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Member
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Information anyone can provide about trail riding in southern Ohio would be greatly appreciated. Looking at Shawnee State Forest and Hocking Hills State Forest but am open to any of the parks. Meeting a friend from Knoxville (I'm coming from SW Pa.) for a few days of camping & riding. Suggestions, reviews, facilities available, experiences appreciated. Thank you. |
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Regular
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Location: MI | Absolutely loved riding at Hocking Hills State Forest. We also like rustic camping which is what's at the State campground. It was first come, first serve when we were there a couple years ago, don't know if they take reservations yet. The campsites had a little space between them so you have some privacy, but finding fully level ones was a challenge. The outhouses were on the older side but functional and I thought I read or heard somewhere that the wells are not functioning so the DNR is trucking in water. They do have a stupid rule against picket lines so you have to use their often rickety triangular tie-posts, some of which were downright scary with broken / loose boards or exposed nails. And I personally saw a guy getting a ticket from the DNR officer for about $70 for tying his horse to a tree (right next to his trailer in the parking lot).
We stayed previously at Palmerosa without horses on our first trip to the area to scout it out and were very unimpressed. Had problems getting anyone on the phone before we came down or getting a return phone call. Almost no level sites except to the "permanent" campers. No rules enforced so the stereo blasting past one in the morning was kinda annoying. The shower house was an older cinder block building but functional enough. We never tried the on-site restaurant so no comments there. And you had to do some road riding to the get the trails whereas the trails were directly connected to the state forest campground.
Heard lots of good things about Three Reasons Farm, but when we checked they were on the pricey side. Especially when compared to free at the state forest campground.
Just this last fall we took a trip to both the Zaleski State Forest and Tar Hollow State Forest in the same week. Both had decent (free) campgrounds. We liked the campground and trails at Zaleski a lot better. It was smaller and quieter and we enjoyed the trails more. A little more variety to the trails if I recall. Tar Hollow had some trails that were very steep and rocky. If I can figure out how to post a link I have a description of our trip along with pictures on another forum. |
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Regular
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Location: MI | Zaleski and Tar Hollow trip link |
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Regular
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Location: MI | Cool, that worked. And I forgot to say that Hocking Hills was definitely our favorite of the area so far. Some really nice views and rock formations you can ride to. Plus the parks in the area you can drive to are fantastic - Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave, Rock House, etc. |
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Member
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Thanks so much for your info. I have heard a lot of good about Hocking Hills. Does anyone know anything about Shawnee? Only reason I am even considering Shawnee is it is a bit closer to my friend, but as I am hauling the trailer & horses she is at my mercy! |
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 Veteran
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Location: ohio | Shawnee is the best out of the four only because you can usually get a spot there unless it is a holiday. There are 65 sites, all side by side and everyone's campfire's are in the back of the sites which leaves little room for privacy. Most spots are grassy with a little shade, only a few big shade trees. The horses are all tied to posts or make your own hi-lines from post to post, across the camp road from the camping sites. No electric fences, etc. There are two pit toilets that are heaviley used. There is a run-off creek behind the campsites that some people put their food scraps in and most horses won't drink the water. The only water at camp is a small pond that is over run with lilly pads. Unless it is a dry season or summer, you can find water in the creeks along most trails. So better have plenty of water for the horses. The trails are long with some gravel road riding, but kept up very well due to an active horse council group. There are a lot of rocks and hills and nice rest areas and the views are beautiful! This is a state forrest so there is no fee. There is a nice little private camp grounds a few miles away called "Ben's Happy Trails" which is nice. You won't find any stores or restarants for many miles and there is no cell phone service at camp. The camp road is quite a challenge for big rigs because there are narrow curvy bridges, 6 of them I think. Over all it is a nice place and worth the trip. |
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Member
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Thanks so much for your info on Shawnee. Sounds like great riding. We have a 30' (total length) gooseneck. Do you think we would have a problem getting in? |
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Veteran
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Location: ohio | No problem. I just meant the County road is kinda slow going because of the one lane bridges that are built in curves. It is like your front is meeting your back! When you take the final turn off to the camp road there is a sign that says Bear Lake - that is the horse camp. It is all paved. I forgot to mention we did see a Rattle snake on the trail last April! |
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Location: Dayton, OHio | There is a new private campground at Hocking next to the state campground I can give a huge thumbs up on. Cowboy Larry's Horsecamp: 937-216-3252. There are 9 sites, as of last season he has electric and water at the campground but not every site, with plans to run to every site by this year. Bring an extension cord. There are really nice 12x12 pens, well built. Getting a big rig in there is tricky but possible. Larry can talk you through how to park. I've seen plenty of big rigs in there with no problem, but I'm sure Larry helped park 'em. It's a new campground, so not too many people know about it yet. It's located .3 miles north of the state campground. Great trail access point.In my opinion, Hocking is the best riding in this area. It's been voted one of the top ten riding destinations by someone...Trail Rider magazine I think. I've ridden everywhere in southern ohio. Hocking is the best. Beautiful box canyons, great views of interesting rock formations. It is rugged, rocky and hilly. Shoes/boots/in shape horse recommended.Other great places I like are Tar Hollow, Zaleski, Pike Lake. The Ohio Horseman's council website has trail maps for all the popular riding places in Ohio. http://www.ohiohorsemanscouncil.com/Trail%20Info%20page%20items/tra... Have a great trip to Ohio!
Edited by TPompei 2011-02-21 8:06 AM
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Veteran
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Location: ohio | I have seen this campground. Several times it was full and then others the gate was locked. Thank you for the phone number. We stayed at HH last Memorial Day. It used to be my favorite but like any place you get tired of it. So many trails have been closed and the timbering just goes on and on. It used to be beautiful 20 years ago. I do appreciate all that the Horse Council and others have done to keep the trails nice and re-worked. I guess Zaleski is my favorite just because it was my first place I ever horse camped so long a go, its like home. You know all the locals. We used to camp somewhere every other week but we have slowed down some. I can't believe we would go to Salt Fork for three days and drive all the way home and work the next day. Must have been much younger than ! |
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Thanks everyone for your info. Now I just have to decide where to go... And now it sounds like I need to find info on Zalinski for other trips! Does anyone know if the Ohio Horse Council will have a booth set up at the Equine Affaire? I know several years ago they did and I was able to get first hand info on some of the parks. |
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Forget my last posted question about the Ohio Horsemans Council and the Equine Affaire. I just checked online and see that they will be there. I will check them out there. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
Location: Ohio | We were at Hocking Hills in mid October. The trails, the riding, the camping, everything was just gorgeous. There is/was a lot of logging going on, but thats to be expected. We never seen or heard the machinerey, just rode through the areas. The latrines were, well, in a word, gross. You have a roof over your head and a hole in the ground. There is partitions, but no doors. Plan to bring a porta-potty for your sake, or if your trailer has a bathroom, even better. No showers in the state camp. The well water pump went bad and the water lines collapsed to the spickets so the park service has a big water truck (1000 gal) parked pretty centrally. They were pretty good about keeping it filled, but we only needed it once. Our horses seemed to like the water just fine. We carry almost 200 gallons of water to places like that. The sites are pretty spread out and for a trailer your size, you'll want a pull through. Mine is 28ft and the pull through made it much easier. Earlier post was right, you need to bring some 2x6's to put under the tires to level the camper.
I would highly recommend riding at Hocking. The views, caves, and canyons are just amazing. The state camp needs some TLC, but its free. Can't complain too much. Also, if your horses are used to riding barefoot, they will be fine. We rode 7 long days barefoot with zero issues as well as many rides before and after. anyway..
We did go and visit 3 Reasons horse camp and will stay there the next time we go. The owner is just awesome. She helped my inlaws, wife and I a TON. I can't say enough good things about her and her family. Price to stay is irrelevant after what she did for us. Its small, but there is water and electric at every site and the farm is beautiful. I believe she is in the process of building cabins back in the hills to stay in and ride from. Might be worth looking in to.
We plan to visit both Shawnee and Tar Hollow in the next few months. I have heard that Tar Hollow can become somewhat of a party and can go late into the night on busy weekends. My wife and inlaws have been to both parks several times and love to ride them, I have not been. Tar hollow is only about 30 minutes from Hocking so you could split your time and ride both places if you wanted to. |
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Location: ohio | I would like to add to Hocking Hills. If you can ride 6-7 hours, it is worth it to ride to Old Man's Cave. You take the Buckeye trail at the repelling area, the trail splits one way for horses and one way for hikers at the creek crossing. There is a mile maybe of gravel road riding when you get close to the park. There is a nice area to tie your horses up with picnic tables. Last May, the trail was marked pretty well. It was our second attempt at it, but we made it that time! |
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Regular
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Location: MI | I'll add that my horses did fine barefoot at Hocking for the four days we rode. And I agree that you have to be willing to accept the lack of amenities at the state campground, but I found it worth it (and I like the more peaceful campgrounds, just wish they'd let you use a picket line). I didn't remember you could ride to Old Man's Cave, we just drove over and hiked around. It's so nice an area you'll want to spend lots of time there and I'd hate to leave my horse unattended for that long (although if you had someone who wasn't interested in hiking the horses would appreciate the break I'm sure)
As for Tar Hollow, I'm glad we went in November - and we still had some "uncivilized" behavior from the three other campers there. I just don't think a construction style generator belongs in a campground period. And leaving barking dogs out for eight+ hours unattended is a little less than courteous. Oh well, the riding was nice and peaceful (except the #1 trail straight up out of the middle of the campground - glad I hiked that before trying to ride it). Certainly can choose from a workout to more relaxing ride depending on your style. |
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 Veteran
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Location: Helena, Ohio | Hi All... I know this is an old thread, but I'm looking for the address for Cowboy Larrys campground in hocking hills. Would anybody happen to know the address? Thanks! |
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| sorry i dont, it is on the other side of the road 1/4 mile from the state horse camp |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 326
Location: central IL | Couple things~Always wanted to camp at HH, but the description of the poor tie racks scares me to death. Tying a horse to something as depicted is an accident waiting to happen. I don't know what campground Sdlepalpm is describing in Shawnee, but just want campers to know that there are numerous great campgrounds with trails right into the forest, nice showerhouses, pens, electric/water and some with cabins to rent. Shawnee is especially beautiful this time of the year. |
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Veteran
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Location: ohio | Rockin horse 72, Larry's campground is on Keifel RD, Rockbridge, OH. To get full information you might call him at 737-216-3252. I haven't camped there but my friends have. They love it. I'll take primitive camping any time over all the annimities of close quarters. The Shawnee I was talking about is in Southern Ohio, Shawnee STATE FOREST. The horse camp is called Bear Lake. No electric or running water there. |
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Member
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Location: Ohio | Good news for the campers that hate the triangle ties at the State forest campground. Weather permiiting on Nov 13, the Fairfield County Chapter of the OHC will be taking out the triangles and installing cable high lines. I don't know if they will get all of 'em done in one day but it's a start in the right direction. It is the result of the continued cooperation of the Hocking forest manager and the OHC. |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: central IL | Sdlepalpm, Thank you so much for explaining to me that the Shawnee you referred to is a state forest in OH. I had no idea of its existence. It's always great learning new places to ride although I do like to have electric at my site and preferably water, too. Back in the early 70's I camped with a girl pal, her father- in -law and a buddy of his. The guys were hunters who liked to hunt down in Shawnee Nat'l Forest (in IL), so they suggested we take the horses and ride down there. We pulled in at dark just off the side of the road in some little clearing~camp. Pitch black at night. No electric nor water. No people except our group of 4. Horses tied to the trailer. I thought it was spooky. To this day, I have no idea what area of the forest we camped in that trip. It was all new to me at the time. I prefer neighbors and amenitites.    And some light poles around the area. |
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Regular
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Location: MI | That's great news about the triangles being replaced. We went down with a group less than a month ago and saw the new high lines at Airplane Rock and was very excited about it. We stayed at the Spotted Horse Ranch because others in the group were worried about the lack of reservations after a 5-6 hour drive. I can't give a positive review of our camp so I'll just say how nice it is to hear about the high lines. |
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Veteran
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Location: ohio | aceliberty, there is a private campground near by down at Ohio's Little Smokies, Shawnee. It is called Ben's Happy Trails campgrounds. He is a really nice guy and he has electric, showers and he takes reservations. He even has a few nice little cabins to rent. The trail head is only a mile I am guessing. A lot of people do stay there. I admit, being the only ones in a campgrounds is scary, especially in this day and time. Yes, Hocking Hills is getting new hi lines this month. The campgrounds does need some work and I will miss the old triangles! |
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Veteran
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Location: Helena, Ohio | We just got back from my Hocking Hills camping weekend. Thanks for all the help on getting there!! LOL!! We had a great time and I would definately recommend camping at Cowboy Larrys! |
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| cowboy Larry said he is going to add a few more sites for next year, a great place to camp, I just hope he takes that one tree out :) |
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 Veteran
Posts: 218
Location: Ohio | Stayed at Cowboy Larry's this last November. It is VERY tight getting a bigger rig in. We have a 38ft total length gooseneck pulled by a 350 long bed dually. We almost didn't get it out. Getting in can be tough too because you have to turn very sharp to get into the parking area. The sites are nice. The paddocks need some work when it is wet, some can be an absolute swamp. Larry came to our campsite and he told us he is going to upgrade the paddocks for 2013 as well as make the camp a pull through. Not the sites but at least you can come in one way and continue out the oposite end. In any case he is 100% better than the state park. Water and electric at many of the sites and when he gets the paddocks leveled and the footing dry, it will be very nice. His price is $25 a night for the water, electric hook up. |
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Camping & riding in Southern Ohio
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