The forested hills of Shawnee State Park are located at Ohio's southernmost tip. The park is large at 1,095 acres, but it's dwarfed by the surrounding Shawnee State Forest. At 63,000 acres, Shawnee State Forest is Ohio's largest state forest. The combined park and forest have 72 miles of trails including the 60 mile Shawnee State Forest backpack trail. The area also features more than 75 miles of bridle trails.
There are two lakes Roosevelt and Turkey Creek which offer fishing, boating, Read more ➜ Shawnee State Park
The forested hills of Shawnee State Park are located at Ohio's southernmost tip. The park is large at 1,095 acres, but it's dwarfed by the surrounding Shawnee State Forest. At 63,000 acres, Shawnee State Forest is Ohio's largest state forest. The combined park and forest have 72 miles of trails including the 60 mile Shawnee State Forest backpack trail. The area also features more than 75 miles of bridle trails.
There are two lakes Roosevelt and Turkey Creek which offer fishing, boating, Read more ➜ 
In early September we visited Highlands Nature Sanctuary near Bainbridge, Ohio. The sanctuary is operated by the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. The sanctuary consists of over 2000 acres of land between Rocky Fork State Park and Paint Creek State Park. The main location contains a museum, three hiking trails, and several cabins that visitors can rent. We stayed at a cabin perched on a ledge overlooking the Rocky Creek gorge.
The preserve has roughly 14 miles of trails scattered 
Chapel Cave is a large chapel-shaped, recess cave located off a bridle trail in the Hocking State Forest. The cave is also known as Twenty One Horses Cave because it is reputed to be big enough to hold 21 horses (with their riders).
This posting is the last of a series of hikes we took starting at the parking lot for the Rock climbing and Rappelling Area of the Hocking State Forest. The trailhead for Chapel Cave is located on the north end of this parking lot. It's a bridle trail marked 
On our visit to Balanced Rock we accidentally ended up in the Rock Climbing and Rappelling Area of Hocking State Forest. This 99-acre region of the Hocking State Forest contains a mile long escarpment of Blackhand sandstone varying in height, topping out at 100 feet. It is the only place on state land in Hocking County that is available for use by rock climbers and rappellers.
That day we saw three groups of climbers using the cliff face. I'm not a rock climber, but the climbers seemed 
One sunny day this summer we decided to visit Balanced Rock (also known as "Table Top Rock"). I'd seen pictures of it many times, but had never been there.
We parked at the gravel lot in Hocking State Forest, just up Big Pine Road from Conkle's Hollow. We'd parked here the previous week on our visit to Airplane Rock. We crossed the street and came to a footbridge across Big Pine Creek that consisted of an I-beam with boards across it. Then we took the wrong turn off and ended up in 
Gahanna Woods is part city park and part state nature preserve. Let's start by looking at the city park.
Gahanna Woods City Park
The city park has trails that pass through meadow and woodlands. The meadow trail is a mown path; The woodland trail is a wide trail with a mulch base that often follows a small creek. The city seems to be expanding their trail system, especially the mown paths. I encountered more trail branches than the map in the kiosk showed. A few branches off the 
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. We stood on top of a rock outcropping shaped like an airplane overlooking Crane Hollow far below. From our vantage point, we had a magnificent view of the forest valley and hillsides miles away.
The outcropping is known as Airplane Rock. The trailhead leading to Airplane Rock is just up the road from Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve. The trail itself is a bridle trail which hikers are allowed to share. Surprisingly there is no signage that might 
Thayer Ridge Park features a picnic area (without restrooms), a frisbee disc golf course, and some multi-use, dirt trails going through woodland and meadows. The trails are open to horseback riders, mountain bikers and hikers. I have hiked there twice (in April and in August); in my opinion the trails are probably best suited for those on horseback.
On each of my two visits it was clear that the trails were being used regularly by riders. Here's why I think the trail conditions are 
Conkle's Hollow is a narrow gorge with breathtaking cliffs rising on either side; the cliffs are made of Blackhand sandstone and are quite sheer in places, the taller ones reaching up to 200 feet in height. Seasonal waterfalls flow from the cliffs at many sites, their streams joining to form Pine Creek on the valley floor.
Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve has two main trails. The Rim Trail is on the plateau above and leads you around the upper border of the gorge. 
Char-Mar Ridge is part of Delaware County's preservation park system. It features a wooded trail that passes over gently rolling hills. The trail itself is packed earth and gravel that remains in good condition even when it's rainy. A 0.25 mile trail connects the parking lot to a loop trail. The loop trail is 1.5 miles and is very popular with joggers who often do multiple laps. Like most of Delaware County's parks, visitors are allowed to bring their leashed dogs along with them. "Mutt mitts" are