Field Notes Ohio

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117 parks in 7 regions

Shawnee State Forest

West Portsmouth · Scioto & Adams Counties · Southern Ohio
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
63,000acres
50trail miles
1922established

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
Shawnee State Forest Headquarters, 13291 US-52, West Portsmouth
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Shawnee State Forest is a public hunting area under Ohio Division of Wildlife rules (deer, turkey, grouse and other game). Hunting is not allowed in Shawnee State Park. No baiting deer or birds. Deer stands and game cameras must carry a waterproof tag with your name and address. No shooting within 400 feet of any building, facility or recreation area, or from or across any road. ATVs are prohibited. Wear blaze orange if you hike during hunting season. Limited roadside camping is allowed during deer and turkey seasons if you register your camp at forest headquarters.

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

Before there was a state forest, these hills were part of the Shawnee hunting grounds. One park explanation says the name means "those who have silver," though the more common derivation is from a word for "south," and a major Shawnee town called Lower Town stood near where the Scioto meets the Ohio, a few miles east. Through the 1700s settlers pushed the Shawnee out, cleared the slopes and farmed them hard. By the early 1900s much of this ground had been logged, burned over and worn out.

In 1922 Ohio bought 5,000 acres of that cleared, fire-ravaged land, and that purchase is the seed of Shawnee State Forest. The same year the state began assembling the Theodore Roosevelt Game Preserve next door. In the 1930s six Civilian Conservation Corps camps went to work here. They built most of the forest roads and five small lakes that visitors still fish today. Stone was quarried in Vastine and Cabbage Patch Hollows in the mid-1800s and early 1900s and hauled by rail to the Ohio River, where barges carried it to build Cincinnati.

After ODNR was created in 1949, the recreation facilities at Roosevelt Lake went to the parks division and became Shawnee State Park. In 1951 the last 11,000 acres of the game preserve were folded into the forest. In 1972 nearly 8,000 acres were set aside as wilderness, off limits to mechanized use and timber work. Today it is a working forest managed for timber, wildlife and recreation, with oak and hickory on the ridges, pitch and shortleaf pine on the drier tops, and maple, beech, tulip and buckeye in the coves.

In their own words
Christopher Gist, surveyor for the Ohio Company
January 29, 1751

Gist reached Lower Shawnee Town at the mouth of the Scioto, in what is now Portsmouth, about 20 miles east of this forest. He counted roughly 300 men in the town, about a hundred houses on the Ohio side of the river and forty on the Kentucky side, and a bark-covered council house 90 feet long.

Journal of Christopher Gist, 1750-1751 (report to the Ohio Company); figures as summarized in Ohio History Journal and regional histories
Céloron de Blainville's French expedition
Summer 1749

Two years earlier a French party under Pierre-Joseph Céloron came down the river burying lead plates that claimed the Ohio and all its tributaries for France. The plate's wording still survives, and it names the river, its branches, and 'all the land on both sides.'

Scioto County Historical Society, 'Lower Shawnee Town and Céloron's Expedition of 1749'

Things to do in the park

  • Backpack the Shawnee Backpack Trail, with free self-registration at the trailhead
  • Ride horses from Bear Lake Horse Camp on 70+ miles of bridle trail
  • Drive the scenic forest roads to Picnic Point for a view of the Ohio River valley, especially in fall color and spring bloom
  • Climb the Copperhead Fire Tower
  • Fish the small CCC-built lakes (electric motors only)
  • Camp in the 8,000-acre wilderness area with an advance special-use permit

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Shawnee State Forest.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Shawnee State Park, inside the forest, with a lodge, golf, cabins and a campground
  • Raven Rock State Nature Preserve (access permit required)
  • Portsmouth, with the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center
  • Tremper Mound and Serpent Mound, both Native American earthworks
  • Olde Wayside Inn and the 1810 House, historic sites in the area

Hiking trails

The Shawnee Backpack Trail is three loops that can be combined into a hike of up to about 50 miles (main trail blazed orange, side trails white). There are also more than 70 miles of bridle trails, most reached from Bear Lake Horse Camp, plus the Wilderness Side Trail through the wilderness area.

Wildlife you might see

  • White-tailed deer, ruffed grouse and many songbirds, all helped by the forest's mix of cuts and mature timber
  • Timber rattlesnakes (an endangered species here) and copperheads. Watch where you sit and step, especially in rocky areas
  • Pitch and shortleaf pine on the ridges, oak and hickory on the slopes, sycamore, walnut and beech in the coves
  • Fall color and spring blossoms along the ridge roads

Fishing

  • Fishing is allowed, but most of it is in the forest's small lakes (Churn Creek, Wolfden, Pond Lick and McBride, plus Turkey Creek and Roosevelt lakes inside Shawnee State Park). Swimming is not allowed in state forest lakes, and only electric motors may be used.

Hunting

Shawnee State Forest is a public hunting area under Ohio Division of Wildlife rules (deer, turkey, grouse and other game). Hunting is not allowed in Shawnee State Park. No baiting deer or birds. Deer stands and game cameras must carry a waterproof tag with your name and address. No shooting within 400 feet of any building, facility or recreation area, or from or across any road. ATVs are prohibited. Wear blaze orange if you hike during hunting season. Limited roadside camping is allowed during deer and turkey seasons if you register your camp at forest headquarters.

Getting on the water

The forest has five small lakes built by the CCC in the 1930s, plus Roosevelt and Turkey Creek lakes in the state park. They are quiet, small-boat water. Only electric motors are allowed and swimming is not permitted in the forest lakes.

Launches & facilities

Forest lakes
Churn Creek, Wolfden, Pond Lick and McBride lakes are the forest's small fishing lakes. Roads reach them from the forest road network.
Roosevelt and Turkey Creek lakes
Inside Shawnee State Park, with more facilities and rentals.

Good to know

  • Bring a map. Cell service is poor in the hollows and the forest road network is confusing.
  • Watch for road closures and hazardous driving conditions in winter.

Those Who Have Silver

The name of this forest is older than the forest. Shawnee, the story goes, means 'those who have silver,' and the Shawnee were here long before anyone counted acres. A major Shawnee town, Lower Town, stood at the mouth of the Scioto where it meets the Ohio, and in 1749 a French expedition under Céloron de Blainville came down the river past it, burying lead plates to claim the whole valley for France. Two years later a Virginia surveyor, Christopher Gist, walked into the town and counted about 300 men, about a hundred houses on the Ohio side, and a council house 90 feet long, covered in bark.

Then the Shawnee were pushed out. The settlers cleared the hills, the soil wore out, and in 1922 the state began buying the ruined land to make a forest.

Behind the legend

The 'silver' meaning is a park explanation, and many linguists derive the name from a word meaning 'south' instead, so it lives on as a popular translation. The rest is better documented. The lead plates and the Gist journal are both real, and the town's numbers are from Gist's own count. Much later the forest took its present shape: six CCC camps in the 1930s built the roads and lakes, 11,000 more acres were added in 1951, and in 1972 nearly 8,000 acres were set aside as wilderness.

It is also known as the Little Smokies of Ohio. Timber rattlesnakes, an endangered species in Ohio, live here, and the backpack trail runs up to about 50 miles.

If you go

Backpack a loop of the Shawnee Backpack Trail and think of the town at the river mouth that these hills look down on. In Portsmouth, look for local museums that tell the story of Lower Town.

Mounds & earthworks near Shawnee State Forest

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

Tremper Mound

West Portsmouth · Scioto County · Southern Ohio
Once mapped as an animal effigy alongside Serpent Mound, it turned out to be the footprint of a burned ceremonial building.
National Register of Historic Places
About 12 miles from this park · 100 BCE to 500 CE

Portsmouth Earthworks

Portsmouth · Scioto County · Southern Ohio
A vast ceremonial center at the meeting of two rivers, mostly lost to the city that grew on top of it.
National Register of Historic Places
About 18 miles from this park · About 100 BCE to 500 CE

Road trips through Shawnee State Forest

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

Scioto Heritage Trail

Southern Ohio (Scioto County)
Ohio's largest state forest, with primitive camping.
Scenic byway99 miles
Half a day · Portsmouth to Shawnee State Forest

The Buckeye Trail at Shawnee State Forest

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

13 Shawnee Section

56 miles · Adams, Scioto
Primitive camp at Camp 7
Remote3 parks

Campsites

Backpack campgrounds
7 walk-in camp areas along the trail, with latrines · free self-registration permit at the trailhead · move camps daily, max 14 days in 30, groups up to 10
Free
Bear Lake Horse Camp
58 campsites with tie rails, latrines and water for horses · first-come, first-served
First-come
Wilderness area camping
By advance special-use permit only
Permit

On site

  • Latrines at each backpack camp
  • Limited water caches near road crossings (may not be serviced in winter)
  • Horse camp with tie rails and water for horses
  • Forest headquarters open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • Forest open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Shawnee State Forest details (ODNR) →
There is nothing to reserve online for backpack camping. Fill out the free self-registration permit at the trailhead parking area (open 24 hours) or at forest headquarters. Bear Lake Horse Camp is first-come, first-served. Tapping through opens ODNR's forestry site for maps and current conditions.
Prefer the phone?740-858-6685

Shawnee State Park (with the lodge, cabins and a full campground) is a separate listing inside the forest. Campgrounds in valleys can flood, and streams can be impassable after a hard storm. Drinking water on the backpack trail is limited to spots near road crossings. Expect ticks, greenbrier, poison ivy and stinging nettles.

Restaurants nearby

Scioto Ribber
Smoked ribs and steaks, well known regionally; about 25 minutes away
Directions
Mex-Itali
Mexican and Italian under one roof; closed Mondays
Directions
The Landing
Coffee and breakfast in a historic downtown building; closed Sundays
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Sunoco / Prime Mart
Closest to forest headquarters; propane exchange and camping basics
Directions
Boland's Mini Mart
Full-service pumps; open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Directions

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