THE WILDS lets visitors go on a safari without leaving Ohio. The Wilds has a restaurant, gift shop, and educational displays. Many special activities such as bird watching, hiking, educational seminars, overnight camps, day camps and group retreats are offered at The Wilds, but the main feature is seeing the animals roaming the hills of southeast Ohio.

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Southeast
Ohio

Although Southeast Ohio was the first part of the state to be settled, today it also the least populated area of the state. Southeast Ohio is rugged country by Ohio standards. The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains begin in Southeast Ohio. The area has deep river gorges that snake around the hills, but very little precious farmland. Of course there are farms of all sorts in the southeast, but not on the large scale that we see in the northwest.

At the beginning of the 19th Century, coal, iron ore, oil, and natural gas were plentiful in the area and these resources made for swift development of the region. This abundance of raw materials opened the area for mining, drilling, and blast furnaces. But this did not last. The mines became to expensive to operate. The oil wells also became too expensive to operate, but there are still some in production today, especially in Athens, Meigs, Morgan and Muskingum Counties.

The Ohio & Erie Canal skirted the southeast with claims that the area was too difficult to build a canal. The more likely reason was political infighting that dictated where the canal would go. In 1841 they began building the Hocking Canal branch that connected Nelsonville and later Athens, with the the main branch of the Ohio & Erie Canal at Carroll

Later they would expand the Ohio & Erie Canal by making another branch, a shorter branch to the Ohio River from Cleveland by extending the canal from Dresden (today this is near the Longaberger Basket Company) down to Marrietta. However, by the time this section of the canal was completed, the age of canals was almost over and Marrietta had missed a golden opportunity.

Hocking Hills

Hocking Hills is one of Ohio's natural playgrounds. The area provides year round outdoor beauty, incredible hiking opportunities, extraordinary shopping and dining venues, plus hundreds of inns, bed and breakfasts, and hotels that will fit anyone's taste and budget.

The Hocking Hills region has 9 state parks, over 9000 acres of state forest land, part of the Wayne National Forest, contains 4 nature preserves and one of the largest metro parks in the state.

Cedar Falls

One of those state parks is Cedar falls. Located in the Hocking Hills, the falls was mis-named by early settlers when they wrongly identified the abundant hemlocks growing in the area as cedars.

In the mid 1800’s, a grist mill was built above the falls to utilize this water power for grinding grain.

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The Hocking Valley Scenic Railway is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving Ohio's railroad past.

Located in Nelsonville, the vintage passenger railroad equipment includes commuter cars from the 1920s, open-air cars with roofs and a former B&O baggage and passenger car. The railroad normally operates on weekends and offers numerous special events throughout the year.

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Wayne National Forest

Wayne National Forest is Ohio's only national forest. Consisting of over 230,000 acres, Wayne National Forest offers a wealth of natural recreation opportunities in Southeast Ohio such as fishing, bird watching, equestrian riding and of course, hiking.

Wayne National Forest offers over 300 miles of trails open to hiking. There are also trails for mountain biking and ATV use. Much of the Wayne National Forest land is reclaimed coal mining lands which has been purchased and preserved by the federal government.

Crash of the Shenandoah

America's first military airship, the Shenandoah, powered by 6 - 357 horse powered engines and filled with helium, crashed in southeast Ohio near the small town of Ava as a result of an unexpected thunderstorm. Today there is a marker honoring the 14 airman that were killed in that crash in 1925.

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National Road Crosses Middle Ohio

Two-hundred and twenty miles of the National Road run through Ohio and almost half of those miles run along the northern edge of Southeastern Ohio (or roughly through the middle of the state).

Statue of Civil War General
Philip Seridan in Somerset, Ohio