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

John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail

Southern and eastern Ohio
Heritage drive · Harrison, Hamilton County to Near West Point, Columbiana County
557miles
3 to 4 daysto drive
12stops

A 557-mile driving tour of the Confederate cavalry raid that terrified southern and eastern Ohio in July 1863.

Length
557 miles by the American Battlefield Trust; the Ohio History Connection gives 561
Route
From Harrison in Hamilton County to a surrender site near West Point in Columbiana County
Signs
56 interpretive wayside exhibits and more than 600 directional signs
Created by
The Ohio History Connection and the Ohio Department of Transportation
Raid
46 days, June 11 to July 26, 1863; about 2,000 raiders crossed into Ohio
Best for
People who like to follow a story across the map
Battle
Includes Buffington Island, described as the only Civil War battle fought on Ohio soil

The story

On June 11, 1863, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and 2,460 Confederate cavalrymen rode out of Sparta, Tennessee, meaning to pull Union troops away from the Confederates' main armies. On July 8 he crossed the Ohio River at Brandenburg, Kentucky, into Indiana, against his orders to stay in Kentucky. On July 12 Cincinnati was placed under martial law and Governor Tod called out the militia. Morgan was sighted near Harrison on July 13, passed through Glendale in the night and reached Williamsburg by four o'clock that afternoon, having covered 90 miles in 35 hours.

For two weeks the raiders swept east and south of Cincinnati, through Adams, Athens and Meigs counties among others, and on the way they searched shops and houses for firearms, food and above all fresh horses. On July 18 and 19 they tried to cross the Ohio at Buffington Island; over half of the 1,930 men still with Morgan were captured there, and Morgan and about 700 others escaped north. He was overtaken on July 26 at Salineville, the northernmost military action of an official Confederate command, and surrendered that day near West Point. The raid did little militarily but terrorized much of Ohio. Captured raiders were held in prisons such as Camp Chase and Johnson's Island, and Morgan himself was held in the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, from which he escaped in November 1863.

Stops along the way

1 Harrison
The trail's start, near where Morgan was sighted on July 13. 200 Harrison Ave.
2 Glendale
The raiders rode through in the night, north of Cincinnati.
3 Williamsburg
Morgan reached it by 4 p.m. on July 13, 28 miles from Cincinnati. East Fork State Park is next door.
Open
4 Locust Grove and Jacksonville
The raiders camped along a seven-mile stretch on the night of July 15. The Great Serpent Mound is about ten miles away.
Open
5 Winchester
The raiders arrived at 8:30 a.m. on July 15, captured the daily stagecoach and searched businesses and homes. Adams Lake State Park is in Adams County.
Open
6 Nelsonville
The trail's marker here is titled An Act of Devilishness.
7 Chester
A village in Meigs County, on the route to the river.
8 Buffington Island
Where the raiders tried to ford the Ohio on July 18 and 19 and lost over half their force. Forked Run State Park is in Meigs County.
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9 Salineville
The running fight on July 26, including the fighting at Sharp's Farm.
10 West Point
A stone marks where Morgan surrendered, the farthest point north any Confederate force reached.
11 Camp Chase, Columbus
Many captured raiders were imprisoned in camps like this one. See the Camp Chase entry.
Open
12 Johnson's Island
The Lake Erie prison held Confederate officers. See the Johnson's Island entry.
Open

Take the stops with you

Load the 12 stops into your maps app to drive between them.

Google Maps: stops 1 to 10Google Maps: stops 10 to 12

The file holds 12 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

East Fork State Park
Camp near Williamsburg at the start of the raid.
Open
Adams Lake State Park
A small park in Adams County on the route.
Open
Forked Run State Park
A camping park near Buffington Island.
Open

Tips

  • Print or open the Ohio History Connection's route map before you go; the trail is long and the signs are numbered.
  • Expect back roads through Appalachian Ohio, and gas up in the larger towns.
  • Read the wayside markers slowly; several give the raiders' own accounts and those of local residents.

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

Ohio History Connection: John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail →

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