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

Lower Valley Pike Scenic Byway

Southwest-central Ohio (Clark County)
Scenic byway · I-70 near Fairborn to US 40 near Springfield
11miles
1 hourto drive
3stops

An 11-mile drive on Clark County Road 316 along the Mad River, past a Revolutionary War battle site.

Length
11 miles
Designated
May 2004
Route
Lower Valley Pike, Clark County Road 316, from I-70 near Fairborn to US 40 near Springfield
Highlights
George Rogers Clark Park, the New Boston fair, the Hertzler House and the Estelle Wenrick Wetlands Preserve
Best for
A quiet drive to add to the National Road

The story

The Lower Valley Pike was one of the first direct routes to Dayton. It follows the Mad River and passes George Rogers Clark Park, 250 acres of meadows and shade trees with a small waterfall and the site of the largest battle of the Revolutionary War west of the Allegheny Mountains. The park also holds an annual fair at New Boston over Labor Day weekend that gives a glimpse of 18th century life. Other stops are the historic Hertzler House and the 167-acre Estelle Wenrick Wetlands Preserve.

Stops along the way

1 Fairborn
The byway's western end at I-70.
2 George Rogers Clark Park
The site of the largest Revolutionary War battle west of the Alleghenies and the Labor Day fair at New Boston.
3 Springfield
The byway ends at US 40 near Springfield. See the Historic National Road.
Open

Take the stops with you

Load the 3 stops into your maps app to drive between them.

Google Maps: stops 1 to 3

The file holds 3 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

Buck Creek State Park
A big lake park at Springfield.
Open

Tips

  • Go on Labor Day weekend for the New Boston fair.

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.