Ohio State Parks

A 2,722-acre Beaver Creek State Park is located in Columbiana County, Ohio, on the banks of Little Beaver Creek. The park is popular year-round for camping, boating, fishing, hunting, and hiking. Within the park are historic remnants of the Sandy and Beaver Canal, the restored and historic Gaston's Mill from 1837, a historic recreated pioneer village, abandoned canal locks, and the Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center. The center features live animals, a display of arrowheads, insects, and photographs of nature. All around is magnificent wildlife area. Beaver Creek is a popular destination for anglers who come for smallmouth and rock bass. The creek is also great for kayaking and rafting. Hikers enjoy 16 miles of trails through the park.

12021 Echo Dell Rd, East Liverpool, OH 43920, Phone: 330-385-3091

Located in southwestern Ohio, five miles from Waynesville, Caesar Creek State Park is a 3,741-acre park with a 2,830-acre lake in its heart. It was created in the 1970s as a result of building a dam on Caesar Creek. The park includes meadows, woodlands, and ravines, and it offers wonderful opportunities for all kinds of recreation – boating, fishing, hunting, swimming, camping, hiking, and horseback riding. There is a lovely 1,300-foot long sandy beach great for swimming in the summer. Also located within the park is Caesar's Creek Pioneer Village with 15 log cabins, a Quaker meeting house, a pioneer school house, a carpenter shop, and a toll house. Next to the Pioneer Village is Caesar Creek Nature Center with exhibits on the cultural and natural history of the area. The center offers nature education programs, hikes, campouts, and maple syrup outings.

8570 OH-73, Waynesville, OH 45068

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a 32,572-acre park located between Cleveland and Akron along the Cuyahoga River. The park includes rolling hills, forests, narrow ravines, rivers, wetlands, and more than 100 waterfalls. Of the park’s many hiking trails, the most famous is the 20-mile Towpath Trail, which follows a stretch of the former Ohio and Erie Canal and is popular for hiking, bicycling, and running. Visitors to the park can also play golf or take a railroad tour on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. In the winter, Kendall Hills are famous for skiing and sledding. The park also includes the Hale Farm and Village with displays of 19th and early 20th century farming and rural living.

15610 Vaughn Rd, Brecksville, OH 44141-3018

Romantic Ohio State Parks

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio commemorates the work of Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar in the Miami Valley. The park includes five National Historic Landmarks and a National Register Historic District. Together they tell the story of the lives and works of the Wright brothers and the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. They are the Wright Cycle Company building, Huffman Prairie Flying Field, Hoover Block, 1905 Wright Flyer III, Hawthorn Hill, and the Paul Laurence Dunbar State Memorial. The centerpiece of the park is 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world's first functioning airplane, built in 1905 by the Wright brothers and flown at Huffman Prairie Flying Field.

22 S Williams St, Dayton, OH 45402-8235

Located on the shores of Lake Erie near Lakeside Marblehead, East Harbor State Park includes a beach, marina, campground, and wetland wildlife preserve. The park is a popular destination for swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, picnicking, and disc golf. The beach is a thin stretch of sand that separates Middle Harbor from the lake. The beach was two miles long before a big part of it was washed away during the 1972 storm. The current beach covers the area to the north of the park and is popular with swimmers. Four offshore breakwaters have been constructed on the Northern part of beach to protect what is left of the beach.

1169 N Buck Rd, Lakeside Marblehead, OH 43440, Phone: 419-734-4424

The 838-acre is a densely wooded area composed of red maple, white ash, wild black cherry, oaks, white and red pine, and beech. The park was once a state forest and is known for the scenic hiking trails that run through spectacular wildflowers and offer an opportunity to observe wildlife. The forested areas are mixed with rolling fields and 93-acre lake that offers swimming at the 435-foot beach and boating. There are two launch ramps and a marina where visitors can rent canoes, rowboats, and paddleboats. There is a campsite with a recreation area with a basketball court, sand volleyball, and two horseshoe pits.

25381 OH-58, Wellington, OH 44090, Phone: 440-647-4490

Ohio State Parks for Families

Geneva State Park is a 698-acre park located on the Ohio's northeastern shoreline. With a six-lane boat ramp and full service marina, the park offers easy access to Lake Erie's central basin. The most popular activities are hiking, fishing, boating, camping, canoeing, and swimming. In the winter, folks come for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and ice fishing. There is a lodge and lakeside cottages for those who want to stay overnight. The lake has a nice beach perfect for swimming or playing in the sand. There is also a bike path, mini golf, bumper boats, go-carts, and a fun water slide. Six miles of multi-use trails meander through the park.

4499 Padanarum Rd, Geneva on the Lake, OH 44041-8172

Hocking Hills State Park is a popular state park in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio near the Hocking State Forest. Lake Logan is located within the park, offering boating, kayaking, rafting, canoeing, swimming, and hiking around the area. The park has more than 25 miles of hiking trails, fascinating rock formations, waterfalls, and caves. There are seven distinct hiking areas: Ash Cave, Cantwell Cliffs, Conkle's Hollow nature preserve, Cedar Falls, Rock House, Old Man's Cave, and Hemlock Bridge Trail that leads to Whispering Cave. There are more than 200 campsites in the park, all close to the hiking trails. The park is a popular destination for rock climbing and rappelling, with 99 acres of the park set aside for this activity. Fishing and bird-watching are also popular.

19852 OH-664, Logan, OH 43138

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park was established to protect the prehistoric remains of the Hopewell culture that thrived in the Ohio Valley from about 200 BC to AD 500. The term Hopewell describes a network of Native American groups with similar economic and political practices and spiritual beliefs who lived in woodlands of eastern North America. The park is composed of six sites in Ross County, Ohio, including what was once known as Mound City Group National Monument. The park includes archaeological remains such as burial mounts and earthworks. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, one of 14 sites included in the list the United States nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

16062 State Route 104, Chillicothe, OH 45601-8694

Hueston Woods State Park is a 3,000-acre park in Ohio’s Butler and Preble counties. The park surrounds scenic 625-acre Acton Lake and is a popular destination for hiking, canoeing, fishing, and fossil-hunting, an activity unique for this park. The protected 200-acre old growth forest is all that is left of the once vast forests in this area that were cleared by early settlers. It offers visitors and hikers a glimpse into the primeval forests that covered the entire Ohio once. Ancient beech and sugar maple trees offer dense shade and create the perfect environment for lush ferns, wildflowers, and other woodland species. The park also has the 18-hole, 7,005-yard, par 72 golf course about eight miles from the park entrance. There is a 1,500-foot swimming beach on the shore of the lake, with a bathhouse and a concession stand. Boaters have easy access to the lake through numerous launch ramps and docks. Anglers come for a healthy population of largemouth bass, channel catfish, crappie, and bluegill.

College Corner, OH 45003