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

Covered Bridge Scenic Byway

Southeast Ohio
Scenic byway · Marietta to Woodsfield
35miles
Half a dayto drive
4stops

A 35-mile drive on State Route 26 from Marietta to Woodsfield through the Wayne National Forest.

Length
35 miles
Designated
May 1990
Route
SR 26 from Marietta to Woodsfield, inside the Wayne National Forest
Camping
Free dispersed camping is allowed in the national forest, and Ring Mill and Lamping Homestead are Buckeye Trail camps nearby
Best for
Covered bridges and river valleys

The story

State Route 26 follows the Little Muskingum River through the Marietta Unit of the Wayne National Forest, in a corner of the state that still has covered bridges, including Hune Bridge, and remote hollows. The byway starts at Marietta, the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory, and climbs into the hills toward Woodsfield.

The Buckeye Trail's Road Fork and Whipple sections cross the same country, and camping is allowed at Ring Mill, Lamping Homestead and, by the rules of the national forest, across most of its land.

Stops along the way

1 Marietta
The start of the byway, with the earthworks the founders preserved. See Marietta Earthworks.
Open
2 Wayne National Forest, Marietta Unit
Little Muskingum River valleys and campgrounds. Wayne National Forest, Marietta Unit.
Open
3 Hune Bridge
A covered bridge in the forest, with free camping nearby.
4 Woodsfield
The byway's east end.

Take the stops with you

Load the 4 stops into your maps app to drive between them.

Google Maps: stops 1 to 4

The file holds 4 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

Wayne National Forest: Marietta Unit
The national forest the byway runs through.
Open
Muskingum River Parkway State Park
River locks and landings from Marietta.
Open

Tips

  • Camp at Ring Mill or Lamping Homestead, or use the free dispersed camping rules in the national forest.
  • Gas up in Marietta or Woodsfield.

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.