Great state forest with plenty of trail choices for hiking, backpacking, horseback, or biking. The views from the peaks are some of the best I've seen in Ohio!
I went backpacking here with my brother and my son a few weeks ago and had a pretty good time. The trails are well marked with blazes and it was easy to find the camp seven where we stayed the night. Registration was a super easy self serve kiosk.
The day hike options aren't the most scenic in Ohio, but a good length and intensity. The day hike parking is ideal a little further down the road (38.732845, -83.188039) where the day hike trail-head is more accessible.
Rugged yet accessible, fun, inexpensive, and in a beautiful location! We enjoyed our stay here - the kids loved meeting Smokey Bear and taking paddle boat rides.
We only hiked from the trail head to camp seven, about four and a half miles out and then back the next morning. I'd like to return again to try and do the whole forty mile trail and maybe even explore the wilderness trail on the west side of the loop.
The only reason I gave this trail three stars is that there isn't much to see. It's just miles and miles of trees and trails as far as I could tell. I didn't see any interesting rock formations or overlooks or anything. It's quite possible that I just didn't see that part of the trail. And if that's the case I will amend my review at that time.
Overall a good trail for backpacking. I definitely plan to return to explore more of the trail.
Wonderful place!!! The main lobby was beautiful. The porch lookout was amazing! The pools were warm and the lifeguard was very attentive. The staff was very nice. Considering the fact when we arrived the power was out. I can only imagine the amount of rude people they had to deal with that day. Many of the rude opinions on here are of old high class people who believe the world absolutely revolves around them and at a drop of a hat everything should be made the way they want it. I witnessed an older couple complaining about the power being out to the front desk because they couldn't change their rooms..... The lady and young man handled that situation better than I would have. Come here for the peace and be happy and peaceful. Your stay Will be much better.
Once we got to the campsite it had plenty of room to set up and had established fire rings. Having access to water, even in the winter months, was also very helpful.
Shawnee State Park is a US Park based in West Portsmouth, Kentucky. Shawnee State Park is located at 4404 OH-125, West Portsmouth, OH 45663, USA.
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