley home, and prehistoric cultures before them left earthworks scattered across this whole region — Seip Earthworks and the Mound City Group are both nearby. The conflicts that came with white settlement produced a story ODNR still tells about this valley, and it's worth knowing because it isn't a flattering one. A Shawnee man named Waw-will-a-way was falsely accused of scalping a white settler. Three men went looking for him in the Paint Valley, bent on revenge for something he hadn't done. They shot him in the chest. He killed one of them and badly wounded the other two before he died.

The geology here is limestone, and the best of it is below the dam: significant bluffs and small gorges you can hike to. Those wet cliff faces grow Sullivantia — the same extremely rare Ohio wildflower found at Rocky Fork a few miles west, which is not a coincidence, since both parks sit on the same vulnerable dolomite and limestone bedrock.

The Corps of Engineers started the dam in 1967 as flood control for the Paint Creek watershed, the site was dedicated to the state in 1972, and the park opened to the public in 1974. It's a big park by Ohio standards and an easy one to have to yourself outside summer — packed in July, wide open in February.

Things to do in the park

  • Hike to the limestone bluffs and gorges below the dam
  • 25 miles of bridle trail with a dedicated equestrian camp (high lines, stock water, restrooms)
  • 1,000-foot swimming beach
  • Mountain biking on the double- and single-track loops
  • Mini-golf in summer and early fall
  • Winter: cross-country skiing and sledding

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Paint Creek State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Highlands Nature Sanctuary (Arc of Appalachia), between here and Rocky Fork
  • Fort Hill State Memorial — one of the best-preserved Hopewell hilltop enclosures
  • Seip Earthworks and Mound City Group at Hopewell Culture NHP
  • Amish businesses along SR 41 south of Bainbridge

Hiking trails

Three hiking trails ranging from 0.75 to about 6 miles through meadow and mature woodland, roughly 8 miles total. Separately: about 12–14 miles of mountain bike trail and 25 miles of bridle trail across six interconnecting loops on the southwest side of the lake, with a dedicated equestrian trailhead and campsites.

Wildlife you might see

  • Sullivantia on the limestone bluffs below the dam — extremely rare in Ohio
  • Delicate spring wildflowers along all three hiking trails
  • White-tailed deer, rabbit and squirrel (abundant in the adjacent wildlife area)
  • Waterfowl on the lake

Fishing

  • Paint Creek Lake (1,148 acres): largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, saugeye. Unlimited horsepower with posted no-wake zones.

Hunting

Permitted in designated areas, and the adjoining Paint Creek Lake Wildlife Area is popular for rabbit and squirrel — gray squirrel in the larger mature stands, fox squirrel in the smaller woodlots. Valid Ohio license required.

Getting on the water

1,148 acres with unlimited horsepower and posted no-wake zones. The recreation is on the lake; the scenery is below the dam, where the creek runs through limestone bluffs.

Launches & facilities

Boat ramps and marina
Multiple access points around the lake.
1,000-foot beach
Separate from the boating areas.
Below the dam
Bluffs, small gorges, and the Sullivantia cliffs — hike-to, not boat-to.

Good to know

  • Summer weekends are busy; winter has plenty of open RV sites.
  • The bluff hike below the dam is the part most visitors miss entirely.
  • Sullivantia blooms midsummer on wet rock. Look, don't pick.

Waw-will-a-way

ODNR still tells one story about this valley, and it is not a flattering one. The Shawnee considered the Paint Valley home. A Shawnee man named Waw-will-a-way was falsely accused of scalping a white settler. Three men set out to find him in the Paint Valley, bent on revenge for something he had not done. They shot him in the chest. Before he died he killed one of them and badly wounded the other two.

That is the whole tale, and it is told plainly, as a lesson in how fast a rumor could turn deadly on the frontier.

Behind the legend

The story is passed along by the park itself, which is part of why it has lasted. It fits the record of the time, when conflicts between settlers and the Shawnee kept flaring after white settlement began. The valley around it is full of older history. Seip Earthworks and the Mound City Group are both nearby, left by prehistoric cultures long before.

The lake is a later chapter. The Corps of Engineers started the dam in 1967 for flood control, the site was dedicated to the state in 1972, and the park opened to the public in 1974. Below the dam, wet limestone bluffs and small gorges grow Sullivantia, a very rare Ohio wildflower that also grows at Rocky Fork.

If you go

Hike the bluffs and small gorges below the dam, where the rare flower grows, and remember the valley's older name. Come outside summer if you want the park to yourself.

Mounds & earthworks near Paint Creek State Park

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

Kinzer Mound

South Salem · Ross County · Southern Ohio
A small Adena mound outside South Salem whose exact location is protected.
National Register of Historic Places
About 6 miles from this park · Adena period

Fort Hill State Memorial

Sinking Spring · Highland County · Southern Ohio
A great enclosing wall on a wooded summit, with a nature preserve's trails around it.
Can visitState Memorial and nature preserve
About 7 miles from this park · About 2,000 years ago

Seip Earthworks

Bainbridge · Ross County · Southern Ohio
Enormous circles beside Paint Creek and one of the tallest mounds in the Hopewell park.
Can visitHopewell Culture National Historical Park
About 8 miles from this park · About 2,000 years ago

Junction Earthworks

Bainbridge · Ross County · Southern Ohio
A field of low Hopewell walls and ditches that was nearly lost to farming and was bought back by a coalition.
Can visitPreserved by the Arc of Appalachia
About 11 miles from this park · About 200 BCE to 400 CE

Hopewell Mound Group

Chillicothe · Ross County · Southern Ohio
The place the Hopewell culture is named for, and the largest Hopewell mound anywhere.
Can visitHopewell Culture National Historical Park
About 12 miles from this park · About 100 BCE to 500 CE

Spruce Hill Earthworks

Bourneville · Ross County · Southern Ohio
A meadow-topped hill ringed by a broken stone wall, and one of Ohio's biggest puzzles.
Can visitPreserved by the Arc of Appalachia
About 12 miles from this park · About 1,600 to 2,000 years ago

Baum Earthworks & Village

Bourneville · Ross County · Southern Ohio
A Hopewell square below Spruce Hill, and a Fort Ancient village that the first mapmakers did not even mention.
National Register of Historic Places
About 12 miles from this park · Earthworks about 100 BCE to 500 CE; village about 1000 to 1650 CE

Great Serpent Mound

Peebles · Adams County · Southern Ohio
A gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over.
Can visitNational Historic Landmark
About 13 miles from this park · About 300 BCE or about 1070 CE

Mound City Group

Chillicothe · Ross County · Southern Ohio
A city of mounds along the Scioto, buried under an army camp and then put back.
Can visitHopewell Culture National Historical Park
About 22 miles from this park · About 200 BCE to 500 CE

Campsites

Electric site
207 campsites total; modern campground
$33–37/night
Equestrian site
10 sites at the bridle trailhead with high lines and stock water
$19–23/night

On site

  • Showers and flush toilets
  • Camp store
  • Beach and marina
  • Volleyball court
  • Mini golf
  • Dump station
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 "Paint Creek State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?937-981-7061

Restaurants nearby

The Paxton Restaurant
Opens 6 a.m., proper small-town Americana — beef and noodles, fish, pie. Closed Sundays
Directions
Country Crust Bakery
Amish bakery — donuts, pretzel sandwiches, pies. Cash only, closed Sundays
Directions
JR's General Store
Amish general store with a deli counter and fresh produce. Cash or check only
Directions
FredNecks Pizza
Pizza and taco salads. Closed Mondays
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Bainbridge 1st Stop
Opens 5 a.m., hot food inside
Directions
Sunoco
In town — note there's no public restroom here
Directions

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