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

Salt Fork State Park

Lore City · Eastern Ohio
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
17,229acres
14trail miles
1949established

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
Salt Fork State Park, 14755 Cadiz Rd, Lore City
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Permitted in designated areas of the park and the adjoining ~12,000-acre Salt Fork Wildlife Area (small game, waterfowl, and deer); check in with park or wildlife officers for current boundaries. Valid Ohio hunting 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

Salt Fork got its name honestly. Salt licks in these hills drew game, and game drew people — Native hunters first, then settlers who boiled the brine down for salt in an era when salt was worth the effort. The creek that fed those licks was dammed in 1967, flooding valley bottoms and farm fields to create a 2,952-acre lake with 76 miles of shoreline. That's the reason the lake feels the way it does: it doesn't sit in a bowl, it meanders. Every finger of water you paddle into was a hollow between two ridges, and coves keep opening off of coves until you lose track of where the main body is.

Some of what the water rose around is still standing. The Kennedy Stone House was built in 1837 by one of the families who settled Guernsey County, quarried out of local sandstone by hand and raised on a ridge above the creek. It survived the flooding, the park's construction, and everything since, and now runs as a living-history museum a few afternoons a week in summer. Hiking the 1.8-mile loop out to it is one of those walks where the destination is genuinely worth the trip.

The park has become a place where things get put back. Ospreys were gone from Ohio for decades; a reintroduction project launched here in 1996, and now every June and July people pull off State Route 22 to watch young birds exercising in the nesting towers. Salt Fork is one of Ohio's eighty official Watchable Wildlife sites, and at 17,229 acres of land plus the lake it's the largest state park in Ohio, drawing more than 1.8 million visitors a year. It's also the state's most persistent Bigfoot hotspot — the annual conference in Cambridge is a real event, and whatever you make of it, the fact that a place this big can still feel this empty is the part worth noticing.

Things to do in the park

  • 18-hole golf course with driving range and pro shop
  • 2,500-foot swimming beach, one of Ohio's largest inland beaches
  • Two marinas (Salt Fork and Sugartree) with bait shops and boat rentals
  • Guided tours of the historic Kennedy Stone House in summer

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Salt Fork State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Cambridge glass museums and factories
  • The John and Annie Glenn Museum in nearby Cambridge (John Glenn's birthplace)
  • The Wilds, a 10,000-acre wildlife conservation safari park about 30 minutes away
  • Local Bigfoot/cryptid lore tied to the surrounding hills

Hiking trails

14–15 named hiking trails (roughly 14 combined miles), plus about 74 miles of separate bridle trails, including a stretch of the 1,444-mile Buckeye Trail.

Wildlife you might see

  • White-tailed deer
  • Wild turkey
  • Red foxes
  • Ospreys (reintroduced 1996)
  • Bald eagles (occasional)
  • Beaver
  • Waterfowl

Fishing

  • Salt Fork Lake: muskellunge, largemouth bass, walleye, channel and flathead catfish, crappie, sunfish, white bass — a designated Ohio catfishery

Hunting

Permitted in designated areas of the park and the adjoining ~12,000-acre Salt Fork Wildlife Area (small game, waterfowl, and deer); check in with park or wildlife officers for current boundaries. Valid Ohio hunting license required.

Getting on the water

Salt Fork's 2,952-acre lake has 76 miles of shoreline and unlimited-horsepower boating, served by two marinas. The campground is not built for boat-in access at individual sites — you'll launch at a ramp and trailer back. Lake-loop campsites put you closest to the water.

Launches & facilities

Salt Fork Marina
Main marina with seasonal docks, bait shop, boat rentals and fuel.
Sugartree Marina
Second marina on the lake, generally quieter than the main one.
Public launch ramps
Multiple ramps around the lake; the lake permits unlimited horsepower with no-wake zones posted near the beach and marinas.

Good to know

  • Ask for a lake-loop site when reserving if you want the shortest walk to the water.
  • This is a designated Ohio catfishery and a muskie lake — the marinas sell bait suited to both.
  • The 2,500-foot swimming beach is one of the largest inland beaches in Ohio and separate from the boating areas.

The Salt Fork Bigfoot

Salt Fork is the most persistent Bigfoot hotspot in Ohio, and it isn't close. Reports from the park go back decades and cluster around the same kinds of encounters: a tall upright figure crossing a fire road at dusk, tree knocks answered from across a hollow, wood being stacked or twisted in ways that don't look like weather, and the smell — always described the same way, and always described as unforgettable.

The creature in these accounts has a local name, the Grassman, a term used across eastern Ohio. An annual Bigfoot conference meets in nearby Cambridge and draws researchers and curious people from well outside the state. Organized expeditions go out into the park itself.

Behind the legend

There is no physical evidence that holds up. What there is instead is 17,229 acres of land plus a 2,952-acre lake with 76 miles of shoreline, most of it wooded, much of it far from a road — the largest state park in Ohio, and one where you can walk a long way without meeting anyone.

That's worth sitting with regardless of what you believe. Salt Fork takes more than 1.8 million visitors a year and still has hollows where nobody goes. Most Bigfoot hotspots turn out to be places with real wilderness and thin population, and this is one. Whether something is out there or not, the emptiness that makes people wonder is genuine.

If you go

Hike the 14 miles of trail or the 74 miles of bridle trail and see what you think. If you want the organized version, the Cambridge conference runs annually and expeditions go out from it. Ordinary rules still apply: hunting is permitted in parts of the park and the adjoining wildlife area, so wear orange in season, and tell someone where you're going if you're heading well off trail after dark.

Historic sites near Salt Fork State Park

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

National Road & Zane Grey Museum

Norwich · Muskingum County · East-central Ohio
A museum on the old National Road with a 136-foot diorama, the recreated study of Western author Zane Grey and a gallery of Ohio art pottery.
National Road byway stop
About 25 miles from this park · 1800s to today

Historic Roscoe Village

Coshocton · Coshocton County · East-central Ohio
A canal port of brick buildings and costumed interpreters, with a horse-drawn canal boat ride on a restored stretch of the Ohio & Erie Canal.
Ohio & Erie Canal port
About 45 miles from this park · 1816–1913; restored from 1968

Road trips through Salt Fork State Park

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

Historic National Road (US 40)

Eastern, central and western Ohio
Ohio's largest state park, north of Cambridge.
Heritage drive225 miles
2 days · St. Clairsville to Indiana line west of Springfield

The Buckeye Trail at Salt Fork 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.

5 Belle Valley Section

58 miles · Guernsey, Noble
Ohio's largest state park, on the trail route
4 parks

Campsites

Full hookup site
Electric, water, sewer
$35–52/night
Electric site
Lake-loop and wooded-loop options
$35–39/night

Cabins

Standard cabin
2 bedrooms, fireplace, screened porch
$150–190/night
Deluxe cabin
3 bedrooms, hot tub, lake view
$220–280/night

On site

  • Marina
  • Golf course
  • Horse trails
  • Beach
  • Lodge restaurant
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 "Salt Fork State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?740-439-3521

Restaurants nearby

Timbers Restaurant
In the Salt Fork Lodge, overlooking the lake
Directions
The Bear's Den Steakhouse
Farm-to-table steaks, a short drive from the park
Directions
Deep Cut Tavern
Casual tavern near the main entrance
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Go Mart
24-hour, with food and showers
Directions
Speedway
Just off I-70 near the park exit
Directions

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