A trail town provides a destination around which you can plan your outdoor recreation. Head here for a weekend or more and set up your base camp at a local campground, or enjoy creature comforts at one of the local motels or bed and breakfasts. There are hometown restaurants, shops, and other in-town amenities to complement your outdoor forays on the Trail and other outdoor activities along creeks and rivers in your kayak or out on a bike trail on your bike.

Get to know small-town Ohio's backroads, byways, and genuine friendliness as you base your next outdoor expedition from an Ohio Trail Town.

Featured Trail Towns

Located in the heart of Wayne National Forest, Shawnee is surrounded by miles and miles of public land. Ohio’s only national forest boasts over 100,000 acres used for hiking trails, fishing sites, camping areas, horseback riding trails, birding areas, and ATV riding areas. As if that wasn’t enough, Shawnee is also only a quick trip away from Burr Oak State Park and Hocking Hills State Park, which claims over 2,500 acres of gorgeous waterfalls, trails, caves, and more. This proximity makes Shawnee ideal for a trip to nature, with something for everyone.

Indians found the St. Marys River to be an essential travel route. By portages of only six miles at high water and 26 at low water, they could travel from Lake Erie to the Gulf of Mexico. Before the construction of Grand Lake St. Marys, which drained about half of the river's watershed area, the river could handle the largest flat-bottom boats.

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