Logan County. Our own 3DEP query at the summit reads 1,548 feet. The low point is about 455 feet on the Ohio River
When a guide is worth it in Ohio
The case for a guide here is not technical difficulty. It is knowing which of the Wayne’s designated roads are actually passable after a wet spring, which of Pike State Forest’s 13 separate tracts connect, and which trail sections are under a closure order, such as the 3.2 miles of the Telegraph Trail that turned out to sit on private land.
A local also knows the calendar without looking it up: motorized trails from the first Friday in April to the first Monday in December, APV areas shut from the second Monday in December, bridle trails closed December to late March everywhere except Maumee.
A guide earns the fee in the places where the map runs out of detail. They know which wash flooded last week, which gate is locked, where the fuel is, and how long the hard section really takes with a group.
A guided trip usually brings
01Route knowledge and current conditions
02Permits and access already arranged
03Recovery skill and equipment
04A pace that suits the group
05The history and natural history of the place
How to choose a guide
Ask the questions a land manager would.
01Ask whether they hold the permits and insurance required to operate commercially on the land they use.
02Ask about group size and the minimum vehicle requirements.
03Ask what is included: meals, camping gear, communications, a support vehicle.
04Ask about first-aid training and the plan for emergencies.
What to tell a guide
Honesty about experience makes for a better trip.
01Your vehicle and what has been done to it
02Your experience off pavement
03Who is coming, including children and dogs
04Your dates, and what you most want to see
Questions people ask
Do I need a guide?
Not for most travel. A guide earns the fee on routes that are remote, technical or hard to get permits for, and on first trips where you would rather learn than guess.
Can I join a guided trip in my own vehicle?
That is how most overland guiding works. The guide leads in their vehicle, you drive yours, and the trip sets minimum requirements for the vehicles that come.
How high is Ohio?
From Portsmouth at 534 feet to Campbell Hill at 1,550.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
BellefontaineLogan County, at 1,245 feet the highest of the towns in this guide. Campbell Hill, the state high point at 1,550 feet, is just east of town.1,245 ft
WoodsfieldMonroe County seat and the north end of the Covered Bridge Scenic Byway on SR 26.1,204 ft
LoudonvilleIn the Mohican valley. Mohican-Memorial State Forest, the one state forest besides Maumee where snowmobiles may use designated trails, is a few miles south at Perrysville.974 ft
New LexingtonPerry County seat, the nearest town of any size to the Perry State Forest APV area, which the Division of Forestry calls the most popular public riding area in Ohio.956 ft
New StraitsvilleIn Perry County on SR 595. The New Straitsville OHV trailhead is two miles south, one of two on Monday Creek with loading ramps.793 ft
McArthurVinton County seat on US 50. Gateway to Zaleski State Forest, the second largest, and its backpack camps.763 ft
PeninsulaIn the Cuyahoga Valley between Cleveland and Akron, inside the national park’s 33,000 acres and on the Ohio and Erie Canalway Byway. No camping anywhere in the park.754 ft
LoganOn US 33 at the gateway to Hocking Hills. Hocking State Forest and the Hocking Hills Scenic Byway both leave town on state routes.740 ft
AthensWhere US 33 meets US 50 on the edge of the Athens Unit. The Forest Service names it as one of three cities that make a good place to start or end a visit, for lodging and dining.719 ft
JacksonJackson County seat, one of the four counties in the Ironton Ranger District, between the Pine Creek OHV system and Richland Furnace State Forest.688 ft
SwantonNorthwest Ohio, southwest of Toledo. Maumee State Forest and its APV area, the only one of the four that stays open through winter.684 ft
NelsonvilleOn US 33 about 70 miles southeast of Columbus. Wayne National Forest headquarters, welcome center and the Athens Ranger Station. Monday Creek OHV trails start just north.679 ft
ChillicotheOn US 23 and US 50. The Division of Forestry’s Chillicothe district office, and the way in to Scioto Trail and Tar Hollow state forests.634 ft
MariettaAt the mouth of the Muskingum on the Ohio River. South end of the Covered Bridge Scenic Byway and home of the Wayne’s Marietta field office.612 ft
IrontonOn US 52 at the Ohio River, at the edge of the Ironton Ranger District. Lake Vesuvius and its three campgrounds are 6.5 miles north on SR 93.551 ft
PortsmouthWhere US 23 meets US 52. Shawnee State Forest, the largest in the state, starts just west on US 52.534 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Campbell HillThe highest point in Ohio, in Logan County. Our own 3DEP reading at the USGS point is 1,548 feet1,550 ft
Mount LoganRoss County, above the Scioto valley at Chillicothe. Measured for this chart; no agency publishes a figure for it1,246 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
