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!

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.

The good is that the hike through the beautiful woods was great, and the pool area well kept. The…read morepool table area needs improvement. I really enjoyed my hike.

Cedar Trails is a nice secluded park! Family friendly. We were there just as it's annual kids week…read morehad wrapped up and there were a couple families still hanging around. Plenty of hiking / walking trails. The pool is not heated and we were there early in the season so it was still too cold for us. The hot tub was great, but could use a little TLC. It is plenty big (made by the residents themselves!). I had to rewrite the brakes in our trailer while there and not one person complained, in fact one of the residents lent me some tools! It's a little rustic and could use an infusion of money to improve the maintenance; however all-in-all a great place. Check out the nearby Serpent Mound park! We will definitely stay there again!

We were camping in the area and found out about John Glenn Astronomy Park while in the visitor…read morecenter at shocking Hills State Park. We made a reservation for a parking pass right away. Visiting the park is free but you need to reserve a free parking pass online. Parking passes are limited, as the space for parking is limited. This is an amazing place to visit, we saw an interesting program and then were invited to view Saturn through one of the large, powerful telescopes. A beautiful clear view! There is a stand with T shirts and other themed items for sale, and the profits go towards supporting the astronomy park. The park is even dog friendly, although there were only a few well-behaved dogs present. We were camping so we took our two dogs in with us. Staff and volunteers are wonderful and knowledgeable. This is one of the darkest areas in Ohio and well worth a visit to view the stars without light pollution.

Always worth the trip to visit. My favorite is the talks given by the director. A great opportunity…read moreto speak with knowledgeable people who are passionate about astronomy. Everyone with telescopes were extremely kind and generous with their equipment.

Cute little park. Lots going on here. The pond seems to be the main attraction. They actually…read moreprovide fees for the ducks so you're don't feed them bread. That's kind of handy. A couple pavilions, lots of benches to stop and just stare at the pond, the trees and the ducks. Appears they do allow fishing but have soMe rules posted on this. We saw lots of people fishing but no fish being caught. They have a frisbee golf course, a nice walk way around the pond and we noticed a little food house at entrance that seems to be run or supports veterans. Don't quote me on that because we didn't stop and talk to them. Lots of parking. Lots of shade and pretty relaxing area. Trash(and recycling only) bins a plenty. Quite an asset to Chillicothe. Glad we stopped in and checked it out.

Yocatangee Park is the big park in Chillicothe. It's the nicest place in the city. There's a huge…read morepond on the middle of it. It has some recreational sports fields. There's also several walking paths and trails. If you're on the main street which is Bridge Street, it's on the west in the middle of the city. It's located along the Scioto River. There's a few things worth checking out. It has several paths around the park so it's nice to walk around. The pond is the best thing. It's located near the entrance. The park is big enough that it can be enjoyed even while there's youth sports leagues there. It has plenty for everyone. This is convenient to the downtown area and there's plenty of parking. It may not be the nicest park you've been to but it's great compared to this area. It's hard to believe a park this nice is in this city. There may be lots of things going wrong in Chillicothe but this isn't one of them.

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.

Neat little place to stop. Learned something I didn't know by actually taking time to read the…read moresigns.

I hollered at my hubby and daughter about 4am..."Get up, Get up!! Time to go on a hike!" It wasn't…read moreplanned the night before, so I got a lot of grumbling [not under their breathes either] BUT, they were moving and that's all that mattered so I turned a deaf ear to the remarks...Noel asked if her boyfriend could go if she could wake him up and he could be ready..I had no issues, so she called him, he readily agreed...my kind of trooper...no complaints to the chief!!! Good man!! We were on the road by 530am, stopped for gas and drove the 1.5 hrs over into Zaleski State Forest to go hiking. We stopped at Lake Hope State Park roadside area to check out the Historical Hope Iron Furnace. It is FREE to explore and plenty of signage to learn about the history. There are 69 Charcoal Iron Furnace in the Hanging Rock Region which stretches over 100 miles from Logan, OH to My Savage, KY. Great area to picnic. There are tables, grills and bathroom area. There are several marked trails to hike. Tony, Noel, Adam and I had a nice afternoon and a great way to kill an hour and for FREE..and historical...WIN WIN all the way around!!!

Strouds Run State Park is a gem, just a few miles from the City of Athens in southeastern Ohio…read more Lots of great trails around the lake and above on the many ridges throughout the park. Fairly large campground with spots that aren't too close together. Beach is typically dragged each morning in the summer and canoes, kayaks, and even motorized pontoon boats for rent. The motorized pontoon is blasphemy for those of us who have been going to the park since the 1970s, but they aren't so many that it is too loud or disruptive. There is one short trail that is accessible for all and there is a mix of pit and flush toilet facilities. There is no life guard at the beach but there is a safe and sizable enclosed playground for young ones.

Pretty spot for a day in nature. They have a nice playground, boat launch, and plenty of bench's…read moreoverlooking water. They do have bathrooms too!

Unfortunately, my attempt to hike the Zaleski South Loop was cut short due to high water, I will be…read moreback in the Spring to tackle this hike, really looking forward to it!

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!

Currently is having construction in some areas but was very beautiful!!! The trails were nice!!!read more

I am a little hesitant in writing this review. I have been coming here for over 30 years, and the…read morelast thing I want to see is more people, but it is better to share. It started with our grandmother bringing us here to burn off energy, and to get some background in nature. what was good intentions has now blossomed into a full fledged love affair with nature. granted I am from southern ohia, (ohio for yall not along the Ohia river, I have grown up in nature. There are no restrooms (to my knowledge), so you will need to empty your bladder in the city of Jackson or use a bottle or bag (remember to clean up after yourself please). there are approx. 5 1\2 miles of trails, moderate in traversing. All trails start and end at the parking lot. the pine ridge trail takes you along the lake, and the salt creek trail takes you along salt creek and along sandstone cliffs. In autumn, the foliage is outstanding and smell of hemlock is inspiring. On a side note, due to state budget cuts, park rangers need our help in cleaning up after unruly visitors. just yesterday, I removed two bags of refuse consisting of shirts, socks, a diaper, soda pop cans, and a pair of shoes. this is a nature preserve, lets keep it that way.