Hidden Hollow Campground

The 3,023 acres Fernwood State Forest was strip-mined before the state of Ohio bought it and restored the forest. The state also built a free campground, three shooting ranges, a picnic area, and three short trails.

The campground has 22 sites, picnic tables, and a vault toilet. The parking pads are narrow and most have a slant. There are three or four campsites with parking along the road. These are a little more level. None of them are accessible. The trails are not accessible.

Even though the campground is free campers must sign in and the camping limit is 14 days in a 30 day period. Gunshots from the shooting range can be heard in the campground but most of the time it's not bad.

We had lots fun just hanging out and sharing food at potluck meals with a great group of people at a Homes On Wheels Caravan.     Campground  40.33429, -80.7641

Ariel-Foundation Park

Ariel-Foundation Park is an excellent example of creative reuse of a closed industrial site. In 1898 a steel mill was built on the location using beams and tresses from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The steel mill failed and buildings were bought by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in 1907. The glass factory, which used the abundant local natural gas and silica sand, was much more successful, operating until 1976.

Creating the park from the ruins of the glass plant took years of negotiations to buy the land, get donations, draw up plans, demolish the unsafe structures, and clean up the site. A day long grand opening in 2015 attracted 10,00 people. 

Two buildings, the carpenter shop and the clock house, were renovated and are available for events. A large factory building has been converted to an open-air community event center that can also be rented. The 280' smokestack built in 1951 has a spiral staircase around the outside that goes to an observation deck. Paved paths wind through the park past ponds, interpretive signs, and sculptures created from discarded beams and chunks of glass.

86 acres of the former Goodwin Sand and Gravel Company was purchased which increased the park to 250 acres. The quarries are now scenic lakes used for fishing and kayaking. Paved and dirt paths circle the lakes. 

The paved paths are accessible, but a few sections are steep. Most wheelchair users will need assistance. The quarry area is accessed by a steep road. Walking/rolling down the road can be avoided by parking in one of the lower parking lots.

The upper lots are large enough for any vehicle. RVs will fit in the lower lots if parked across the spaces. Park  40.38219, -82.49505 

German Culture Museum

 The museum focuses on the history of the Amish, German and Swiss settlers of Holmes County and Walnut Creek Township. One large room is filled with donated household items and horse-drawn vehicles.

The museum is accessible.

The museum is on the bottom floor of the Walnut Creek Community/Library Building. Parking is in the rear. There are two very steep narrow streets that provide access but it's better to go west on Route 515 and then left on Carlisle Court. The parking lot is fairly small so park large RVs in the lot right off of Route 515 and walk/roll to the museum. Museum   40.54094, -81.7225

 

Hollywood Casino Dayton Raceway

 The casino has a two large lots. We parked in the north lot, far away from the entrance. There's no need to check in but as we were getting ready to leave after staying two night, a security guard told us that the limit is two days. 

Paths lead from the lot to the entrance but there aren't any curb cuts so rolling along the street is necessary.  The casino has heavy chairs and thick carpeting. The money and card slots are easy to reach.  Casino  39.81915, -84.17286

Museum of Ceramics

 East Liverpool, Ohio was founded in 1798 and remained a small Ohio River town until the 1839 arrival of James Bennett, a potter from England. After emigrating to the US in 1836 he worked in potteries in other states before discovering that the yellow clay along the river banks in East Liverpool was ideal for pottery making, spurring him to open his own pottery. The success of Bennett's small factory encouraged other potters to open shop. Business boomed due to the good transportation route on the river, ample clay deposits, and a labor pool of skilled immigrants from England. 

In 1923, 17 companies with 270 kilns employed about 7000 men, women, and children. The depression in the 1930s, the lifting of tariffs on foreign pottery, and a reluctance to modernize the factories lead to many closures over the proceeding years. Today American Mug & Stein Company in East Liverpool and Fiesta Tableware Company, across the river in Newell, West Virginia, are the only companies still in the area. 

The display cases in the museum are filled with products created in the potteries. The history of East Liverpool and the pottery industry are covered in detail. The lower level has more cases of pottery plus wonderful photographs of  pottery workers and full-size dioramas portraying the steps of pottery making.

An accessible entrance with a call button is located at the rear of the museum. An elevator provides access to both floors. 

Parking is available on the street. Museum  40.61845, -80.5771

 

Thompson Park

In 1899 Will Thompson, a local East Liverpool man who was a successful composer and music publisher, donated 100 acres to the city for a park. Over the years the city has planted trees, added tennis courts, picnic shelters, ball fields, a swimming pool, and a disc golf course. A loop road circles the disc golf course and has been closed to traffic to make a paved walking path which was the reason for our visit.

The path goes slightly downhill then back up. It's a little less than 1/2 mile so we circled around several times. 

There are two small lots; one to the left inside the park; the other to the left outside the park. Both are large enough for RVs but the one outside the park is pull-through so it's a better option. Park  40.64465, -80.56302

Upper Ohio Valley Museum and Hall Of Fame

The museum was originally going to be dedicated just to Lou Holtz but when the idea was raised to him he suggested that it include Upper Ohio Valley people in all fields of endeavor.  Not being football fans we had no idea who Lou Holtz was but since the museum is free we stopped to find out. The museum has a small section on Holtz, exhibits on other notable residents, and historic exhibits on the area. The museum is in the old First National Bank in East Liverpool and uses the bank vault for a display on Pretty Boy Floyd.  Floyd, a petty criminal, bank robber, jail inmate, and murderer, met his demise near East Liverpool on October 22, 1934 at hands of local and federal law enforcement. 

 

The accessible entrance to the museum is on Crook Ave. Crook Ave- also know as Umbrella Alley because of the colorful umbrellas providing shade- is a pedestrian walkway. There isn't a push button to alert the staff and they may not hear knocking so it's best to call ahead. The main floor of the museum is accessible. The model train layout is hard to see from a seated position. The ramp to view some of the Pretty Boy Floyd exhibit is narrow and steep. A lift accesses the second floor. The lower level is not accessible. 

Parking is available on the street. We parked two blocks south on  4th Street and walked/ rolled up Crook Ave. Wheelchair users may need assistance as it's fairly steep. Museum  40.61877, -80.57911