List of protected areas of Ohio explained

Protected areas in the U.S. State of Ohio include national forest lands, Army Corps of Engineers areas, state parks, state forests, state nature preserves, state wildlife management areas, and other areas.

Federal lands

National Park Service, Department of the Interior

• Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
• Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture

• Wayne National Forest

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior

• Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex
  • Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge
  • Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
  • West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge

Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense

• Belleville Locks and Dam
• Caesar Creek Dam (at Caesar Creek State Park)
• Tom Jenkins Dam (at Burr Oak State Park)

State lands

State parks

Name	County	Size		Image	Year established
		acres	km^2
		454	1.84		1950
		96	0.39		1950
		8,017	32.44		1974
		1,122	4.54		1955
		2,726	11.06		1949
		337	1.36		1949
		4,016	16.25		1975
		3,349	13.55		1949
		2,593	10.49		1952
		7,941	32.13		1978
		677	2.73		Early 1950s
		1,775	7.18		1968
		3,564	14.35
		3,016	12.20		1952
		3,845	15.56		1961
		7,030	28.45		1978
		1,831	7.41		1947
		931	3.77
		893	3.61		1951
		698	2.82		1964
		14,091	57.02		1949
Great Council State Park (scheduled to open 2023)		0.7	0.0028		2023
		1,864	7.54
		489	1.98
		247	1.00		1950
		120	0.48		1953
		2,373	9.60		1924
		3,596	14.55		1957
		591	2.39		1949
		6,600	26.71
		349	1.41		1979
		962	3.89
		5,735			2020
		752	3.04		1951
		677	2.73		1956
		927	3.75		1940
		352	1.42
		3,103	12.56		1937 (renamed in 1949)
		718	2.91		1964
		2,062	8.34		1949
		1,700
		429	1.74
		707	2.86
		182	0.74
		878	3.55
		591	2.39
		1,436	5.81		Acquisition:1973, Established: 1975^[1]
		1,115	4.51
		6,483	26.24
		181	0.73
		167	0.67
		677	2.73
		6,842	27.67
		600	2.43
		2,475	10.02
		891	3.61
		3,512	14.21
		703	2.84
		3,464	14.02
		20,181	81.67		1960
		248	1.00
		1,163	4.71
		677	2.73
Spiegel Grove State Park		25			1873
		1,258	5.09		1948
		2,606	10.54		1953
		2,389	9.67
		619	2.51		1949
		370	1.50		1973
		296	1.20		1950
		8,002	32.38		1966
		614
		1,266	5.12		Acquisition: 1963, Dedication: 1968

State memorials

• Adena State Memorial
• Buckeye Furnace State Memorial
• Campbell Mound State Memorial
• Flint Ridge State Memorial
• Friends Meeting House State Memorial
• Fort Ancient State Memorial, Warren County
• Fort Hill State Memorial
• Glendower State Memorial, Warren County
• Leo Petroglyph State Memorial
• Miamisburg Mound State Memorial, Montgomery County
• Serpent Mound State Memorial
• Tarleton Cross Mound State Memorial

State forests

See main article: List of Ohio state forests.

• Blue Rock State Forest – 4,572 acres (19 km²)
• Brush Creek State Forest – ca. 12,000 acres (49 km²)
• Dean State Forest – 2,745 acres (10 km²)
• Fernwood State Forest – 2,107 acres (9 km²)
• Gifford State Forest – 320 acres (1.3 km²); Athens County
• Harrison State Forest – 1,345 acres (5 km²)
• Hocking State Forest – 9,374 acres (38 km²)
• Maumee State Forest – 3,068 acres (12 km²)
• Mohican-Memorial State Forest – 4,192 acres (17 km²); Ashland County
• Perry State Forest – 4,567 acres (18 km²); Perry County
• Pike State Forest – 11,621 acres (47 km²)
• Richland Furnace State Forest – 2,343 acres (9 km²)
• Scioto Trail State Forest – 9,371 acres (38 km²)
• Shade River State Forest – 2,601 acres (11 km²); Meigs County
• Shawnee State Forest – 59,603 acres (241 km²); Scioto and Adams Counties
• Sunfish Creek State Forest – 637 acres (2.6 km²)
• Tar Hollow State Forest – 16,126 acres (65 km²)
• Vinton Furnace State Experimental Forest - 15849acres
• Waterloo State Forest (administered by Zaleski State Forest); Athens County
• Yellow Creek State Forest – 756 acres (3.1 km²)
• Zaleski State Forest – 26,313 acres (107 km²); Athens and Vinton Counties

State wildlife management areas

• Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area (Jackson County)
• Fox Lake Wildlife Management Area (Athens County)
• Highlandtown Wildlife Area (Columbiana County, Washington Township)
• Milan State Wildlife Area
• Sunday Creek Wildlife Management Area (Athens County)
• Tiffin River Wildlife Area (Fulton County)
• Trimble Wildlife Management Area (Athens County)
• Turkey Ridge Wildlife Area (Vinton County)
• Waterloo Wildlife Research Station (Athens County)
• Wolf Creek Wildlife Management Area (Morgan County)

State nature preserves

• Acadia Cliffs State Nature Preserve
• Adams Lake Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Audubon Islands State Nature Preserve
• Aurora Sanctuary State Nature Preserve
• Baker Woods State Nature Preserve
• Bigelow Cemetery Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Boord State Nature Preserve
• Brown's Lake Bog State Nature Preserve
• Burton Wetlands State Nature Preserve
• Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Carmean Woods State Nature Preserve
• Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve
• Chaparral Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Clear Creek State Nature Preserve
• Clear Fork Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Collier State Nature Preserve
• Compass Plant Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve
• Conneaut Swamp State Nature Preserve
• Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve
• Crooked Run State Nature Preserve
• Culberson Woods State Nature Preserve
• Davey Woods State Nature Preserve
• Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve
• Drew Woods State Nature Preserve
• Dupont Marsh State Nature Preserve
• Eagle Creek State Nature Preserve
• Erie Sand Barrens State Nature Preserve
• Fowler Woods State Nature Preserve
• Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve
• Goll Woods State Nature Preserve
• Goode Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Greenville Falls State Nature Preserve
• Gross Woods State Nature Preserve
• Hach-Otis State Nature Preserve
• Halls Creek Woods State Nature Preserve
• Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve
• Herrick Fen State Nature Preserve
• Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve
• Hutchins (Highbanks) State Nature Preserve
• Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Jackson Bog State Nature Preserve
• Johnson Ridge State Nature Preserve
• Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve
• Kendrick Woods State Nature Preserve
• Kent (Cooperrider) Bog State Nature Preserve
• Kessler Swamp State Nature Preserve
• Kiser Lake Wetlands State Nature Preserve
• Kitty Todd State Nature Preserve
• Knox Woods State Nature Preserve
• Kyle Woods State Nature Preserve
• Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve
• Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve
• Lawrence Woods State Nature Preserve
• Lou Campbell State Nature Preserve
• Mantua Bog State Nature Preserve
• Marie J. Desonier State Nature Preserve
• Marsh Wetlands State Nature Preserve
• Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve
• Milford Center Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Morris Woods State Nature Preserve
• North Pond State Nature Preserve
• North Shore Alvar State Nature Preserve
• Novak State Nature Preserve
• Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve
• Olsen (Augusta-Anne) State Nature Preserve
• Pickerington Ponds State Nature Preserve
• Portage Lakes Wetland State Nature Preserve
• Riddle State Nature Preserve
• Rockbridge State Nature Preserve
• Sears Woods State Nature Preserve
• Seymour Woods State Nature Preserve
• Shallenberger State Nature Preserve
• Sharon Woods Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Sheepskin Hollow State Nature Preserve
• Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve
• Shoemaker State Nature Preserve
• Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker State Nature Preserve
• Smith Cemetery Prairie State Nature Preserve
• Solon Woods State Nature Preserve^[2]
• Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve
• Stage's Pond State Nature Preserve
• Stratford Woods State Nature Preserve
• Swamp Cottonwood State Nature Preserve
• Thomas (Sharon Woods) State Nature Preserve
• Tinker's Creek State Nature Preserve
• Triangle Lake Bog State Nature Preserve
• Tucker (Blacklick) State Nature Preserve
• Tummonds State Nature Preserve
• Wahkeena State Nature Preserve
• Whipple State Nature Preserve
• Zimmerman Prairie State Nature Preserve

Metroparks

A number of regional park districts have been organized in Ohio:

• Cleveland Metroparks http://www.clemetparks.com/
• Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District http://www.metroparks.net/
• Erie MetroParks http://www.eriemetroparks.org/
• Five Rivers Metroparks (Dayton) http://www.metroparks.org/
• Geauga County Park District http://www.geaugaparkdistrict.org/
• Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District http://www.johnnyappleseedparks.com/
• Lake Metroparks http://www.lakemetroparks.com/
• Stark County Park District
• Tuscarawas County Park Department
• Lorain County Metro Parks http://www.loraincountymetroparks.com/
• Metro Parks, Serving Summit County http://www.summitmetroparks.org/
• MetroParks of Butler County http://www.yourmetroparks.net/
• Metroparks of the Toledo Area https://web.archive.org/web/20080114013344/http://www.metroparkstoledo.com/metroparks/
• Mill Creek MetroParks http://www.millcreekmetroparks.com/
• Great Parks of Hamilton County

Other significant local areas

• Arc of Appalachia
• Athens Conservancy preserves, in Athens County, Ohio
• Crane Hollow Nature Preserve, Hocking County, Ohio
• Edge of Appalachia Preserve, in Adams County, Ohio
• Highlands Sanctuary, centered in Highland County, Ohio
• Moonville Rail-Trail, a rail-trail in Athens and Vinton Counties
• Strouds Ridge Preserve, City of Athens, Ohio
• Trimble Community Forest in Athens County, Ohio
• The Wilds (Muskingum County, Ohio)

References

• Art Weber. Ohio State Parks. Saginaw, Michigan: Glovebox Guidebooks, 1995. .

External links

• Ohio State Parks
• List of parks

Notes and References

1. Web site: Maumee Bay State Park . 16 April 2023.
2. News: Peter . Krouse . State designates 127 acres in Solon as state nature preserve . Cleveland.com . April 14, 2023 . April 16, 2023.