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.
Popular:
  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
  • 34waterfalls
  • 40historic sites
  • 33road trips

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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Open the mapAll 365 places on one map. Filter by cabins, campsites, hunting, beaches and more.Explore the map → Browse by countyPick any of Ohio's 88 counties and see its parks, mounds, waterfalls and historic sites.Find your county → Build a tripSave places as you browse, then line them up into a weekend. Kept in your browser, nothing to sign up for.Start a trip →

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Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Covered Bridge Scenic Byway

Southeast Ohio
Scenic byway · Marietta to Woodsfield
35miles
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.

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date?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