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

Miami and Erie Canal Scenic Byway

Western Ohio
Scenic byway · Miami County to Allen County
50miles
Half a dayto drive
3stops

A drive of 50 to 54 miles on SR 66 along the old route of the Miami & Erie Canal, with a canal boat ride at Piqua.

Length
50 miles by the state list; 54 in one guide
Route
SR 66 and part of the original route of the canal through Miami and Allen counties
Designated
2000
Peak of the canal
About 1840 to 1860, before railroads replaced it
Best for
Canal towns, locks and a mule-drawn boat ride

The story

The Miami & Erie Canal was an important 19th-century transportation route from Lake Erie to Cincinnati. Its operation peaked between about 1840 and 1860, and the railroads replaced it. The byway follows SR 66 and part of the original canal route through Miami and Allen counties, past canal towns such as Piqua and Delphos and the locks at Lockington, and beside many trails and state parks.

Stops along the way

1 Piqua and the Johnston Farm
A canal boat ride and a museum of Ohio's Native peoples. See the Johnston Farm entry.
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2 Lockington Locks
A staircase of canal locks, also on the Buckeye Trail's St. Marys Section. See the Lockington Locks entry.
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3 Delphos and Van Wert
A canal town at the Allen County end, also on the Lincoln Highway. See the Lincoln Highway.
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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

Lake Loramie State Park
A canal reservoir and camping park.
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Grand Lake St. Marys State Park
Ohio's largest inland lake.
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Tips

  • The Johnston Farm boat rides run June to August.
  • Combine with the Buckeye Trail's Troy and St. Marys 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.