Jul 24

Jul 24 The Ultimate Guide to Mohican State Park

Post Summary: Everything you need to know about visiting Mohican State Park and the surrounding State Forest, including when to visit and where to stay. Also included are the top sites to see when in the area, from the cave and waterfall to the covered bridge, and more.

Located in Loudonville, Ohio, Mohican State Park and Mohican-Memorial State Forest is a wonderful little getaway from the cities. The park is about halfway between Cleveland Columbus, close to Mansfield. It offers stunning views of the Clear Fork Gorge and the Clear Fork Mohican River.

Click to view full map on ODNR’s website.

Mohican State Park is one of Ohio’s most popular parks, and for good reason. The stunning landscape of the gorge and river will make you forget you’re even in the state of Ohio.

Know before you go

When to visit

I’d definitely recommend visiting the park in the late spring or fall. This allows you to experience the park when the waterfall is most likely flowing or when there’s fall colors. Though the park is great in any season, just depends on what your focus is when you want to visit.

where to eat

The Copper Mug (Landoll’s Mohican Castle)
Trails End Restaurant
Black Fork Bistro
Many other places in Loudonville

getting there & around

If you’re coming from Cleveland or Columbus, you’ll want to take I-71. The nearest airports are Cleveland-Hopkins International or Akron-Canton.

where to stay

Below are some of the most popular options in the area, but don’t forget to research yourself or check out Airbnb for more stays.

Camping:

State Park Campground & Cabins
River Run Family Campground
River Zen Campground
Mohican Adventures (also has cabins)
Mohican Reservation
Mohican Wilderness
Park and Pack Primitive Campsites (available on a first-come/first-served, self-registration basis in the Mohican-Memorial State Forest)
Butler/Mohican KOA (camping and cabins)

Cabins:

Other Stays:

Interesting Facts About Mohican

The Delaware Native Americans once used this area as their hunting grounds. Among them was James Smith, the first white man to the area since he was captured by the Native Americans and adopted into their tribe.
Johnny Appleseed frequently visited the area during the 1800s. His name used to be carved into the wall of Big Lyons Falls, but over time it faded away.
The park was originally named Clear Fork State Park after it was merged with the Mohican State Forest in 1949 but was changed to Mohican in 1966.
The last glacier to enter Ohio, the Wisconsinan, ended in this region providing the scenic beauty we see today. Including the Clear Fork Gorge, which cuts into the sandstone creating steep cliffs and rock outcroppings and is 1000 feet wide and 300 feet deep. The gorge is a Registered National Natural Landmark.
Mohican is the Canoe Capital of Ohio.
The Mohican-Memorial State Forest covered more than 4,500 acres and is home to a diverse range of plants and wildlife.

Best things to do in Mohican State Park & Forest

A little slice of wilderness right here in Ohio between Cleveland and Columbus. Mohican is home to a few waterfalls, a stunning gorge, history, and more.

Big & Little Lyons Falls

Big & Little Lyons Falls are located along the Lyons Falls trail and are nice additions to the park. Obvious by the names, Big Lyons Fall is the larger of the two and the more visited. It’s almost similar to Ash Cave in Hocking Hills if you’ve ever been. While it’s not a recess cave per se, it does have a slight overhang where the water rushes over; best seen after a good rainfall. Little Lyons is on a slightly different path from the trail and you don’t get as good of a view. You can only walk over the falls on the bridge or see it from the trail, still worth hiking too though.

To get there is easy, you just park by the covered bridge and the trailhead is right next to the bridge and you can learn about the area and see the trail map. The trail is easy to follow, with plenty of signs along the way. I personally love this trail, you get to walk along the river a bit, there’s elevation changes and beautiful scenery. I almost never have to wait long to have the waterfall to myself, unless there’s a bunch of little kids playing in it. Most people continue on the trail after briefly admiring the falls.

>> Related: 10+ Waterfall Hikes In Northeast Ohio <<

Gorge Overlook

The Gorge Overlook is something that you can’t miss; you don’t even have to walk a trail to get to it. Just park and walk over and view the forest. You’ll stand above the pines and hemlocks and other types of trees with views of birds and vultures and more flying over. Definitely one of the most popular photo spots in peak fall.

The Civilian Conservation Corps wanted to protect this area and in the 1930s, the overlook was created. Growth in the forest has obstructed some views, specifically the river, and other changes have been made since then including the wooden railing becoming stone.

The overlook has its own parking lot, with a quick walk to the viewing areas; it also has a picnic shelter and bathrooms located here.

Mohican Memorial Shrine

Another site is the Mohican Memorial Shrine; dedicated to the over 20,000 Ohio citizens who have lost their lives in conflict since World War 2. It’s located down the road from the fire tower and was dedicated in 1947 by the Ohio Federation of Women’s Club. The memorial was built with materials from Ohio and made to last centuries. Gold Star Mothers met every year at the memorial for services and consolations. This helped lead to the Mohican-Memorial Forest Park being a sanctuary in the woods.

Located right off the main road in the park, there’s a bathroom and a decent-sized parking lot. Upon walking into the building, you’ll be amazed by the amount of history and memorabilia located inside, along with a sign-in sheet. Please be respectful.

Mohican fire tower

The Mohican State Park Fire Tower is a fun activity if you’re not afraid of heights. You can climb up to almost the top and have an amazing view of the surrounding area. The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the 125-foot tower in 1934 and has since become one of the most popular spots to visit in the park. The tower is even on the National Register of Historic Lookouts and is one of the last remaining fire towers in Ohio. There’s limited parking near the tower and be careful, it’s steep and fairly open, and only so many people are allowed on at a time.

Mohican Covered Bridge

The Covered Bridge is probably one of the more popular spots in the park, due to many of the trails meeting here on top of covered bridges being the new tourist activity in cities the last few years. The bridge was built over an old one-lane bridge in 1969. There’s plenty of parking near the bridge, along with many places to picnic, a playground, and bathrooms all along the river.

The Discovery Forest

Up the road from the covered bridge, you’ll find yourself at the Discovery Forest, which is part of the State Forest. It’s not located easily on maps, so you’ll want to stop by a trailhead map and see where it’s located (up near the Forestry Division site). The parking lot is small, with a small “shelter” where you can learn about the forest. This area is also a public hunting area but I’m not sure how popular it is or if it includes the trail. There’s three trail entrances, but I would recommend taking the far left one. It’s not heavily trafficked, I assume because not too many people know about it.

Basically, the Discovery Forest is where you can walk the 1.5-mile trail and learn about how the park is helping the area through interpretive signs along the trail. These ways include clear-cutting the trees, steel-cut, thinning, etc by the forestry management, to help regenerate the forest.

Wolf Creek Grist Mill

Originally named Wolf’s Mill and located on Route 60, this was established as a grist mill in 1831 by Isaac Meanor. About 140 years later when the site was set to be demolished, the Pennell family purchased the mill and moved it to the current location on State Route 3, and began reconstruction, before opening it to the public in 1975 until the 1980s. The Pennell family changed the name to Pine Run Gristmill and it was operated privately as an ice cream parlor.

After the husband died, the State of Ohio purchased the property and eventually decided it should be demolished. In the late 1990s, the Smith family came across the mill and noticed how it was neglected and set for demolition. The volunteer-run “Friends of the Wolf Creek Grist Mill” was founded in 2000 to restore the mill. The Fromme Cabin is now the new welcome center after being moved there a few years ago. A sawmill from 1880 and other historic log cabins were also moved to Wolf Creek, in hopes of restoration to present a historic village to the public.

Currently, the Grist Mill is only open on the weekends from noon to five between May and October and is sited on 50+ acres. Learn more here.

Landoll’s Mohican Castle

Probably one of the top hidden gems in Ohio is the Landoll’s Mohican Castle hotel located not too far from the park. Best used for weddings, but anyone can stay there and there’s also a restaurant. I’ve recently learned the castle has ghost walks and hunts, creepy I know, but more information on that is located here.

Jim Landoll, a retired Army Veteran, had a love of European castles and wanted to build one in the US. In 1996, The Landoll Publishing Company was the second-largest publishing company of children’s books in the country. But a year later Jim and his wife Marta sold it and used the money to build their castle. It wasn’t intended originally to be a hotel too, Jim wanted it to be an elaborate barn until his wife changed his mind a few years later.

The castle was built room by room with no floor plans, finally being completed in 2002. While Jim retired only a few more years later, now ex-wife Marta and son have been taking care of the place, despite them having no hospitality experience. The castle was even featured on Gordon Ramsey’s “Hotel Hell” show and the place is still being updated occasionally. Learn more about the castle here.

Visiting the castle isn’t too hard; both ways to get there involved a back road. Upon arriving, you’ll drive up a winding hill where you’ll find ample parking.