Tar Hollow State Park
Directions: From US-35, take the US-50 exit. Continue on US-50 then take SR-327 N to S Tar Hollow Road in Laurelville.
Info and shelter reservations: 740-887-4818; parks.ohiodnr.gov/tarhollow
Nearby attractions
Conkles Hollow, Hocking Hills, Mound City Group National Monument, the Adena State Memorial (which includes the restored 1807 mansion of Thomas Worthington), and the outdoor drama “Tecumseh” about the 18th-century Shawnee leader who fought to defend his people’s homeland that would eventually become known as Ohio.
The forest is still dark and lush, the ravines still deep. At Tar Hollow State Park, it is easy to envision how challenging life was in earlier times.
Spanning more than 600 acres, the park is abundant with pitch pines, the source of pine tar for European settlers. The Tar Rock is still there, where people in the early 1800s cooked pine knobs to extract the sticky substance they used as an antiseptic for human and farm animal alike, as well as a lubricant for wagons and other farm equipment.
The Tar Rock is just outside the general store, one of the few remaining settlement cabins in the county.
Long before European settlers arrived, this area was home to the ancient Hopewell people. Some of their burial mounds still exist. After the time of the Hopewell, this was the hunting ground for both the Shawnee and Mingo.
Campers can experience what it was like to live here, choosing from electric, non-electric and primitive sites. The campground offers showers, laundry, pit latrines and a dump station.
For campers and day-trippers alike, there are four picnic areas, plus nine shelters that can be reserved. Borrow game and sporting equipment from the store or rent boats and bicycles. Plus there’s an 18-hole miniature golf course.
Near the general store is a 500-foot beach, then a dock for boats. Beyond the dock is Pine Lake, where you can paddle to your heart’s content or try to reel in bluegill and other panfish with a valid license.
If you prefer terra firma to water, hike the trails, including a section of the state’s Buckeye Trail that goes through the park, which is adjacent to Tar Hollow State Forest. The third largest in the Ohio, the 16,354-acre forest has a primitive horse camp and offers 33 miles of bridle trails and 22 miles for hiking.
The diversity of flora and wildlife is robust. Be on the lookout for buckeye, silver maple and plenty of wildflowers. The box turtle, five-lined skink, wild turkey, salamander and fairly shy timber rattlesnake reside here. Bobcats have also been reported on occasion.
In the midst of these beautiful woods, time seems to slow down. You might just forget about things like hectic 21st-century schedules, smartphones and Twitter. At least for a while.
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