Logan County. Our own 3DEP query at the summit reads 1,548 feet. The low point is about 455 feet on the Ohio River
Skills Ohio tests
Mud driving, water crossings after rain, and reversing a loaded vehicle a long way down a narrow forest road, which is the most common way an Ohio day goes wrong. Add winching to trees in soft ground, because that is what is there, and navigating from a printed Motor Vehicle Use Map where cell service fails.
For riders, the state sets some of the curriculum itself: helmets to the FMVSS218 standard and eye protection at the state forest APV areas, a valid driver licence for operators 16 and over, and under-16 riders accompanied by a licensed adult. A course should cover trail etiquette too, since the Wayne shares its motorized trails with hikers and mountain bikers.
Training is the cheapest upgrade there is. It costs less than a bumper, weighs nothing, and works on every vehicle you will ever own.
Common courses
01Driving: line choice, throttle and brake control, airing down, spotting
02Recovery: safe rigging, winching and kinetic recovery
03Field repair: tires, fluids, electrical faults and improvised fixes
04Navigation and communication
05Wilderness first aid
How to choose a course
Small classes and real terrain.
01Ask about class size and how much time you spend driving rather than watching.
02Ask whether you train in your own vehicle. You should.
03Ask about the instructors' certification and how long they have been teaching.
04Ask what terrain the course uses, and what to bring.
Why it is worth it
A trained driver breaks less, gets stuck less and recovers more safely. Most vehicle damage on the trail comes from speed and poor line choice, and most recovery injuries come from rigging that someone guessed at.
Questions people ask
I have driven dirt roads for years. Is a course worth it?
Most experienced drivers say the recovery day alone was worth it. Rigging a winch pull safely is not something to work out for the first time when you are stuck.
Do I need a built vehicle to attend?
No. Most introductory courses are designed for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, and learning what a stock vehicle can do is the point.
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.
