Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
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Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

New to the guide?

Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Tar Hollow State Park

Laurelville · Ross & Hocking Counties
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
600acres
2.5trail miles
1939established
16396 Tar Hollow Rd Directions →Official source →

The story of this land

The name is literal. These ridges grow pitch pines, and in the early 1800s settlers cooked pine knobs on the rocks here to render out tar — used as an antiseptic for people and livestock alike, and as grease for wagon axles and farm equipment. The Tar Rock is still there, just outside the general store, which is itself one of the few surviving settlement cabins in the county.

Long before that, this was Hopewell country, and some of their burial mounds survive in the surrounding hills. After the Hopewell, the Shawnee and Mingo hunted these ridges. The terrain is the reason all of them used it and none of them farmed it: deep ravines, steep hollows, dense hardwood.

By the 1930s the land was worn out and the country was broke, so the federal government bought it as the Ross-Hocking Land Utilization Project. The WPA and the CCC went to work — planting trees, building shelters, raising a fire tower — and many of those Depression-era structures still stand. It was dedicated as Tar Hollow Forest Park in 1939, split into separate park and forest in 1949, and the federal government formally ceded the land to Ohio in 1958, though the BLM kept 75 percent of the mineral rights underneath. Tar Hollow State Forest is now Ohio's third largest.

Things to do in the park

  • The 21-mile Logan Backpack Trail — backpack camping at the fire tower, first-come first-served
  • Pine Lake with a 500-foot unguarded beach, walkable from the campgrounds
  • General store with boat and bike rentals, mini-golf, and a game room (April–October)
  • See the Tar Rock outside the general store
  • Nine reservable shelter houses; camping permitted at the shelters

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Tar Hollow State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Hocking Hills and Conkle's Hollow, a short drive east
  • Mound City Group at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
  • Adena Mansion, Thomas Worthington's restored 1807 home
  • The outdoor drama 'Tecumseh' near Chillicothe in summer

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
Tar Hollow State Park, 16396 Tar Hollow Rd
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Not permitted in the state park, but Tar Hollow State Forest is known statewide for it — 16,120 acres open to hunting with strong deer and turkey success, plus squirrel and grouse. A 46-site primitive horse camp on Poe Run Road serves the southern forest. 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.

Hiking trails

In the park: the Homestead Trail is a family-friendly 2.5-mile loop from the Pine Lake spillway, and Ross Hollow is a 3.5-mile loop from the Ross Hollow campground. The Logan Backpack Trail is a 21-mile figure-eight through park and forest — difficult terrain, widely considered one of the toughest trails in Ohio. The state forest adds a 22-mile hiking network plus 33 miles of bridle trail.

Wildlife you might see

  • White-tailed deer and wild turkey — hunting success for both is high in the surrounding forest
  • Ruffed grouse (the forest has a 1,700-acre grouse management area)
  • Pitch pine, a species uncommon elsewhere in Ohio
  • Rich wildflower and fungi diversity through the ravines

Birding

Tar Hollow State Park's unglaciated hill-country forest is classic Appalachian warbler habitat — listen for these species in the canopy and understory during the late-spring dawn chorus.

  • Broad-winged Hawk
  • American Kestrel
  • Wood Duck
  • Black-throated Green Warbler
  • Ruffed Grouse (increasingly uncommon)
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Chestnut-sided Warbler
  • Cerulean Warbler
  • Wild Turkey
  • Belted Kingfisher
  • American Redstart

March–April and October–November for migrating waterfowl and raptors; June–July for nesting grassland and marsh birds. For a full, current checklist, search this park's name on eBird's Hotspot Explorer.

Fishing

  • Pine Lake (15 acres): bluegill and other panfish. Small water, good for a canoe or a kid's first fish. Launch ramp near the beach.

Hunting

Not permitted in the state park, but Tar Hollow State Forest is known statewide for it — 16,120 acres open to hunting with strong deer and turkey success, plus squirrel and grouse. A 46-site primitive horse camp on Poe Run Road serves the southern forest. Valid Ohio license required.

Getting on the water

Pine Lake is 15 acres — a small, quiet, man-made lake with a beach and a dock, tucked into steep wooded hills. Paddling and panfish, not powerboating.

Launches & facilities

Launch ramp near the beach
Small-craft access to Pine Lake.
500-foot beach
Unguarded; within walking distance of the campgrounds. Swim in designated areas only.
Boat rentals
Available at the general store, April through October.

Good to know

  • Bring a canoe or kayak — this is not a motorboat lake.
  • The beach is unguarded, so watch kids closely.
  • Trailheads for the Logan Backpack Trail are at the Pine Lake dam spillway and at the fire tower.

Tar Rock

The name is literal. The ridges here grow pitch pines, and in the early 1800s settlers cooked pine knobs on the rocks to render out tar, which they used as an antiseptic for people and livestock and as grease for wagon axles and farm tools. The Tar Rock is still there, just outside the general store, which is itself one of the few surviving settlement cabins in the county.

Long before that, this was Hopewell country, and some of their burial mounds survive in the surrounding hills. After the Hopewell, the Shawnee and Mingo hunted these ridges.

Behind the legend

The terrain is why all of them used the land and none of them farmed it: deep ravines, steep hollows and dense hardwood. By the 1930s the land was worn out and the country broke, so the federal government bought it as the Ross-Hocking Land Utilization Project. The WPA and CCC planted trees, built shelters and raised a fire tower, and many of those structures still stand.

It was dedicated as Tar Hollow Forest Park in 1939, split into a park and a forest in 1949, and ceded by the federal government to Ohio in 1958, though the federal government kept 75 percent of the mineral rights underneath. See the Tar Hollow State Forest entry for Logan's Lament.

If you go

Find Tar Rock outside the general store, then walk the park's trails past the CCC-era shelters.

Mounds & earthworks near Tar Hollow State Park

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

George Deffenbaugh Mound

Laurelville · Hocking County · Southeast Ohio
A small Adena mound on a ridge in Tar Hollow country, with a much younger stone mound nearby.
National Register of Historic Places
About 10 miles from this park · Adena period

Cross Mound

Tarlton · Fairfield County · Central Ohio
Cross a 1930s WPA suspension bridge over Salt Creek and climb a short, steep trail to an ancient earthen cross whose arms point almost exactly north, south, east and west.
National Register of Historic Places
About 13 miles from this park · Undated

The Buckeye Trail at Tar Hollow 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.

11 Scioto Trail Section

61 miles · Vinton, Hocking, Ross, Pike
The Logan Trail leg leads to Pine Lake and the campground
4 parks

Campsites

Electric site
Pine Lake campground
$33–37/night
Non-electric site
Spacious wooded sites; Ross Hollow campground is the quieter option
$23–27/night
Backpack camping
At the fire tower on the Logan Trail, first-come first-served
Minimal

On site

  • Showers, laundry, pit latrines, dump station
  • General store with rentals and mini-golf
  • Playground and basketball courts
  • Four picnic areas and nine reservable shelters
  • Pets not allowed on the beach
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 "Tar Hollow State Park" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?740-887-4818

Restaurants nearby

The Ridge Inn Restaurant
Scratch-made home cooking and a genuinely warm room. Closed Tuesdays
Directions
Laurelville Pizza
Dough made fresh daily, locally sourced. Closed Mon & Sun
Directions
Mam's Rusted Skillet
Playing cards on every table instead of phones. Closed Mon & Tue
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Sunoco
Opens 5 a.m. but closes early — fuel up before evening. Card readers can be down
Directions
Marathon
Second option in Laurelville
Directions

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

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date? Email hello@fieldnotesohio.com.