Wayne National Forest
Hanging Rock, Ohio
The Wayne National Forest stretches across 12 southern Ohio counties and covers 833,990 acres. And most of that land is privately owned.
The national forest is a patchwork of land, normally occupying lands less suitable for agricultural or commercial development. Rugged terrain with rolling hills, streams and thousands of acres that have been heavily mined for a number of minerals and repeated harvested for lumber make for great riding opportunities.
The off-road riding area is actually made up of two separate areas: Hanging Rock and Pike Creek. Hanging Rock is the most popular, partly because it's closer to populated areas and major highways. But neither of the areas is overcrowded.
Hanging Rock trails are some of the best trails we have experienced in a long time. The U.S. Forest Service and volunteers have been working hard to keep the trails fun, exciting and safe to ride. The trails are clearly marked with trail names or numbers. Intersections are numbered as well, and the difficulty level of each trail is marked from easiest to most difficult.
There are 26 miles of trails that are loop designed so if you get turned around, just keep riding a little longer and you will come to a clearly marked intersection, or you will get back to where you started.
If you want to take a break from riding, Hanging Rock has almost as many small fishing lakes as it does miles of trails. Many of the lakes are accessible by licensed vehicle. Others you can ride to on your OHV.
To the north of Hanging Rock are the Pike Creek trails. Currently you will have to load up and take a short drive. The U.S. Forest Service is aggressively working with private landowners to connect both of the trail systems into one big area in the next three to four years.
Pike Creek features 20 miles of trails and has three separate trailheads: Telegraph, Lyra and Wolcott. The trails here give you more of a cross country feel. The trails are more spread out and are out-and-back-type trails. They don’t form a loop like the Hanging Rock trails.
The Hanging Rock trailhead is on the Ohio border with Kentucky and West Virginia at the town of Hanging Rock. From US 52 take SR 650 north about ¾ mile to the park entrance. At the trail head there is an asphalt parking lot and toilet. Dispersed camping is allowed at all of the trailheads.
If you want campgrounds with electricity and bathrooms, the Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area is located 6.5 miles north of Ironton on State Route 93.
The closest town with restaurants, groceries and gas is Ironton. The closest motels are in Wheelersburg.
To ride on any of the Wayne National Forest trails, trail permits are required. They cost $12 per day per rider or $45 for a season pass. ATVs, motorcycles, bicycles and horses are welcome on the trails. Vehicles may not exceed 50 inches wide.
The riding season runs from April 15 to December 15. Trail permits can be purchased at Wayne National Forest offices or at local gas stations. For more information on the Hanging Rock area, go to www.fs.fed.us/r9/wayne.
Ohio residents are required to title and register their ATVs and trail bikes, and must display the Ohio sticker. Licensed dual-sport motorcycles don't require a registration sticker. Beginning in July, if your ATV or dirt bike is registered in your home state you are OK to ride, but if not, then a 15-day temporary registration from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles can be purchased for $8.50.
Local trivia: One of the minerals mined here was hematite or iron ore. Furnaces produced iron from 1818 to 1916, and by 1875, southeastern Ohio led the nation in iron production. The steel hulls for both the Merrimac and the Monitor were fired from ore mined in this region.