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

Scioto Heritage Trail

Southern Ohio (Scioto County)
Scenic byway · Portsmouth to Shawnee State Forest
99miles
Half a dayto drive
3stops

A drive from Portsmouth into Shawnee State Forest along the highest ridges of Scioto County.

Length
99 miles by the state list
Route
Begins in downtown Portsmouth by the murals, follows the Ohio River west and turns north into Shawnee State Forest
Designated
2007
Highlights
Sites tied to two famous Ohioans, Roy Rogers and Branch Rickey, and overlooks above the valley
Best for
Ridge views and the state's largest state forest

The story

The byway begins in downtown Portsmouth and ties into the Ohio River Scenic Byway near the floodwall murals. It heads west along the Ohio River and turns north into Shawnee State Forest, the largest of Ohio's 20 state forests. It travels along the highest elevations in Scioto County and offers historic sites and views over the valley below, including places tied to Roy Rogers and to the baseball executive Branch Rickey.

Stops along the way

1 Portsmouth
The start, near the Ohio River floodwall murals and the earthworks. See Portsmouth Earthworks.
Open
2 Lucasville
In Scioto County, near the byway's route.
3 Shawnee State Forest
Ohio's largest state forest. Shawnee State Forest.
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

Shawnee State Forest
Ohio's largest state forest, with primitive camping.
Open
Shawnee State Park
A lodge and campground on the Little Smokies.
Open

Tips

  • Combine with the Buckeye Trail's Shawnee Section.

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

Dusty Tires: Ohio scenic byways →

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