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

Appalachian Byway

Southeast Ohio
Scenic byway · Hannibal, on the Ohio River to Nelsonville
115miles
1 to 2 daysto drive
6stops

A 105-to-115-mile drive on SR 78 from the Ohio River through Monroe, Noble and Morgan counties to Nelsonville.

Length
About 115 miles by the state list; one guide gives 105
Route
SR 78 from Hannibal Locks and Dam on the Ohio River through Monroe, Noble and Morgan counties to Nelsonville, plus SR 83 to The Wilds and SR 284 back to the byway
Formerly
The Morgan County Scenic Byway, extended in 2018 to three more counties
Connects with
The Ohio River Scenic Byway at Hannibal
Best for
Hill country, small county seats and the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway

The story

The Appalachian Byway crosses the unglaciated hills of southeast Ohio, where steep valleys and small county-seat towns make up much of the map. It began as the Morgan County Scenic Byway and grew in 2018 to take in three more counties, reaching from the Ohio River at Hannibal to Nelsonville in the Hocking Valley. Nelsonville's railroad, the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, dates back to 1864, when the Mineral Railroad was set up to carry salt, coal and passengers from Athens to Columbus.

The byway runs through Woodsfield, Caldwell and McConnelsville and offers a side trip to The Wilds, a conservation center on former strip-mine land, by SR 83 and SR 284.

Stops along the way

1 Hannibal Locks and Dam
The Ohio River lock and dam where the byway meets the Ohio River Scenic Byway on SR 7.
2 Woodsfield
The Monroe County seat on SR 78. The Covered Bridge Scenic Byway ends here.
Open
3 Caldwell
The Noble County seat, near Wolf Run State Park. Wolf Run State Park is nearby.
Open
4 Big Muskie's Bucket
The bucket of the world's largest dragline, in Miners' Memorial Park on SR 78. See the Big Muskie's Bucket entry.
Open
5 The Wilds, Cumberland
A conservation center reached by SR 83 and SR 284.
6 Nelsonville
The byway's end and the home of the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway.

Take the stops with you

Load the 6 stops into your maps app to drive between them.

Google Maps: stops 1 to 6

The file holds 6 waypoints and a stop-by-stop route line. Locations are approximate, often a town center, so use the stop notes to find the exact spot. Your maps app chooses the roads between stops, usually the fastest, so follow the byway signs where they differ. The GPX arrives in a zip file; unzip it and open the .gpx in a GPS or hiking app. The CSV imports into Google My Maps.

Where to camp nearby

Wolf Run State Park
A lake and campground near Caldwell.
Open
Jesse Owens State Park & Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area
Free rustic camping on former mine land in Morgan County.
Open
Wayne National Forest: Athens Unit
National forest land near Nelsonville.
Open

Tips

  • Fuel up in the county seats; services are far apart between them.
  • Pair the drive with the Buckeye Trail's Belle Valley and Stockport sections.

Distances are the route lengths given by the sources. Confirm road conditions, closures and seasonal hours before you go.

Ohio scenic byways list →

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