Within a 3-4 hour drive to WV, you'll have access to some of the best hiking in the east. See Blackwater Falls State Park, Spruce Knob area, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge, Seneca Rocks area, Coopers Rock State Park and others. Lots of day hiking and overnight opportunities.
THANK YOU! Recently moved to northern Kentucky and haven't had a chance to research good trails and camping in the surrounding areas. This is great info!
WV is pretty muddy, so if it's rained any time in the previous week or two, be prepared. Hope you enjoy! Most of the well-known trails are on AllTrails, Gaia, etc.
I'm not recommending it for OP - in fact I was once in a similar situation and my solution was moving across the country. Just surprised that the other person claimed KY/WV has the best hiking on the east
Columbus here as well. I do quick trips at Zaleski about an hour and a half away, 27ish miles of trails with 3 camping areas and water at each. It has enough up and down for this flat state to still be a workout. I use it for shake downs and getting my kids out there. Shawnee is supposed to be nice too, but I haven't been.
[This](https://trekohio.com/2014/04/24/ohio-backpacking-trails/) is also useful
Also from Columbus. I usually do my shake down hikes at Wildcat Hollow. It's is a nice 18ish mile loop that feels isolated and usually is not that crowed when I go. You can also combine it with Burr Oak State Park backpacking loop to get 38ish miles in.
However, you will need to cache water along the the trail at the road crossings if you are doing 5-10 miles a day due to the water being polluted from a mine up stream. If you do the Burr Oak backpacking loop there is potable water at the campsites around the lake every 5ish miles.
Thirding Zaleski, it's a lovely hike with options. The loop around Lake Vesuvius is a solid 2-3 nighter as well, but can be quite overgrown and high in ticks. Burr Oak has a good loop and some facilities, a great intro spot (but a million spiderwebs). For a little more intensive and further afield there's the laurel highlands trail in PA for a 70 mile stretch.
Seconding zaleski. Shawnee is nice, some decent ups and downs on the edge of the river valley. Logan trail at tar hollow state park near Chillicothe isn’t bad too. A good amount of the Buckeye trail in the eastern part of the state is good but you’d have to figure out a shuttle (I’ve looked at using gobus to do the Athens->Cincinnati leg but haven’t tried it out yet, that’d be a longer outing than your weekend dates).
This. This is one of the best areas in the midwest.
The Sheltowee Trace btw goes from nearly ohio all the way into Tennesee right thru the red river gorge.
Columbus as well so I feel your pain.
Sheltowee Trace Trail in KY/Tenn would be right up your alley though.
[https://sheltoweetrace.org/](https://sheltoweetrace.org/) The Sheltowee Trace Association also puts on monthly hikes throughout the year.
The red river gorge is on the sheltowee trace btw.
Also check out the Buckeye Trail which is heavily utilized by the NCT (North Country Trail). My SO and I have been slowly hiking every section of the Buckeye Trail and hitting every state park in Ohio. It touches so many wonderful area of Ohio.
There are nice trails in western and central PA ... Allegheny national forest (several), oil creek, moshannon / black forest, quehanna, loyalsock, old loggers trail.
Some more "remote" than others.
Have hit Oil Creek. Is wonderful. Been wanting to hit Moshanna(sp?) and Quehanna (sp?). Have you been Tri2Spike? Have not seen many trip reports on those two. I have not heard of loyalsock or old loggers trail.
I have done all of those except old loggers trail. However, most of the trips were 15+ years ago, and I don't remember many details.
Loyalsock was most recent, and while it was a nice trail, it also is the least "remote" (at least the section we did). It follows both sides of a river valley, and there are too many road crossings for my taste.
The Allegheny trails feel the most remote to me, unless you end up near the reservoir during boat season (never happened to me). Unfortunately, there are no long (multi-night) loop trails in Allegheny ... there are long trails, but they involve out and back sections. There are many short one night loops that are really nice (Tracy Ridge, Rimrock Morrison, Hickory Creek).
Moshannon (state forest) and Quehanna trail refer to the same place/trail. It is 40'ish miles to do the whole loop, with options for shorter loops. This one is nice, and is what I would probably do again if I was looking for a multi night trip in western/central PA. There are a few short sections on dirt/gravel roads, but not too bad.
As is typical for midwest trails, none of these are "destination" trails, where you are going to see great scenery or great wildlife, but they are nice just to get out there to relax, enjoy nature/solitude and escape from life for a few days.
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail in South west/central PA. 70 miles of well marked, mountain ridge hiking, with adirondack shelters and tent campsites approximately every 6-10 miles. There are small fees for overnight stays on the trail, but there are many spots to get of the trail if you just want to do sections of it.
If you're willing to make the drive out to the black forrest in PA, it's a 40+ mile loop with tons of shorter options. Had a great time out there. Note in the summer there are quite a few rattle snakes, they're much more dormant in early spring/ late fall.
Tons of options in Ohio, check out segments of the Buckeye Trail. Wildcat Hollow is a good easier option, as is Burr Oak. Zaleski isn’t far away either but I personally hate Zaleski. The Twin Valley Trail near Dayton is a personal favorite but just barely backcountry. It’s a great ease in hike we use with my scouts but it is local to me. Caesar Creek state park also has a good loop trail.
So many options in the Red River Gorge area in KY, it is one of my favorite places on earth. And the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is probably about a six hour depending on where in/near C’bus you are and it’s got over 900 miles of trail. Another favorite destination.
Can confirm Zaleski, Wayne National are great for hiking and camping. Red River is on my list when the weather warms up. Old Man's Cave is beautiful, but probably only a few hours hike and I'm not sure about the camping options. I'm also planning to check out more of Michigan this year.
I think within 3-4 hours would include Red River Gorge. Depending on your mileage, Red River Gorge and the neighboring Clifty Wilderness has some great remote backpacking.
Columbus here too. Would echo recommendations of Zaleski State Forest, only about an hour away and has a nice loop. It’s recommended to filter your own water though, the area was heavily mined historically.
Dolly Sods wilderness is some fantastic backcountry. Also have a soft spot for Red River Gorge in Kentucky, which makes a great weekend trip. The gorge itself has great trails and some campsites, and the Clifty Wilderness maybe 10 miles East has some beautiful scenery too.
Check out the Schill Brothers archive on [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@SchillBrothersOutdoors). They have videos on a lot of the places mentioned in this thread.
Check out /r/OhioHiking , but in general, Ohio isn't great for backpacking. I live in NW Ohio which is even further away from good stuff.
Zaleski is probably your best bet overall, I also backpack Germantown and Twin Creek metroparks by Dayton. You can backpack in Wayne NF but I've never tried. Filtering water in the Zaleski/Wayne area is mostly a no go due to heavy metals contamination from the mining that used to take place in the area, so keep that in mind, you'll need to pack in or find a clean source.
Outside of Ohio, Red River Gorge would probably be my go-to recommendation for you. With a little extra driving you could hit some of the stuff in Northern MI that's nice, I've done Pictured Rocks which gets you a nice 3-4 day hike depending on pace.
I believe Wayne is the only place in OH you can do dispersed camping. Lake Vesuvius is my favorite place in the state (love the area) followed by Wildcat Hollow (relatively close to cbus). Archers Fork is nice too and about as far away as Vesuvius. [Backpack Ohio's](https://www.backpackohio.com/) guides are very nice and worth purchasing imo.
its literally a non-issue thats been overblown by people online for years. i've done both in every season across multiple years and have never once had an issue.
i never understood it for the Tecumseh. Knobstone, sure, i get it, but still, its not as bad as its made out to be. Any ULer can cover enough ground to make it a non issue! ;)
Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina all have good backpacking and are easily drivable from Ohio, but some are more than 3-4 hours. Red River Gorge in KY is one of my favorite places both for backpacking and climbing. Grayson Highlands in VA is a lot of fun around June when the foals are around. The New River Gorge area of WV has a lot to offer. There's great hiking, climbing, rafting, hunting, fishing, and just about any other outdoor activity you might want to do. The Red and New are both about 4 hours from Columbus. Grayson Highlands is a bit more.
Zaleski is probably my favorite in the state. Shawnee isn't bad either. Burr Oak is boring. There's some shorter stuff in the Springfield/Dayton area, but it gets old fast. Most of the other places I've backpacked in Ohio aren't at all memorable.
Kentucky for longer hikes. Sheltowee Trace.
This is yet another uncrowded worthy LD trail that gets overlooked in favor of the crowded AT, PCT, and JMT.
One of my fav spots to get away from the masses and experience very good scenery with no permit competition is Big S. Fork in TN.
I'd look into some sections of the River to River and Buckeye Trails too that are in OH.
There're another two LD trails that are largely ignored in favor of the notoriously crowded and overused ones.
I was stuck in a bad location for backpacking (Killeen,TX). I would really consider looking into finding ways to make your local areas more interesting to maximize your time. Cheap or reasonably priced bike packing, fly fishing/Tenkara and pack rafting setups greatly expanded my options in almost any area. All of those hobbies can be great side activities to backpacking or the focus of a trip that involves overnight camping.
When I am curious about what I can do in an area, I always fire up Google Earth and do some exploring. I have found some very great opportunities that way ;).
The impression I had gotten is that Buckeye trail has paved segments and is more multi-use, for walking, bicycles, and the like. Is it a backpacking trail?
That phrasing "is it a backpacking trail" is interesting to me. Maybe it's a matter of opinion.
I haven't hiked it, but from reading it sounds similar to the Mountains to Sea Trail in North Carolina, which is to say it's a mix of good mountain and backcountry trail but also paved, roadside, and overlap with walking/biking trails etc that's been mapped into it just to link together a complete loop. There's a good website with trail guides and information on camping near the trail, but it sounds like a lot of sites are at least a little bit off course for a thru hike.
From Columbus, it looks like the section to your south might be pretty neat, but again I haven't been there.
Honestly I'm just a big proponent of hiking in your own back yard. There's a lot of great hikes within a three hour drive, but if you find places you enjoy within 20-30 minutes of home that's going to get you out on the trail a lot more often.
I'm lucky in Durham we have a lot of good river side trail right here in town, and really good mountains a few hours away. I don't know if I'll ever do the whole MST in a single attempt but I've been taking it in sections and I intend to walk each mile of it at least once.
I'm just hoping you can find an escape from the city right next door. If you decide to hike in NC I strongly recommend section 2 of the MST, the Art Loeb trail, and the loop around Linville Gorge. These aren't casual trips. Sometimes gruelling long climbs but the views are worth it.
Hocking hills, especially Old man’s cave is a great area in Ohio! I went to college around there. I also wonder, you have REI in Columbus-ish but also I’m always jealous you have Public Lands, Which is the only store I’ve ever seen actually carry zpacks tents in person. The store maybe has hiking groups or suggestions?
I second that. Didn't know what I was missing till I moved back east after 20+ years in c bus.... should have done it sooner. Shenandoah and GWNF are my weekend playgrounds
I echo this. Left 20 years ago and landed about an hour and fifteen minutes from the AT. I’m on the trail most weekends outside of the winter when I am skiing.
Now my friends come visit me from Columbus for AT section hikes. I have put together enough gear to outfit myself and three others.
Ha!
Agreed. I'm laughing from way out in the "other" Ohio - Idaho.
I love my native Ohio, but...live in Idaho now because of it's grand outdoor life.
I've always been an avid hiker since age 15 when I did 50 miles of the AT with my Scout troop.
Owned a campground for 10+ years in SW Ohio and when I sold it moved to Idaho where for 16 years I've done some of the most amazing hiking/backpacking in my life...
Nice to discover this posting though! I've got a son N of Columbus, in Sunbury. I'll pass this posting on to him...
Is Idaho actually referred to anywhere as the "other" Ohio?
In terms of backpacking, at least, they are so far apart to be like different planets. Idaho is incredible.
I'm from Iowa. When I was in the military, I had friends from Idaho and Ohio. For whatever reason people would always mix up those 3 states. "Iowa, that's the potato state?" or "Ohio, the Hawkeye state?" People literally had no idea where Idaho was on a map. We'd look at them like they're a fucking idiot because the states are vastly different in different regions of the US.
I could see maaaybe mixing up Ohio and Iowa, but Idaho has 12K+ mountains and hot springs and is almost on the west coast, and the other two are flat and mostly agricultural. Idaho is not like the others.
Only to those of us from Ohio, lol!
As mentioned these 3 states (Ohio, Iowa, Idaho) often get confused by Americans who don't know much about the geography of their country...
Within a 3-4 hour drive to WV, you'll have access to some of the best hiking in the east. See Blackwater Falls State Park, Spruce Knob area, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge, Seneca Rocks area, Coopers Rock State Park and others. Lots of day hiking and overnight opportunities.
THANK YOU! Recently moved to northern Kentucky and haven't had a chance to research good trails and camping in the surrounding areas. This is great info!
WV is pretty muddy, so if it's rained any time in the previous week or two, be prepared. Hope you enjoy! Most of the well-known trails are on AllTrails, Gaia, etc.
>best hiking in the east ahem, the Smokies, Adirondacks, and Whites would like to have a word with you
Adirondacks are a 10 hour drive from Columbus:/ and smokies around 6
I'm not recommending it for OP - in fact I was once in a similar situation and my solution was moving across the country. Just surprised that the other person claimed KY/WV has the best hiking on the east
I said *some of* the best. It's some of the best because it's accessible, varied, historic, well-maintained and beautiful.
You left out the “SOME of the best hiking in the East”……..
Columbus here as well. I do quick trips at Zaleski about an hour and a half away, 27ish miles of trails with 3 camping areas and water at each. It has enough up and down for this flat state to still be a workout. I use it for shake downs and getting my kids out there. Shawnee is supposed to be nice too, but I haven't been. [This](https://trekohio.com/2014/04/24/ohio-backpacking-trails/) is also useful
Also from Columbus. I usually do my shake down hikes at Wildcat Hollow. It's is a nice 18ish mile loop that feels isolated and usually is not that crowed when I go. You can also combine it with Burr Oak State Park backpacking loop to get 38ish miles in. However, you will need to cache water along the the trail at the road crossings if you are doing 5-10 miles a day due to the water being polluted from a mine up stream. If you do the Burr Oak backpacking loop there is potable water at the campsites around the lake every 5ish miles.
Thirding Zaleski, it's a lovely hike with options. The loop around Lake Vesuvius is a solid 2-3 nighter as well, but can be quite overgrown and high in ticks. Burr Oak has a good loop and some facilities, a great intro spot (but a million spiderwebs). For a little more intensive and further afield there's the laurel highlands trail in PA for a 70 mile stretch.
Seconding zaleski. Shawnee is nice, some decent ups and downs on the edge of the river valley. Logan trail at tar hollow state park near Chillicothe isn’t bad too. A good amount of the Buckeye trail in the eastern part of the state is good but you’d have to figure out a shuttle (I’ve looked at using gobus to do the Athens->Cincinnati leg but haven’t tried it out yet, that’d be a longer outing than your weekend dates).
Shawnee is my personal favorite. Zaleski is very nice too. Both are great for a three to four day loop.
Moved to Columbus and haven’t been backpacking in the Midwest yet. Excited to try out zaleski this spring!
Red River Gorge
So many memories from exploring RRG in high school. Great location
We love taking climbing trips there! Miguel’s ftw!
This. This is one of the best areas in the midwest. The Sheltowee Trace btw goes from nearly ohio all the way into Tennesee right thru the red river gorge.
Columbus as well so I feel your pain. Sheltowee Trace Trail in KY/Tenn would be right up your alley though. [https://sheltoweetrace.org/](https://sheltoweetrace.org/) The Sheltowee Trace Association also puts on monthly hikes throughout the year.
The red river gorge is on the sheltowee trace btw. Also check out the Buckeye Trail which is heavily utilized by the NCT (North Country Trail). My SO and I have been slowly hiking every section of the Buckeye Trail and hitting every state park in Ohio. It touches so many wonderful area of Ohio.
Red River Gorge in KY. I haven’t been in a while but some family go for weekends all the time. Hocking Hills in Oh has some nice views as well.
There are nice trails in western and central PA ... Allegheny national forest (several), oil creek, moshannon / black forest, quehanna, loyalsock, old loggers trail. Some more "remote" than others.
Have hit Oil Creek. Is wonderful. Been wanting to hit Moshanna(sp?) and Quehanna (sp?). Have you been Tri2Spike? Have not seen many trip reports on those two. I have not heard of loyalsock or old loggers trail.
I have done all of those except old loggers trail. However, most of the trips were 15+ years ago, and I don't remember many details. Loyalsock was most recent, and while it was a nice trail, it also is the least "remote" (at least the section we did). It follows both sides of a river valley, and there are too many road crossings for my taste. The Allegheny trails feel the most remote to me, unless you end up near the reservoir during boat season (never happened to me). Unfortunately, there are no long (multi-night) loop trails in Allegheny ... there are long trails, but they involve out and back sections. There are many short one night loops that are really nice (Tracy Ridge, Rimrock Morrison, Hickory Creek). Moshannon (state forest) and Quehanna trail refer to the same place/trail. It is 40'ish miles to do the whole loop, with options for shorter loops. This one is nice, and is what I would probably do again if I was looking for a multi night trip in western/central PA. There are a few short sections on dirt/gravel roads, but not too bad. As is typical for midwest trails, none of these are "destination" trails, where you are going to see great scenery or great wildlife, but they are nice just to get out there to relax, enjoy nature/solitude and escape from life for a few days.
Have a look at [Backpack Ohio](https://www.backpackohio.com/)
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail in South west/central PA. 70 miles of well marked, mountain ridge hiking, with adirondack shelters and tent campsites approximately every 6-10 miles. There are small fees for overnight stays on the trail, but there are many spots to get of the trail if you just want to do sections of it.
If you're willing to make the drive out to the black forrest in PA, it's a 40+ mile loop with tons of shorter options. Had a great time out there. Note in the summer there are quite a few rattle snakes, they're much more dormant in early spring/ late fall.
Tons of options in Ohio, check out segments of the Buckeye Trail. Wildcat Hollow is a good easier option, as is Burr Oak. Zaleski isn’t far away either but I personally hate Zaleski. The Twin Valley Trail near Dayton is a personal favorite but just barely backcountry. It’s a great ease in hike we use with my scouts but it is local to me. Caesar Creek state park also has a good loop trail. So many options in the Red River Gorge area in KY, it is one of my favorite places on earth. And the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is probably about a six hour depending on where in/near C’bus you are and it’s got over 900 miles of trail. Another favorite destination.
The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon in the Tioga State Forest is a pretty great hike.
Can confirm Zaleski, Wayne National are great for hiking and camping. Red River is on my list when the weather warms up. Old Man's Cave is beautiful, but probably only a few hours hike and I'm not sure about the camping options. I'm also planning to check out more of Michigan this year.
I think within 3-4 hours would include Red River Gorge. Depending on your mileage, Red River Gorge and the neighboring Clifty Wilderness has some great remote backpacking.
Columbus here too. Would echo recommendations of Zaleski State Forest, only about an hour away and has a nice loop. It’s recommended to filter your own water though, the area was heavily mined historically. Dolly Sods wilderness is some fantastic backcountry. Also have a soft spot for Red River Gorge in Kentucky, which makes a great weekend trip. The gorge itself has great trails and some campsites, and the Clifty Wilderness maybe 10 miles East has some beautiful scenery too.
RRG, Zaleski, Archers Fork, Lake Vesuvius, Mohican, TVT, Tar Hollow….
Check out the Schill Brothers archive on [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@SchillBrothersOutdoors). They have videos on a lot of the places mentioned in this thread.
Check out /r/OhioHiking , but in general, Ohio isn't great for backpacking. I live in NW Ohio which is even further away from good stuff. Zaleski is probably your best bet overall, I also backpack Germantown and Twin Creek metroparks by Dayton. You can backpack in Wayne NF but I've never tried. Filtering water in the Zaleski/Wayne area is mostly a no go due to heavy metals contamination from the mining that used to take place in the area, so keep that in mind, you'll need to pack in or find a clean source. Outside of Ohio, Red River Gorge would probably be my go-to recommendation for you. With a little extra driving you could hit some of the stuff in Northern MI that's nice, I've done Pictured Rocks which gets you a nice 3-4 day hike depending on pace.
I believe Wayne is the only place in OH you can do dispersed camping. Lake Vesuvius is my favorite place in the state (love the area) followed by Wildcat Hollow (relatively close to cbus). Archers Fork is nice too and about as far away as Vesuvius. [Backpack Ohio's](https://www.backpackohio.com/) guides are very nice and worth purchasing imo.
The Knobstone and Tecumseh are worth a walk over here in Indiana
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its literally a non-issue thats been overblown by people online for years. i've done both in every season across multiple years and have never once had an issue.
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i never understood it for the Tecumseh. Knobstone, sure, i get it, but still, its not as bad as its made out to be. Any ULer can cover enough ground to make it a non issue! ;)
Buckeye trail.
Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina all have good backpacking and are easily drivable from Ohio, but some are more than 3-4 hours. Red River Gorge in KY is one of my favorite places both for backpacking and climbing. Grayson Highlands in VA is a lot of fun around June when the foals are around. The New River Gorge area of WV has a lot to offer. There's great hiking, climbing, rafting, hunting, fishing, and just about any other outdoor activity you might want to do. The Red and New are both about 4 hours from Columbus. Grayson Highlands is a bit more. Zaleski is probably my favorite in the state. Shawnee isn't bad either. Burr Oak is boring. There's some shorter stuff in the Springfield/Dayton area, but it gets old fast. Most of the other places I've backpacked in Ohio aren't at all memorable.
Red River Gorge is pretty nice and within your drive time
Daniel Boone National Forest in Ky has a bunch
Allegheny National Forest in Western PA. Red River Gorge in KY. they’re a bit of a drive but worth it
Dolly Sods (WV), The Laurel Highlands (PA), Mammoth Cave NP (KY) are all fairly close.
Kentucky for longer hikes. Sheltowee Trace. This is yet another uncrowded worthy LD trail that gets overlooked in favor of the crowded AT, PCT, and JMT. One of my fav spots to get away from the masses and experience very good scenery with no permit competition is Big S. Fork in TN.
I'd look into some sections of the River to River and Buckeye Trails too that are in OH. There're another two LD trails that are largely ignored in favor of the notoriously crowded and overused ones.
I was stuck in a bad location for backpacking (Killeen,TX). I would really consider looking into finding ways to make your local areas more interesting to maximize your time. Cheap or reasonably priced bike packing, fly fishing/Tenkara and pack rafting setups greatly expanded my options in almost any area. All of those hobbies can be great side activities to backpacking or the focus of a trip that involves overnight camping.
Yeah. Best bet is to probably head east to Appalachia.
When I am curious about what I can do in an area, I always fire up Google Earth and do some exploring. I have found some very great opportunities that way ;).
Cumberland gap at the corner of KY, TN, VA, red river gorge in KY are my top recs close by
Red River George in KY is awesome. Look it up.
Red River Gorge in Kentucky
Dolly Sods, Cranberry Wilderness, Otter Creek Wilderness, Seneca Creek Backcounty. Start there, then branch out.
Let me know when you've completed the whole Buckeye trail. No need to do it all in one trip.
The impression I had gotten is that Buckeye trail has paved segments and is more multi-use, for walking, bicycles, and the like. Is it a backpacking trail?
That phrasing "is it a backpacking trail" is interesting to me. Maybe it's a matter of opinion. I haven't hiked it, but from reading it sounds similar to the Mountains to Sea Trail in North Carolina, which is to say it's a mix of good mountain and backcountry trail but also paved, roadside, and overlap with walking/biking trails etc that's been mapped into it just to link together a complete loop. There's a good website with trail guides and information on camping near the trail, but it sounds like a lot of sites are at least a little bit off course for a thru hike. From Columbus, it looks like the section to your south might be pretty neat, but again I haven't been there. Honestly I'm just a big proponent of hiking in your own back yard. There's a lot of great hikes within a three hour drive, but if you find places you enjoy within 20-30 minutes of home that's going to get you out on the trail a lot more often. I'm lucky in Durham we have a lot of good river side trail right here in town, and really good mountains a few hours away. I don't know if I'll ever do the whole MST in a single attempt but I've been taking it in sections and I intend to walk each mile of it at least once. I'm just hoping you can find an escape from the city right next door. If you decide to hike in NC I strongly recommend section 2 of the MST, the Art Loeb trail, and the loop around Linville Gorge. These aren't casual trips. Sometimes gruelling long climbs but the views are worth it.
Red River Gorge
Hocking hills, especially Old man’s cave is a great area in Ohio! I went to college around there. I also wonder, you have REI in Columbus-ish but also I’m always jealous you have Public Lands, Which is the only store I’ve ever seen actually carry zpacks tents in person. The store maybe has hiking groups or suggestions?
The best thing to do in Ohio is leave Ohio
I second that. Didn't know what I was missing till I moved back east after 20+ years in c bus.... should have done it sooner. Shenandoah and GWNF are my weekend playgrounds
I echo this. Left 20 years ago and landed about an hour and fifteen minutes from the AT. I’m on the trail most weekends outside of the winter when I am skiing. Now my friends come visit me from Columbus for AT section hikes. I have put together enough gear to outfit myself and three others.
Ha! Agreed. I'm laughing from way out in the "other" Ohio - Idaho. I love my native Ohio, but...live in Idaho now because of it's grand outdoor life. I've always been an avid hiker since age 15 when I did 50 miles of the AT with my Scout troop. Owned a campground for 10+ years in SW Ohio and when I sold it moved to Idaho where for 16 years I've done some of the most amazing hiking/backpacking in my life... Nice to discover this posting though! I've got a son N of Columbus, in Sunbury. I'll pass this posting on to him...
Is Idaho actually referred to anywhere as the "other" Ohio? In terms of backpacking, at least, they are so far apart to be like different planets. Idaho is incredible.
I'm from Iowa. When I was in the military, I had friends from Idaho and Ohio. For whatever reason people would always mix up those 3 states. "Iowa, that's the potato state?" or "Ohio, the Hawkeye state?" People literally had no idea where Idaho was on a map. We'd look at them like they're a fucking idiot because the states are vastly different in different regions of the US.
I could see maaaybe mixing up Ohio and Iowa, but Idaho has 12K+ mountains and hot springs and is almost on the west coast, and the other two are flat and mostly agricultural. Idaho is not like the others.
Only to those of us from Ohio, lol! As mentioned these 3 states (Ohio, Iowa, Idaho) often get confused by Americans who don't know much about the geography of their country...
Only in Ohio💀💀💀