Absolutely beautiful and large. Reasonably priced large pool with a slide,but they don't have hours…read moreor dates posted at the place so my niece and nephew missed the season by literally 1 day. Gazebos, tennis courts, fishing, art, a bridge, benches, a skate board park, and walk ways. 4689965422467890865435788665467 aggressive Canadian geese EVERYWHERE. 6446788765435789 ducks EVERYWHERE. Bird excrement EVERYWHERE. Traffic jams for goose crossing everywhere.

Great for kids…read more Walking trails Free birthday party's Fun Clean Simple for anytime

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!

What a beautiful state park. Drive by the entrance off 23 while on a foodie road trip and decided…read morewe'd stop by on our way back home. Glad we did, the park is so pretty. Curvy roads, lots of trails and an absolute win for us as it they were having their Halloween event at the campgrounds so got to stop, talk to some of the nicest folks and check out the decorated campgrounds. Lots of space for campers left which surprised me but the park is a bit off the beaten path here in beautiful Ohio. My favorite part was climbing up the old watch tower. The top isn't open to get in to the box at top but high enough to have a lovely view of the countryside.

Scioto Trail State park has become one of our favorites after only our second camping adventure…read morethere. It's the perfect distance from Columbus to make it a doable drive after work on a Friday so that we're able to set up camp before too late in the evening. It's also just enough topography to help you forget for a moment that you're in relatively flat Ohio. (I know I mentioned the forestry service/state forest roads in my previous review but they are well worth the drive in the fall. Especially this fall where the cold snap in September lead to gorgeous colors.) On this past adventure, while it was exceedingly rainy, we still found time to take a hike. We walked around the lake which was lovely as most of the maples still had their leaves. Hiked the Friendship Trail which picks up in the offshoot of the campground and ends on the road at the end of the activities field. We also hiked part of the Church Hollow trail which made for some great mushroom finds. I even saw my first ever wild yam plant (identified later as there is NO cell service within the campground area)! We were pretty much self contained camping, in the same spot as last time. I recommend checking out the sites on the off shoot of the campground. The sites are a bit wider and most of the sites are shaded. I visited the pit toilets once when we first arrived and found them to be clean as far as Ohio state park pit toilets go. They weren't being sanitized at the same rate they were a couple of months ago however, I am sure they are used far less when it starts to get chilly and more and more campers are in RVs.

Had no idea this was here, and I've been visiting Chilly for 55 years. Of course, it wasn't a park…read moretill a few years ago, turns out; it was a farm. Large earthwork cluster, barely visible due to plowing but mowed so that they stand out now. Nice big park with decent parking, several trails, woods and wildflowers, and more. I can't hike like I used to but there is a fairly short trail from the parking lot to the main earthworks. If you are a history buff, or interested in Native culture, or just like nature and knowing about your town, this is a must-see. Chillicothe is full of history, recent and ancient, and it's cool to see more things like this being opened to the public.

Nice little park right on main road in town so perfect rest stop with a playground. Restrooms are…read morehit or miss on cleanliness. There are two pavilions , one with four tables and the other with 10-12. The family was in town for a funeral and needed a spot to gather impromptu . We ordered food from Kroger and local pizza places and gathered at the park for a few hours. Kids and adults played a nerf baseball game in the open space which was fun. This is not a bad option if Walnut St Park is full. Parking for a dozen+ cars. Cons: bring a broom, no reservations, noise from Main Street traffic, people in town use park as a shortcut, restrooms may not be clean, eaves attract a good amount of wasps as you'd expect in summer.

This state park that very much centers on the lake of its name, which offers both boating and…read morefishing opportunities. There's a boat launch area, where they are also currently constructing what looks like a boat house, and a couple of piers. Across the street from the boat launch are two parking areas and two picnic shelters, one uphill and one downhill. The downhill shelterhouse also has a nice playground nearby. Unless you are in a boat, this park feels a bit smaller than others, as there's not a lot to do on land. The views are very nice, however. It was foggy on our visit, which made for some fun photography!

Nice, old-school park on a wedge of land along 104. Part of the original grounds of Camp Sherman,…read morealong with much of this area, it has been turned into a mid-size park with playground equipment (the kind I grew up with, not the modern stuff,) a shelter, a small bridge, a ball field, etc. Worth a visit, and great to have in the area.

My mom and I had a lovely and relaxing time horseback riding through the autumn colored leaves at…read moreEquestrian Ridge. Let's start from the beginning... My mom grew up riding and training horses and while it's been years, I thought it would be a great 60th birthday gift to go riding in Hocking Hills. After a few searches online, I found this place. The booking was easy and the owner, Jackie, was very attentive and communicative throughout the process. The weather was absolutely perfect on the day we arrived and we were part of a small group including two others, making it 4 total, which was honestly ideal. We were greeted with a warm welcome and Jackie got straight to introducing us to our paired horses. She was great at putting us each with a horse that would go well with our riding experience. I got Duke, who was a sweetheart from start to finish. He did a fabulous job and I had no problems at all. He was just as Jackie explained he would be. After getting our mini riding lesson, away we went. We rode through beautiful meadows and even through the forest with high trees, downed logs, and a ton of brush. Every single one of the horses did great. They loved to stop to eat and Jackie knew all the good spots for "cheesecake." That's what they called the horse's favorite snack. Funny, because that's my favorite too! We rode around for just over an hour after getting our lessons and it was wonderful. Everyone had a blast and I would totally go again, only for a longer ride next time. I highly recommend it!

Funny grumpy old lady. Been riding longer than I've been alive, and I'm old. Rescue horses. Gentle…read morehand with kids. Not a bad deal.