Vinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,800, making it the least populous county in the state. Its county seat is McArthur. The county is named for Samuel Finley Vinton, US Representative from Ohio.
Athens County is a county in southeastern Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,431. Its county seat and largest city is Athens. The county was formed in 1805 from Washington County. Because Ohio's first state university, Ohio University, was established here in 1804, the town and the county are named for the ancient center of learning, Athens, Greece.
Nelsonville is a city in northwestern Athens County, Ohio, United States, located about 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Columbus. The population was 5,373 at the 2020 census. It is home to Hocking College as well as Rocky Brands. Nelsonville is surrounded by Ohio's only national forest, the Wayne National Forest.
Strouds Run State Park is a public recreation area abutting the city of Athens in Athens County, Ohio, in the United States. The state park is located primarily in Canaan Township, with a small part in Ames Township. Park boundaries coincide with Athens city limits in several places. The park comprises 2,606 acres (1,055 ha), and includes Dow Lake, a 161-acre (65 ha) artificial lake. The park is named after William Stroud who was a share-holder in the Ohio Company of Associates.
Hocking Hills State Park is a state park in the Hocking Hills region of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. In some areas the park adjoins the Hocking State Forest. Within the park are over 25 miles (40 km) of hiking trails, rock formations, waterfalls, and recess caves. The trails are open from dawn to dusk, all year round, including holidays.
The Hocking Hills is a deeply dissected area of the Allegheny Plateau in Appalachian Ohio, primarily in Hocking County, that features cliffs, gorges, rock shelters, and waterfalls. The relatively extreme topography in this area is due to the Blackhand Sandstone, a particular formation that is thick, hard and weather-resistant, and so forms high cliffs and narrow, deep gorges.
The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection. Some areas are managed as wilderness, while others are operated with acceptable commercial exploitation. As of 2022, the 42,826 protected areas covered 1,235,486 km2 (477,024 sq mi), or 13 percent of the land area of the United States. This is also one-tenth of the protected land area of the world. The U.S. also had a total of 871 National Marine Protected Areas, covering an additional 1,240,000 sq mi (3,200,000 km2), or 26 percent of the total marine area of the United States.
The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal trailheads are the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the northern California coast on the Pacific Ocean. The trail has northern and southern alternates for part of its distance, passing through Chicago and St. Louis respectively. The total length of the trail, including both the north and south routes, is 6,800 miles (10,900 km). The northern route covers 4,834 miles (7,780 km) with the southern route covering 5,057 miles (8,138 km). It is the only non-motorized coast-to-coast trail.
Rockbridge State Nature Preserve is a nature reserve featuring a natural bridge located in the unincorporated community of Rockbridge in Hocking County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Hocking Hills region, but the sandstone that forms the natural bridge is located lower in the stratigraphic sequence than that which forms most of the region's notable features.
Hawk Woods is an old-growth forest located in central Athens County, Ohio, United States, outside the city of Athens. The forest comprises 106 acres (0.43 km2) of foothills in the Allegheny Plateau region. Adjacent to Strouds Run State Park, the woods now are included in a state nature preserve named the Dale & Jackie Riddle State Nature Preserve.
The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three citizens appointed to three-year terms without compensation by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.
Rockbridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Good Hope Township, Hocking County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 43149. It is located at the interchange of U.S. Route 33 and State Route 374, between Logan and Lancaster. As of the 2020 census the population of the CDP was 160.
John Bryan State Park, in Greene County, Ohio, is a state park, of 752-acre (304 ha). It surrounds Clifton Gorge, a deep cut of the Little Miami River, between Yellow Springs and Clifton. The park contains a campground, and hiking and biking trails. The park also abuts the Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve and Glen Helen Nature Preserve.
Acadia Cliffs State Nature Preserve is a state nature preserve in Washington County, Ohio, United States, with a small neck extending into Athens County, Ohio. Covering an area of 112 acres (0.45 km2), it was founded in 1994. It is known for its sandstone cliffs. For a time, it was administered by the Ohio State Division of Wildlife, but is now administered by the Ohio Division of Nature Preserves. The nature preserve is close to the Washington-Athens County border.
Mohican State Park is a 1,110-acre (450 ha) public recreation area located on the south shore of Pleasant Hill Lake, five miles (8.0 km) south of Loudonville in Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The state park is located along Ohio SR 3 and Ohio SR 97 and is surrounded by the 4,525-acre (1,831 ha) Mohican-Memorial State Forest. The Clear Fork of the Mohican River flows through the park carving a narrow gorge and joins the Black Fork about a half-mile east of the park to form the Mohican River. The park is open for year-round recreation including camping, hiking, boating, mountain biking, fishing, and picnicking.
Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve is a deep, cool gorge, which is only 100 feet wide in places and is considered by some to be the deepest in Ohio. The cliffs above the gorge are about 200 feet tall. The valley floor is covered in many species of plants, such as ferns, hemlock, and various wildflowers. It is located within Hocking Hills State Park.
Revis Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as Revis Hill Prairie Nature Preserve, is a 412.7-acre (167.0 ha) state park located six miles south of Easton in Mason County, Illinois. It is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) as a tallgrass prairie nature preserve and as a fish and wildlife area managed for deer hunting.
Clear Creek Metro Park is a nature preserve located at 185 Clear Creek Road in Rockbridge, Ohio, just off U.S. Route 33. It is part of the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system. It also contains the largest Ohio State Nature Preserve. Open 6:30 am until dark, the park is home to over 800 plant species and over 150 species of birds.
Lake Logan State Park is an Ohio state park in Hocking County, Ohio, United States. Lake Logan State Park is located in Falls Township, Hocking County, Ohio. Lake Logan Dam is directly accessible off State Route 664 just southwest of the county seat of Logan. Lake Logan State Park lies in the Hocking Valley, formed by the Hocking River. Lake Logan was created in 1955 with the construction of the Lake Logan Dam on Clear Fork Creek, a tributary of the Hocking River. Lake Logan is a 400-acre (160 ha) lake and is open to fishing, boating, ice fishing, ice boating and swimming.
