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.
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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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117 parks in 7 regions

Wayne National Forest: Athens Unit

Nelsonville · Athens & Hocking Counties · Southeast Ohio
Managed by U.S. Forest Service — Wayne National Forest
240,000acres
—trail miles
1934established

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 entrance or visitor center
Wayne National Forest Headquarters and Athens Ranger Station, 13700 US-33, Nelsonville
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
National forest land is open to hunting under Ohio Division of Wildlife rules. Deer, turkey and small game are the main game. Campgrounds and roads see hunters in fall, and Burr Oak Cove stays open until after deer season. Wear blaze orange in season. A valid Ohio hunting license is 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

Before it was a national forest, this was Ohio at its most used-up. When settlers reached the hills of southeast Ohio they found a landscape of ancient forest. Over the next century the woods were cleared for farms and for the timber and charcoal that fed the iron furnaces, and the ground was dug and blasted for coal. By the 1930s it was failed farms, eroded hillsides and abandoned mines, and the region was economically flattened.

In 1934 the federal government started buying up these worn-out lands. The forest was named in 1951 for General Anthony Wayne, and in December 1992 it became its own national forest, with headquarters moved from Indiana to southeast Ohio. It is the first and only national forest in Ohio. About 90 years of regrowth later, it is oak, hickory, maple and beech, with steep ravines, clear streams and old homesites you can still find in the woods.

The Athens Unit is the middle of the forest, named for the nearest big town. Wayne's Welcome Center is in Nelsonville, and the forest sits in the old coal country of the Hocking Valley. Long before any of that, the Shawnee, Delaware and Mingo lived and hunted here, and the AP reports that some 40 Native American tribes have ancestral ties to the forest and still help the Forest Service care for it.

Things to do in the park

  • Backpack the Wildcat Hollow Trail and camp along it for free
  • Camp at Burr Oak Cove, a small woodsy campground with walk-in sites
  • Ride horses from Stone Church Horse Camp on 50-plus miles of trail
  • Hike the Lake View Trail for a look at Burr Oak Reservoir
  • Stop in at the Welcome Center in Nelsonville for maps

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Wayne National Forest: Athens Unit.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Burr Oak State Park, on the reservoir next door, with a lodge, cabins and a full campground
  • Nelsonville's historic square and the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway
  • The Mine Tavern, open since 1842 and once a coal miners' hangout
  • Hocking Hills State Park, about 40 minutes west
  • Zaleski State Forest and Lake Hope, about 30 minutes southwest

Hiking trails

The Wildcat Hollow Trail is the forest's classic backpacking route, with primitive camping along its length, and it links to Burr Oak State Park's 18-mile backpack trail for a longer trip. The Buckeye Trail and the North Country Scenic Trail run together past Burr Oak Cove, and Stone Church Horse Camp has more than 50 miles of horse trails.

Wildlife you might see

  • Oak-hickory hardwood forest with steep ravines and clear streams
  • White-tailed deer and wild turkey, popular with hunters
  • Wildcat Hollow and the lakeshore near Burr Oak for songbirds and waterfowl
  • Regrowth forest with old farm sites, foundations and clearings

Fishing

  • Burr Oak Reservoir, next door, has bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. There is no direct lake access from Burr Oak Cove, but a trail gets you a view of the water. Ohio fishing license required for ages 16 and up.

Hunting

National forest land is open to hunting under Ohio Division of Wildlife rules. Deer, turkey and small game are the main game. Campgrounds and roads see hunters in fall, and Burr Oak Cove stays open until after deer season. Wear blaze orange in season. A valid Ohio hunting license is required.

The General Whose Name the Forest Wears

The story that comes with the name is a war story. Anthony Wayne, called Mad Anthony for his boldness, led the U.S. Army to victory over a confederacy of Native nations at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The next year the Treaty of Greenville, which he negotiated, opened much of Ohio to settlement. In 1951 the federal government named the forest for him, and generations of visitors walked its ridges without asking what the name meant to the people who had lived on these hills first.

Today that question is being asked out loud. The AP reported that about 40 tribes have ancestral ties to the forest, and that citizens of some of them, including the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, have said Wayne's campaigns ultimately led to their ancestors' forced removal from their homelands in 1846. Tribal citizens have kept helping the Forest Service manage the land the whole time.

Behind the legend

The dates are secure. The land was bought from 1934 onward from failing farms and mined-out hills, the forest was named in 1951, and it became a distinct national forest in December 1992. The argument is about the name, not the facts. Wayne is remembered as a Revolutionary War hero, and he is also the general behind a treaty that moved Native nations out of Ohio. There is no legend here to debunk, only a history that is more layered than a name on a sign.

What is also true is that the forest has become a place where the land's older story is being told alongside the newer one. The Forest Service works with tribal nations on stewardship, and the ancestral ties go back thousands of years.

If you go

Stop at the Welcome Center in Nelsonville and ask for the forest's history materials. Then walk a piece of the Wildcat Hollow Trail and look for the old homesites and foundations that the woods are slowly taking back.

Historic sites near Wayne National Forest: Athens Unit

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

New Straitsville Mine Fire

New Straitsville · Perry County · Southeast Ohio
A coal-country fire set during a miners' strike in 1884 that burned under southeast Ohio for generations and is said to be burning still.
Ohio Historical Society marker
About 5 miles from this park · 1884 to today

Road trips through Wayne National Forest: Athens Unit

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

Appalachian Byway

Southeast Ohio
National forest land near Nelsonville.
Scenic byway115 miles
1 to 2 days · Hannibal, on the Ohio River to Nelsonville

The Buckeye Trail at Wayne National Forest: Athens Unit

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

9 New Straitsville Section

61 miles · Morgan, Athens, Hocking, Perry
Wayne National Forest, Athens Unit
4 parksTrail towns

Campsites

Burr Oak Cove Campground
19 units including walk-in sites · vault toilets, tables, fire rings, drinking water (shut off in late fall) · first-come, first-served, no reservations · seasonal
First-come
Stone Church Horse Camp
Trailhead camping for riders on 50-plus miles of horse trail · also welcomes hikers
See Forest Service
Wildcat Hollow backpack camping
Primitive, dispersed backpack camping along the Wildcat Hollow Trail
Free

On site

  • Vault toilets and drinking water at Burr Oak Cove
  • Picnic tables and fire rings
  • Welcome Center and forest headquarters in Nelsonville
  • Trailheads for hiking, horse riding and the Buckeye Trail
Wayne National Forest camping details →
Burr Oak Cove is first-come, first-served, so there is nothing to reserve. Some other Wayne campgrounds (see the Marietta and Ironton units) take reservations through Recreation.gov. Seasons change from year to year, and the Forest Service posts the current opening and closing dates, so check before you go.
Prefer the phone?740-753-0101

Burr Oak Cove is scheduled to close for the season around January 4, 2027, with the water shut off in late fall. Dispersed camping along Wildcat Hollow is primitive: no water, no toilets, and you pack out everything you pack in.

Restaurants nearby

Sikorski's Home Plate
Burgers and weekend buffets in Glouster; open daily
Directions
Bonnie's Home Cooking
Big diner breakfasts; open early every day
Directions
The Mine Tavern
Historic tavern open since 1842 that served the area's coal miners
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Glouster E-Z Mart
Closest station to Burr Oak Cove, with a Subway and a drive-thru
Directions
Cornerstone
Gas plus a deli and Amish goods
Directions

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