How little of Ohio is federal land
The Congressional Research Service puts federal ownership in Ohio at 305,753 acres out of 26,222,080, which is 1.2 percent. The split by agency is Forest Service 244,357, Department of Defense 30,779, National Park Service 20,497 and Fish and Wildlife Service 10,120. The BLM row is zero, and the BLM national route layer that this site uses for motorized mileage holds no Ohio records at all, so no BLM figure appears anywhere on this page.
That is the whole of it. There is no basin-and-range grid of open public land here, no wilderness study areas to camp on, no long federal dirt corridors. Ohio has one national forest, one national park, a handful of refuges, and a set of reservoirs built by the Army Corps of Engineers. Everything else that looks green on a map is state forest, state park, county or metro park land, or private ground.
It follows that route planning in Ohio is planning around named properties rather than around a region. You pick a forest, a lake or a byway, find out what that specific office allows, and drive between them on public highway. The distances are short and towns are close together, which is the compensation.
Source 1
The Wayne National Forest, in three pieces
The Wayne sits in the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio and is managed as three units from two ranger district offices, at Nelsonville and Ironton, plus a field office at Marietta. The Athens Unit covers Athens, Hocking, Perry and Vinton counties and totals 72,843 acres. The Ironton Ranger District covers Lawrence, Scioto, Gallia and Jackson counties and totals 107,090 acres. The Marietta Unit fills in the eastern side along the Ohio River.
The forest was assembled from old farmland and mineland, and it says so. Its own description of the region is a landscape healing from exploitation in the 1800s and early 1900s, with ghost towns, abandoned mines, human-made ponds and old strip mines everywhere. The Hanging Rock OHV trails run through ground strip-mined in the 1960s and 1970s, and 51 of the ponds left behind are open to fishing.
For a driver the useful numbers are these: over 400 miles of trail for hiking, OHV riding, mountain biking and horseback riding; 79 miles of horse trail; 145 miles of motorized trail; two scenic byways; and twelve campgrounds. The forest also warns that cell service can be spotty to non-existent in many places and that GPS is sometimes unreliable, so carry a paper backup.
Source 5
The Corps of Engineers built most of the lakes
The Corps Lakes Gateway lists 37 Army Corps projects in Ohio, from Alum Creek and Berlin in the north to Paint Creek and William H. Harsha in the south, plus seven pools of the Ohio River itself. Four Corps districts touch the state: Buffalo, Huntington, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
Three of the six federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach in Ohio are on Corps ground: Mill Creek at Berlin Lake in Mahoning County, Mohawk Dam in Coshocton County and North Branch Kokosing River Lake in Knox County. Mill Creek takes reservations in the federal database; the other two are first come, first served.
Not every facility at a Corps lake is run by the Corps. Its own lake pages mark some sites as Corps managed and print the rest in italics as managed by others, which is why the same reservoir can carry a federal dam and a campground run by somebody else. The rules that apply to your night are whoever posts the campground, so read the sign at the entrance rather than the name on the dam.
Source 34
Twenty-four state forests do the work
The Division of Forestry describes a system of 24 state forests covering more than 200,000 acres, and this is where most of Ohio driving, riding and camping on public land happens. Shawnee is the largest. Its own page calls it more than 60,000 acres and the State Forest Guide table gives 64,735, with nearly 8,000 acres set aside as wilderness where public motorized travel has been eliminated. Zaleski, at 27,822 acres, is second and runs the only state-owned sawmill in Ohio. Tar Hollow, at 16,446 acres, is third.
State forests are open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., except Hocking State Forest and the four all-purpose vehicle areas, which close from a half hour after sunset until a half hour before sunrise. Camping is permitted only in areas provided for it, and recreational use of motor vehicles is restricted to areas designated for that use. Three backpack trails carry walk-in camps: Shawnee with 50 miles and seven camp areas, Zaleski with 28 miles and three, Tar Hollow with 21 miles and one.
Fire is a real part of the calendar here, not a western import. The Division says carelessness causes an average of 500 wildfires a year in Ohio, burning 1,600 acres, almost all of it close to homes and buildings, and it runs spring and autumn fire danger periods when state forest crews are out suppressing fires on state and private land.
- 01Shawnee, the office at West Portsmouth: 64,735 acres, 59 miles of hiking, 63 of horse and hiking trail, a 50-mile backpack trail and an 8,000-acre wilderness area
- 02Zaleski, the office at Zaleski: 27,822 acres, 28 miles of hiking, 31 of horse and hiking trail, a 28-mile backpack trail
- 03Tar Hollow, the office at Londonderry: 16,446 acres, 31 miles of hiking, 25 of horse and hiking trail, a 21-mile backpack trail
- 04Brush Creek: 13,518 acres. Vinton Furnace: 12,086 acres. Pike: 12,531 acres in 13 separate tracts
- 05Hocking, in Hocking County: 9,815 acres, 40 miles of bridle trail, 23 horse campsites and a 99-acre rock climbing and rappelling area
- 06Scioto Trail: 9,600 acres. Perry: 4,706. Blue Rock: 4,578. Mohican-Memorial: 4,541. Maumee: 3,332. Richland Furnace: 2,530
Source 17
Where a vehicle may legally go
The Wayne publishes a Motor Vehicle Use Map for each of its three units, and those maps, not the look of the road, decide where you may drive. The forest is blunt about what designation means: a road or trail being on the map should not be read as encouraging or inviting use, the route may not be passable, actively maintained or safe, weather and natural events can make many of them impassable for long stretches, some are passable only by high-clearance vehicles, and many cross private land. The maps are online only, formatted to print at 34 by 44 inches.
On the forest roads themselves a 2024 forest order makes the state rulebook the federal one: operating a motor vehicle on a forest development roadway in violation of the Ohio motor vehicle code is prohibited, and so is commercial hauling. In practice that means a plated, insured, street-legal vehicle with a licensed driver, the same as anywhere in Ohio.
The motorized trails are a different world and they are not for a full-size vehicle. The Wayne allows nothing wider than 50 inches on its OHV trails and says it has no plans to widen them for side-by-sides or UTVs above that. The four state forest APV areas allow ATVs, side-by-sides, dirt bikes and dual sport motorcycles 62 inches or less. Ohio State Parks allow neither: ATVs and APVs are not permitted to be operated in a state park at all.
Source 10
Seasons: mud first, then dust, then a damp winter
The Wayne describes southeast Ohio as humid and temperate, with pleasant but rainy springs, warm humid summers reaching highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s, and chilly rather than bitter winters. It calls the temperate climate good for year-round recreation, which is true of the hiking and not of the driving.
The sentence that matters to a driver is the spring one. Flooding is common, some roads may have restricted access or be closed, trails have muddy spots and low-lying recreation sites close occasionally. Reclaimed mineland and clay hold water, and a road that was fine in September can be a rutted mess in April.
The forest is also honest about the country around it. Cell service can be spotty to non-existent in many areas, GPS units and services are sometimes unreliable, and road conditions run from maintained interstate to unmaintained dirt. Carry a paper map and tell someone where you are going.
Source 6
The gates open in April and shut in December
Ohio runs its trails on a published calendar rather than on conditions. For 2026 the Wayne scheduled its motorized trails to open on the first Friday in April, April 3, and close on the first Monday morning in December, December 7, making Sunday December 6 the last full day of riding. Horse and mountain bike trails followed the same April opening and run to the first Monday in January.
Campgrounds sit inside that window. Most opened on April 10, 2026. The reservable sites with water and electricity, Leith Run, Oak Hill and Iron Ridge, were scheduled to close October 11, while Pine Knob and Two Points stay open to December 20 for winter hunting and camping. Most of the rest, including Burr Oak Cove, Hune Bridge, Lane Farm, Lamping Homestead and Ring Mill, run to January 4, 2027. Paddle Creek Horse Camp is open all year. Trails stay open to hikers year-round even when the gates are shut.
On the state side the dates are written into rule. Pike, Perry and Richland Furnace APV areas close on the second Monday morning in December and reopen on the first Friday morning in April. Maumee does not close, so that snowmobiles can use it when conditions allow, and snowmobiles may also use designated trails at Mohican-Memorial. Bridle trails on every state forest except Maumee closed December 1, 2025 and reopened March 30, 2026.
Source 7
Passes and routes
-
Covered Bridge Scenic BywayPaved
35 miles
Marietta to Woodsfield on State Route 26
A National Forest Scenic Byway that parallels the Little Muskingum River for most of its length. The Forest Service presents it as a self-guided tour of 35 miles of scenery and history with ten marked stops, about four hours plus an hour to return to Marietta, and there are four campgrounds along it. Dropping stops 9 and 10 and returning on SR 260 makes a shorter loop. 15
- Vehicle
- Any car. Free
- Season
- Open year-round
-
Ohio River Scenic BywayPaved
The Pennsylvania line to the Indiana line along the Ohio River
One of America’s Byways, and the longest drive in the state. The Ohio Department of Transportation says it spans 14 counties in southern Ohio and covers the entire length of the Ohio River. It crosses two units of the Wayne National Forest, Ironton and Marietta, where forest campgrounds and loop trails come off it. 28
- Vehicle
- Any car
- Season
- Open year-round
-
Hocking Hills Scenic BywayPaved
The state routes around Hocking State Forest, out of Logan
One of America’s Byways, designated for what the state calls its intrinsic qualities and regional significance. It runs through the Hocking Hills and around Hocking State Forest, which holds 9,815 acres, a fire tower, 40 miles of bridle trail and the 99-acre climbing and rappelling area on Big Pine Road. ODOT publishes no length for it, so none is given here. 29
- Vehicle
- Any car
- Season
- Open year-round
-
Ohio and Erie Canalway BywayPaved
The canal corridor between Cleveland and Akron, through Cuyahoga Valley National Park
ODOT describes it as a drive alongside the historic path of the Ohio and Erie Canalway that visits Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The park has many entry points and no entry gates, charges no fee and keeps most areas open 24 hours a day, so the byway is the simplest way to see it from a vehicle. There is no camping in the park. 30
- Vehicle
- Any car
- Season
- Open year-round
-
Monday Creek OHV System
About 75 miles
Eight trailheads north of Nelsonville, including New Straitsville and Dorr Run
The largest of the Wayne’s four trail systems, shared with mountain bikers and hikers. Loading ramps are at the New Straitsville and White Oak trailheads. Helmets and eye protection are required, day and night riding is allowed with lights, and the trails stay open to hikers year-round even when the gates are shut. 12
- Vehicle
- OHVs no wider than 50 inches. Trail permit and state APV registration required
- Season
- Opened April 3 and scheduled to close December 7 in 2026
-
Hanging Rock OHV Trail System
26 miles
Hanging Rock Trailhead on Forest Road 105, off SR 650 north of US 52
Trails through ground strip-mined in the 1960s and 1970s, where some of the upland was badly scarred and the steep slopes left behind make the harder riding. Fifty-one of the ponds scattered along the trail are open to fishing. Non-motorized use of the same trails is free. 13
- Vehicle
- OHVs no wider than 50 inches. $20 for three days, $35 for the season
- Season
- Seasonally closed from winter to early spring
-
Pine Creek OHV System
About 20 miles
Telegraph, Wolcott and Lyra trailheads, north of Ironton on SR 93
The Ironton district’s smaller system, open to trail riding, hiking and mountain biking. A standing closure order covers a 3.2-mile section of the Telegraph Trail between the Telegraph Trailhead and Brushy Fork Road, which turned out to be on private land and needs rerouting, so riders enter from Lyra or Wolcott instead. 14
- Vehicle
- ATVs and off-highway motorcycles no wider than 50 inches
- Season
- Seasonally closed from winter to early spring
-
Long Ridge OHV Trail System
13 miles
Long Ridge Trailhead on SR 78 between Buchtel and Murray City
A compact group of trails on the Athens district, next door to the far larger Monday Creek system. The forest counts it among the 145 miles of motorized trail it maintains across four systems. 8
- Vehicle
- OHVs no wider than 50 inches. Trail permit required
- Season
- Same season as the rest of the Wayne’s motorized trails
-
Perry State Forest APV Area
16 miles of APV trail
4,706 acres in Perry County, with 24 miles of hiking and 8 of bridle trail
The Division of Forestry calls this the most popular public riding area in Ohio. Much of it was strip mined for coal before reclamation law, which left the rugged and sometimes barren terrain the trails use. It is also the one APV area where riding is not restricted to designated trails. The State Forest Guide table gives 22 miles rather than 16. 20
- Vehicle
- APVs 62 inches or less with an Ohio APV plate, or a plated dual sport motorcycle
- Season
- Closed from the second Monday morning in December until the first Friday morning in April
-
Pike State Forest APV Area
36 miles of APV trail, per the State Forest Guide
12,531 acres in western Pike County and eastern Highland County
The largest of the state APV systems by the Division’s own table, which also gives 15 miles of hiking and 34 of horse and hiking trail. State ownership here is broken into 13 separate irregular tracts, which the forest says makes continuous recreation facilities hard to manage, so read the forest map before you commit to a line. 21
- Vehicle
- APVs 62 inches or less. Riding restricted to designated trails
- Season
- Closed from the second Monday morning in December until the first Friday morning in April
-
Richland Furnace State Forest APV Area
11 miles of APV trail, per the State Forest Guide
2,530 acres in Jackson and Vinton counties
One of the four APV areas the Division of Forestry operates, on an old iron ore district managed for wildlife habitat, watershed protection and forest products as well as recreation. Mountain bikes are permitted on the APV trails. There are no developed facilities beyond the riding area. 22
- Vehicle
- APVs 62 inches or less. Riding restricted to designated trails
- Season
- Closed from the second Monday morning in December until the first Friday morning in April
-
Maumee State Forest APV Area
8 miles of APV trail
3,332 acres in Fulton, Henry and Lucas counties, southwest of Toledo
The only APV area in northwest Ohio and the only one open year-round. The forest also carries a 2-mile Stewardship interpretive trail, 66 miles of unmarked firelanes open to hiking and 8 miles of bridle trail, which unlike every other state forest stays open through the winter. The State Forest Guide table gives 6 miles of APV trail rather than 8. 23
- Vehicle
- APVs 62 inches or less. Riding restricted to designated trails
- Season
- Does not close in winter, so that snowmobiles can use it when conditions allow
-
Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area
6.5 miles north of Ironton on SR 93, then County Road 29
The Wayne calls this its premier developed recreation site, and it holds three of the six federal campgrounds in Ohio a vehicle can drive to. There is a 143-acre lake with electric motors only, two family campgrounds and a group campground, a beach, picnic areas, an overlook and the 46-mile Lake Vesuvius Horse Trail System, which runs from early spring to winter. 16
- Vehicle
- Any car. Camping and shelters on Recreation.gov
- Season
- Year-round, with portions closed seasonally
-
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Drive
The Lake Erie marshes east of Toledo, off SR 2
Established in 1961, Ottawa protects more than 8,000 acres of wetland, grassland and forest, and more than 10,000 acres counting the rest of its refuge complex. The auto route through the marshes is open only on dates the refuge publishes, so check before you drive out. This is the one federal driving route in Ohio that is not in the southeast hill country. 33
- Vehicle
- Any car
- Season
- Open on scheduled dates only; the parking lots and hiking trails are open daily, dawn to dusk
Rules worth knowing
- Fourteen days in thirty on the Wayne, and no more
- Forest Order 09-14-24-03, signed May 2, 2024 and still in force, prohibits occupying national forest land for more than 14 days within a consecutive 30-day period. The same order limits a developed campsite to 8 people, to three camping units of which no more than one may be wheeled, and to two motor vehicles. On the OHV systems the forest states its own version: no campsite may stay in place longer than two weeks, your camp must be at least 100 feet off the trail, your machine stays beside the trail without blocking it, and you may not ride off trail to reach camp. 11
- State forest camping is designated sites and a digital permit
- Camping is permitted on state forest land only in areas provided for it. Family campgrounds are at Fernwood and Harrison, primitive horse camps at five forests, and walk-in camps sit on the Shawnee, Zaleski and Tar Hollow backpack trails. Since September 1, 2025 the campgrounds that use the Forestry Campsite Reservation system no longer offer walk-in sites, and every camper at those sites must hold a valid digital permit issued through the reservation system. Backpack camps take no reservations and hold a 10-person limit. 18
- Corps of Engineers lakes: designated sites only
- Under 36 CFR 327.7, camping at a Corps of Engineers project is permitted only at sites or areas the District Commander designates, and camping at one or more campsites at any one project for longer than 14 days in any 30-consecutive-day period is prohibited without written permission. Leaving gear or showing up at a site without occupying it daily, in order to hold it, is also prohibited. Three of Ohio’s six drive-in federal campgrounds are on Corps ground, so this is the rule for half of them. 35
- The Wayne’s trail pass, and the 50-inch limit
- Riding a motorized trail on the Wayne needs a trail pass, and every driver and passenger aged 16 and over needs one. A seasonal pass is $35 and covers a season that generally runs April through December; a three-day pass is $20 and runs from 12:01 a.m. on the first day punched to 11:59 p.m. on the third. The pass is a decal worn on the vehicle, helmet or clothing, is assigned to one person, is not transferable and is not refundable. Hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding need no pass. The trails take nothing wider than 50 inches. 9
- State forest APV areas take 62 inches and an Ohio plate
- Maumee, Richland Furnace, Pike and Perry are the four APV areas the Division of Forestry runs. They are open to ATVs, side-by-sides, dirt bikes and dual sport motorcycles 62 inches or less in width; nothing else on a road or highway registration is permitted except a plated dual sport. APVs, utility vehicles and snowmobiles must display a valid APV plate under ORC 4519.11. Riding runs from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset, helmets meeting FMVSS218 and eye protection are required, and riders from states without reciprocity, Michigan among them, must buy an annual Temporary Operating Permit at an Ohio BMV office for $14.75 under ORC 4519.09. 19
- An Ohio APV plate is not a road plate
- The Bureau of Motor Vehicles registers all-purpose vehicles and off-road motorcycles against an Ohio certificate of title, under ORC 4503.37, and states the limit plainly: if registered, an APV is not valid to operate on public roads. The registration runs three years and expires December 31. Out-of-state residents may ride on a valid registration from their home state, and an Ohio temporary registration valid for one year is available, along with a 45-day temporary tag for an APV and a 30-day tag for an off-road motorcycle. An APV used primarily for agriculture needs no registration. 26
- No ATVs or APVs in an Ohio state park
- Ohio has plenty of state parks and none of them allow off-highway riding. The Division states that ATVs and APVs are not allowed to be operated in Ohio state parks at all, and points riders to the four Division of Forestry APV areas or to the Wayne, which it notes is federal ground and not run by the state. Park campground rules run to six people, three tents and two vehicles per site, check-in at 3 p.m. and check-out at 1 p.m., quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and collecting firewood or using a chainsaw in a park is prohibited. 24
- There is no camping in Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Ohio’s only national park does not offer camping within its boundary. The Park Service states that no camping is permitted in the national park and that backcountry camping and staying overnight in parking lots are both prohibited, and it lists nearby state park and private campgrounds instead. The park is fee-free, needs no reservation to enter and keeps most areas open 24 hours, so plan it as a day drive and sleep somewhere else. 32
- Ohio bans most open burning in spring and autumn
- Ohio Revised Code 1503.18, enforced by the Division of Forestry, prohibits most open burning in unincorporated areas during March, April, May, October and November between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Burning at those times is only permissible if the conditions in the statute’s exclusions are met, local governments and fire departments may add their own rules, and anyone who kindles a fire may be held liable for the damage it causes. On the Wayne a separate 2024 forest order bans fireworks outright and requires a working spark arrester on any internal or external combustion engine. 25
- Who plows what, and who calls a snow emergency
- The Ohio Department of Transportation maintains over 43,000 lane miles of state, federal and interstate route and plows every interstate, including through municipalities. It does not plow or treat state and federal highways inside municipalities, the Ohio Turnpike, county or township routes, city streets or private drives; those belong to local government. Winter response is run county by county. Snow emergency levels are declared by the county sheriff, not by ODOT, so check the sheriff for the county you are in rather than a statewide source. 27
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Road
Primitive Road
Road
Primitive Road
Trail
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
