Hocking Hills State Park is simply magical. Once you step onto the trails, it does not even feel…read morelike you are still in Ohio. We are so used to the rolling hills, corn and soybean fields of the Midwest. It truly feels like stepping into another world. We visited on a Wednesday - after the busy summer season - school back in session. I was surprised to still see quite a few people around the main attractions, especially Old Man's Cave, Devil's Bathtub and Cedar Falls, but once we moved farther along the trail, it became quiet and very peaceful. We hiked approximately for seven miles. The trails are marked with color codes on the trees but what I was missing where clear signs along the trail. It was difficult at times to determine if we where still on the right one. We ended up taking a wrong turn at one point and ended up on the purple trail instead of the red one we originally wanted to hike. But still - it was honestly one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever done. Hiking always recharges my soul, and this place certainly did that. The rock formations, caves, waterfalls, moss and forest scenery are absolutely breathtaking. That being said, some portions of the trail can be challenging. There are steep climbs, uneven ground and areas that can become slippery from the moisture and moss. At times, we had to steady ourselves on rocks or trees while climbing. Good hiking shoes are an absolute must, and be sure to bring a snack and plenty of water, especially on a warm day.

Wow is this a beautiful state park!…read more We went hiking on a Saturday which was crazy packed, but it was still stunning to home through gorges. Everything was beautiful! One downside is that they had stinky compost toilets even at the visitor's center.

The Ash Cave Waterfall is a large natural rock overhang in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio. It is…read moreone of the premier Park destinations in the state, and the home of historic native populations in North America for millennia. A remnant of ancient pre-glacial North America, some of the flora species located here are unique to the continent. Other caves are also located nearby, and coupled with a visit to Ash Cave can make a truly unique and memorable visit to Southeast Ohio. Ash Cave is easily accessible from a large nearby parking lot and the trail is handicapped friendly. It is sometimes the location for special events, such as an annual concert by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. This is a magnificent event and well worth attending, but tickets go fast so if you're interested really be on the lookout for them, so don't delay when they become available.

This was absolutely beautiful and such an amazing place for kids to play! The waterfall was…read morebeautiful and even with all the people tourist-ing it was relaxing. I love how accessible this hike was - we took the stroller most of the way and turned around and walked back instead of finishing the loop. The natural beauty was out of this world!

This is a very cool park! My children tend to gravitate toward parks and playgrounds where there…read moreare open-ended and tactile features available, and this park has that. There are boulders to climb, outdoor musical instruments to play, a treehouse to play pretend in (and is wheelchair accessible!), a merry-go-round, swings, a traditional playground structure with slides, and lots more. The playground area is lined with wood chips. There is also lots of space to run around, and lots of trees. Like the name of the park suggests, this is a very sensory-friendly park, and there are nature stations set up all around where you can use your senses to explore. There is also a short, paved trail that goes around the park, which is wide and smooth enough for strollers and wheelchairs. The trail goes by a creek, which is nice. As of right now, this is the only sensory-friendly park in the state of Ohio! It's definitely worth a visit.

This is a really neat and wonderfully inclusive park. This features a short, paved path that is…read morewheelchair and walker accessible. Along the path are a variety of interactive stations that are also designed to be accessible. If you start near the entry sign, you'll find a Little Free Library, which, on our recent visit, was loaded with a lot of great kids options. Just ahead is a variety of benches and a little music garden, featuring musical instruments that can be played, and you can also interact with the Rough Bark Tactile Display to learn more about different tree barks. A little further down are the cutest animal looking instruments that can also be used. As you continue down the path, you find a swingset with a variety of swings that include both traditional and accessible options. There's a nice little shaded bench area with information about the creek, Fetter's Run, that can be seen from the location. As you proceed along, a very exciting find is the Treehouse, which is built within the forest trees as opposed to up in one, which allows a wheelchair ramp to make it accessible. This overlooks the creek and has things to explore, like neat nature art and a second floor (not accessible) with a fire pole. At the end of the path is a shelter house with picnic tables and nearby grills. Most, if not all, of the signage included Braille translations, as well. There is a large parking lot here, but I do note that this is located behind a school, so I'm not sure how that would affect parking for a visit during a school day.

This is absolutely gorgeous lake and great place to fish, hike and kayak. There is plenty of…read moreparking areas along the lake edge and lot areas. The area is FREE to use. The lake is stocked by WV DNR. A Fishing license is required. There is plenty of parking near the Mill Creek where you can slso fish and put in your kayaks to go along the Mill Creek Water Trail No camping is allowed There are also marked hiking trails. No grills available and no picnic tables. There is a dock. You can put in row boats and kayak in lake but nothing with a motor.

I finally made it back to tackle this challenging hike, 140 flights of stairs over 12 miles in 4.5…read morehours. The scenery was beautiful on a perfect day!

Headed out on the Hope Furnace Trail to Yosemite Falls and a few other offshoots and loved the…read moreelevation changes and different trail options to accommodate how many miles you want to hike. Take a picture of the trail map before you head in it will help with the navigation. Extensive trail network and can easily do 20+ miles if you want. Have fun it's a great group of trails!

Just beautiful clean and nice place for a family outing will be coming back and checking out more…read moreof the outdoors

At some of Ohio's State park it's hard to be a human powered vessel when so many boats are zooming…read moreby. You are almost relegated to smaller coves as you try to escape the waves caused by power boats. Not at Lake Hope State Park as boaters are restricted to electric motors only. My wife is all about the well maintained mountain bike trails. We were both all about the small camping pads and many non electric sites. This meant that as tent campers we were not back to back with massive RVs. And our dog was all about all of it, especially since a state park means that he gets to hang out with his pack!  On the down side, there was only one water spigot, one near the check in, that was marked as potable. Perhaps the others throughout the campground are and are not marked. However, we chose to only get water from that spigot. The spigot that was closest to our campsite was way too close to the pit toilet for me to feel comfortable drinking without filtering/boiling.  While we didn't get the chance to actually take our boats off the car, thanks to thunderstorms, we did drive around and find some spots that would work perfectly as put ins. There's a space just off the main road that would work for those who are kayaking, canoeing, or SUPing. The drive to and from LHSP was beautiful, with the visual elevation changes. I loved that it was almost in the HHills area but lacked all the folks (and the restrictions on dogs)! Lake Hope State Park is a place that we will hands down visit again. Although, our first visit there was filled with thunderstorms- we managed to stay dry and camped anyway!

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."

All of the trail info I previously described still holds true, and the rockbridge is still fun to…read moresee. What's been greatly improved since our previous visit is the parking and trailhead! There's a nice, paved decently sized parking lot available now. The trailhead is clearly marked with a boot brush, a fun butterfly art piece, and multiple tall, colorful informational signs about history, geology, and trail maps. These are excellent additions to this space and great to see.

What a beautiful hike with some really cool rock formations, waterfalls and some steep hills to get…read morethe blood pumping!

Leith Run Campground Absolutely the worst camping experience…read morewe've ever had. We booked a riverfront site months in advance, but the host gave it away to someone else. Even though she was responsive, that should never have happened. The people occupying our site were rude and refused to leave despite us showing our confirmation--resolving that mess took two exhausting hours. The toilet was disgusting, clearly hadn't been cleaned in ages. We had to hold it all night and left first thing in the morning. Other sites might be better, but Leith Run was a nightmare. Never again.

We enjoy hiking in the Wayne National Forest. This lovely wayside location is not only the office…read morefor the foresty division but also a lovely little roadside museum, visitors center and restrooms There are picnic tables and lovely gardens of wildflowers to meander in while people are taking a health break This location is free to visit and very useful if you want literature, need assistance finding something in the area or the bathroom Visitors Center is small but very nice and friendly staff

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.