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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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

Wayne National Forest: Marietta Unit

Marietta · Washington, Monroe & Noble Counties · Southeast Ohio
Managed by U.S. Forest Service — Wayne National Forest
64,667acres
—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 Marietta Unit ranger office, 27515 OH-7, Marietta
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, with deer and turkey the main game. Several campgrounds stay open into winter to support hunters. 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

The Marietta Unit is the easternmost of Wayne's three units and the smallest, and it is named for Marietta, the town at the mouth of the Muskingum where American settlement of the Northwest Territory began. Marietta was founded in 1788 as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory, and this stretch of the Ohio River was the road that carried the first wave of settlers in.

The forest here has the same recovery story as the rest of Wayne. The hills were cleared for farms and cut for charcoal, and by the 1930s they were worn out, so the government began buying them in 1934. Today the Little Muskingum River runs through the unit, and the Covered Bridge Scenic Byway follows State Route 26 from Marietta to Woodsfield alongside it, passing the covered bridges that give the drive its name.

Leith Run, on the Ohio River 18 miles north of Marietta, is the unit's showpiece: a fully accessible riverside campground and day-use area, with a boat ramp, that is one of the most popular places on the forest.

Things to do in the park

  • Camp at Leith Run on the bank of the Ohio River, with a boat ramp and accessible facilities
  • Drive the Covered Bridge Scenic Byway along State Route 26
  • Camp basic at Lamping Homestead, Lane Farm, Hune Bridge or Ring Mill
  • Ride from Kinderhook Horse Trailhead
  • Launch a boat on the Ohio River

Trails

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

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Marietta, the first permanent settlement of the Northwest Territory, about 18 miles south
  • Forked Run State Park, about an hour southwest near Reedsville
  • Buffington Island Battlefield Memorial Park, on the Ohio, about an hour south

Hiking trails

The Marietta Unit has hiking, biking and horse trails, plus the Covered Bridge Trail. Kinderhook Horse Trailhead serves riders. The North Country Scenic Trail also crosses the forest.

Wildlife you might see

  • Oak-hickory hardwood forest above the Ohio River valley
  • White-tailed deer and wild turkey
  • River birds and waterfowl along the Ohio
  • Steep ravines and clear streams that run to the Little Muskingum

Fishing

  • The Ohio River at Leith Run and the Little Muskingum offer fishing for catfish, bass and other river species. Ohio fishing license required for ages 16 and up.

Hunting

National forest land is open to hunting under Ohio Division of Wildlife rules, with deer and turkey the main game. Several campgrounds stay open into winter to support hunters. Wear blaze orange in season. A valid Ohio hunting license is required.

The Mayflower of the West

The Marietta Unit is named for the town where American Ohio began. In the winter of 1787 to 1788, forty-eight men, many of them Revolutionary War officers, carpenters, boat builders and surveyors, set out from New England for the Ohio country, crossed the mountains in bitter weather and built boats on the Youghiogheny. They floated down the Monongahela and the Ohio, and on April 7, 1788, they landed where the Muskingum meets the Ohio. Their boat, the Adventure Galley, is remembered as the Mayflower of the West.

They built a stockade called Campus Martius, held Ohio's first court there in September 1788, and named their town for Queen Marie Antoinette, in thanks for France's help in the Revolution. The Ohio Company of Associates behind them had helped shape the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the law that banned slavery in the territory.

Behind the legend

The claim to be first needs careful wording. Marietta was the first permanent settlement of the United States in the Northwest Territory, and the first to be made under American law, but it is not the oldest town in the region. Vincennes dates to 1732, Sault Ste. Marie to 1668 and Peoria to 1691. The count of the founders also varies: many sources say 48 men, and one county history says 47. The 'Mayflower of the West' label for the Adventure Galley appears in tourism writing.

The hills that the Marietta Unit protects share the story. The Ohio Company's first purchase covered parts of Washington, Meigs, Gallia, Lawrence and Athens counties, and Washington County, where the Marietta Unit lies, was the heart of it. Campus Martius Museum in Marietta holds Rufus Putnam's house and the Ohio Company's land office, which is described as the oldest building in the state.

If you go

Visit Campus Martius Museum in Marietta before you head into the forest. Then drive north along the Ohio River to Leith Run, on the same river the pioneers arrived on.

Mounds & earthworks near Wayne National Forest: Marietta Unit

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

Marietta Earthworks

Marietta · Washington County · Southeast Ohio
The mounds under Marietta's streets, saved because the town's founders decided to.
Can visitNational Register of Historic Places
About 18 miles from this park · About 100 BCE to 500 CE

Road trips through Wayne National Forest: Marietta Unit

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

Covered Bridge Scenic Byway

Southeast Ohio
The national forest the byway runs through.
Scenic byway35 miles
Half a day · Marietta to Woodsfield

The Buckeye Trail at Wayne National Forest: Marietta 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.

7 Road Fork Section

62 miles · Noble, Monroe, Washington
Lamping Homestead and Ring Mill are on this section
Remote1 park

8 Whipple Section

58 miles · Washington, Noble, Morgan
The trail connects the Marietta Unit to the AEP lands
Remote2 parks

Campsites

Leith Run Recreation Area
18 electric sites and 3 tent sites on the Ohio River · fully accessible · boat ramp · some sites reservable
Reservable
Lamping Homestead, Lane Farm, Hune Bridge and Ring Mill
Basic campgrounds with pit toilets, tables and fire rings · first-come, first-served · seasonal
First-come
Kinderhook Horse Trailhead
Trailhead camping for riders
See Forest Service

On site

  • Boat ramp and accessible facilities at Leith Run
  • Vault or pit toilets at the basic campgrounds
  • Picnic tables and fire rings
  • Sand Run and Utah Ridge picnic areas
Reserve on Recreation.gov →
Leith Run's electric sites are reservable through Recreation.gov, and most of the Marietta Unit's basic campgrounds are first-come, first-served. The Forest Service posts seasonal opening and closing dates each year, so check before you go. Field Notes Ohio can't hold a site for you.
Prefer the phone?740-753-0101

Leith Run is the main developed campground and closes for the season in mid-October. The other Marietta Unit campgrounds are scheduled to close in early January. Confirm dates on the Forest Service site. The phone number is the forest's Welcome Center in Nelsonville, which handles all three units.

Restaurants nearby

Boat House BBQ
Ribs and seafood right on the Ohio River
Directions
The Galley
Gastropub downtown with a big menu; closed Sunday
Directions
Riverfront Bar & Grill
Old-fashioned hotel bar with good dinners
Directions

Gas stations nearby

Par Mar Food Store
Along SR 7, closest to Leith Run
Directions
Speedway
24 hours in Marietta
Directions

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