This is a pretty area that offers a lake for water-based recreation (boating, fishing, a swimming…read morebeach, plus ice fishing when conditions allow during the winter) and woodlands to enjoy. There are three trails, varying in length from the 0.5 mile Cherry Tree Trail to the 3.5 mile Buckeye Trail. There's a nice looking camping area with both electric and nonelectric sites, some of which have great views of the lake and easy boat access for kayaks/canoes/etc., and a fun playground fro the kids. There are some nice picnic areas with tables and benches available in scenic areas. The one we used also had a great shelterhouse with several tables available and was reservable, though there were no events at the time of our visit. Very nice park!

Disappointing. My family has been coming here for 40+years and it was always a great place as a…read morekid. Now it's just run down. So much potential going to waste. There use to be activities for the kids like nature center with animals, hikes and a theater. Now nothing. No rangers at the office all day if you need them. The lights wouldn't work in the shower house but couldn't tell anyone. Also the beach is disgusting with geese poop everywhere and no life guard.

My wife and I have been aware the The Wilds from watching Secrets of the Zoo for years. So in…read moreloving zoo and aquariums and all of the wonderful animals. We had our opportunity and went for it in visiting The Wilds and others in the area. We visited on a Saturday for a Sunset tour. Dinner is cooked up in the kitchen there and provided buffet style on the deck overlooking the fields. The food was good. Shortly after dinner a thunder storm blew in quick with some strong winds. Being from the west coast we rarely see these strong storms. We sheltered in place for a while. Whe the storm had passed through those of us who stayed for the tours were treated a wonderful upclose tour and stunning colorful sunset. We returned on Monday to stay in one of the hurts for a few nights. There are about 12 yurts yurts overlooking the fields of some animals with a wonderful view. A very good Dinner and breakfast and an open air tour are included with the stay. After visit time around the fire pit. I woke up early one morning to find the takin along the water and some taking a swim. Everyone staying in the yurts enjoyed sharing the stories of their tours and checking out the views from the various yurts. There are the 2 tours for the visitors. The wildside tour is an upclose ride in the back of a truck which can leave the road to be up close to the animals. The open air tour is an open air bus which stays on the road while still getting to see the beautiful exotic animals. There are bison, Asian and white rhinos, giraffes, takin, camels, and so many other animals with all of the babies. The tour guides and whole staff is so knowledgeable about the animals. Ready to answer all of the visitors questions about the animals. Everyone has their favorite animals that enjoy seeing around. We are talking about a return visit to check out the new lodge.

Second time visiting. We will be back again. Staff is super knowledgeable and friendly . We saw so…read moremany animals up close. I would absolutely recommend the wild side tour Our tour leader Faith was absolutely amazing.

The USDA Forest Service website is really confusing for this recreational area, which apparently…read moreconsists of several unlinked areas across southeastern Ohio. The address for this listing is for the Marietta Unit, which was the closest official address I could find. I'm still not totally sure where the trailhead was (obviously, I was not the one who drove up), but the trail we took was the "Scenic River Trail." There wasn't much of a view due to all of the trees still being leafy, but it was a good challenging hike. We actually did not make it to the end of the trail, and I'm not really sure how far we went since the trail did not seem to have mile markers. There were the yellow diamond trail markers and some posts in the ground, but neither were labeled. It would be lovely to take the trail again when the leaves start to change, and again when the leaves are down and you can actually see the "Scenic River."

I've been coming to Raccoon Creek State Park for over 50 years now, and it's one of those rare…read moreplaces that has somehow kept its magic across generations. My earliest memories from the 1970s are filled with the smell of charcoal smoke at the picnic groves and the freezing shock of jumping into the lake on hot summer afternoons. As a kid, that beach felt massive, and a simple day trip with packed lunches (the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches melted to goodness from the sun) and blankets spread out on the grass was the best part of summer with my sisters and mom. As I grew into adulthood, the way I used the park changed, but I never stopped going. I didn't always go swimming but instead would explore the miles of hiking trails. The best part, though, was getting to experience it all over again through my daughter's eyes. Taking her there when she was little and watching her hit the water and run around the playground were special times indeed. Raccoon Creek isn't just a park to me; it's a constant in my life. Over five decades later, facilities might get updated here and there, but the familiar feeling of the place hasn't changed a bit. It's serene, nostalgic, and always feels like coming home.

Nice and quiet. Surprisingly nice mountaintop view from our primitive campsite…read more But we visited on a weeknight after a long rainy stretch of weather which cleared everyone out

Found this cemetery on Google Maps. We read the sign that gives the names of the Revolutionary War…read moreheroes buried here. This cemetery has the largest number of burials for these veterans. Included is a mound by the earthwork mound builders. I took the stairs to the top for a nice view of the area. This was a nice stop to stretch our legs and learn some history.

Marietta is a charming river town. So why go to a cemetery? Best I can say is it's like a piece of…read morehistory really. And in Marietta, the entire town is rich with history from the Indians and America during the pre- and post-Revolutionary War. You can't throw a stick without hitting a street named after one of Washington's generals, and many soldiers settled here with free land in lieu of pay from General Washington's army. The mound is a big hill built by the Indians. After driving down bumpy cobblestone roads lined with homes that look like Martha Washington might come out onto the porch at any minute, you come upon the Mound Cemetery, nestled among the homes looking quite like it belongs there is the Mound Cemetery, bordered with an ancient looking wrought iron gate that at once says both KEEP OUT and "welcome." Odd that. Climbing the stairs to summit the Mound is part of your initiation to the Marietta culture. The stairs are steep, which adds to the allure. Once atop, the scene is one of history, art, tranquility, and ... Marietta. Other than lounging in the Gun Room at The Lafayette downtown, it doesn't get much more Marietta than this.

I visited the park just for the scenic view on a Sunday evening in mid-June 2025. First, the vista…read moreis really pretty where you can see the deep bend in the Ohio River, the town of Moundsville below, and the surrounding hills. Second, the scenic trail is easy to access from the end of the parking lot (follow signs or your Google map). Third, it was not very crowded when I visited - just 3 people hanging out. If you are in the area of Moundsville to visit the Grave Creek Mound, why not take an extra 10 minutes to drive up to Grand Vue? That said, if you are in a hurry to get somewhere, this is not necessarily worth a stop as the highlight is simply the easily accessible view itself.

if I could give 20 stars, I would. This place is truly a hidden treasure. The campground is…read morebeautiful with all full hookup sites. The bath houses are always clean. They have one of the best campground pole I have ever been to with some great waterslides. Craig the manager is super friendly and welcoming. You can tell he really enjoys his job. Brittany is the manager of the zipline and ropes courses. When no one else would do the swing with me, she did. She is great and fun. we were able to take a tour of the houses and cabins. They are all beautiful inside. Truly our favorite place for a local camping trip! And don't forget to get ice cream and swing on the almond heaven swing, after playing a game of putt putt golf!!!

One of our favorite outdoor spots. A shaded waterfall area, shallow pool and creek and smooth…read moretrails. There is also a path to the top of the waterfall. The kids have fun for hours here. Some nice benches and plenty of large rocks to hang out on. Parking is just across the road and there are a few porta potties by the parking. The waterfall isn't far once you get on the trail. The river is a farther walk but does have a very strong current so no swimming over there.

This is a great little park near Howard, OH, not far from Danville. The waterfall is a short walk…read morefrom the parking lot and can be accessed from an upper and lower level path. The fall colors were beautiful when we were there.

I recently learned that you should always be open minded to the suggestions on the billboards on…read morethe highway. We saw a sign mentioning the Palace of Gold on the way to Pittsburgh so we decided to make a detour and check it out. My first impression was how beautiful it was. Most of the building is indeed gold colored so there was no false advertising there. They also do tours of the palace so you can get an in depth look of the palace. The tour guide did an amazing job. What I really enjoyed was how quiet peaceful it was. There was a lot more to do than look at the temple. You could take a walk, visit the temple for worship and just enjoy the Mountain View. Everything was very relaxing. We loved it visit to the Palace of Gold. Such a hidden gem!

I'm a little torn on this review to be honest and it's kind of a hard one to write because the…read morePalace of Gold is definitely beautiful, but overall my experience wasn't the greatest. I visited in winter, which meant no flowers were in bloom in the gardens and the outdoor space was pretty gloomy with the exception of a very cool bug that I found on the steps. The seasons definitely change the atmosphere and I imagine that in spring or summer it feels much more vibrant and alive here. The palace itself is lovely with intricate details and ornate interiors and very much what I expected stylistically. However, it wasn't nearly as grand in scale as I had imagined. It was much smaller than I thought it would be. When you step inside the front lobby area, there are gorgeous stained glass windows and beautiful decor and I really enjoyed the light coming through into that space and being able to take photographs in there. The woman inside asked us on a few occasions if we wanted to take the tour and I wasn't sure until we saw the lobby area. Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment was for me was finding out -- only after paying -- that photography wasn't actually allowed inside. That was tough and had I known I definitely would have made a different decision. Personally, I would have been just as happy taking photos of the exterior and I would have saved myself a lot of money. The tour is a little costly considering that you're just accessing a very small area and although the information was somewhat interesting, I had already read the majority of it beforehand. After the tour I was excited to head over to where they keep the cows, which are considered sacred here, because I had read that guests are sometimes allowed to help feed them. Unfortunately (again) it's only during a specific time of day and there wasn't anyone around that I could talk to, but I was able to see the cows through the fence and they were absolutely adorable. We were advised during the tour that we were welcome to go to the lunch offering near the housing area and we did try to find what the tour guide had described, but there were no clear signs. When we did eventually locate the area where they were serving some food, it felt very uncomfortable, like we had wandered somewhere we weren't meant to be. We definitely didn't feel like we belonged there and left almost immediately. Overall, the palace itself is really beautiful and historically interesting and although I don't subscribe to the beliefs of the people here, I do respect what it represents to them. Between the cost and the no photo surprise and the general feeling of uncertainty throughout our visit, we just spent much of our time here wandering and feeling uncomfortable. The welcome center wasn't very welcoming, the peacock walk had no peacocks and the chanting and yelling of Krishna devotees can be a frightening experience to those new to it. This is worth seeing once, hopefully in a season where it's full of flowers and sunshine and beauty. I just suggest you manage your expectations and definitely make it clear that you are not there to be converted.

Confusing to navigate. We tried to use gps and the spots marked on it do not take you to the fire…read moretower. We eventually found a paper map and found our way to the lake. It is a pretty area. The roads can be gravel in some places.

best part about blue rock state park? we went during the week and there was nobody there, the fire…read moretower was deserted so easy to get up to (beware your car if it doesn't have done oomph, there IS loose gravel on the steep roads!!!) you can tell it's foothills and get the general feel of a small mountain area without having the severe altitude you do just a few miles to the east! already working on planning another trip back next year!!!