Hiking Great Seal State Park, Ohio

Sugarloaf Mountain in Ohio's Great Seal State Park

Great Seal State Park in Ohio, surprisingly enough, offers some of the most challenging hiking I have done. This includes comparisons to hikes in both the Rockies and the Appalachians, which offer steep but graded climbs. The grades of the climbs at Great Seal are every bit of 20% grades if not more, providing for hikes that wear at your ankles and lungs.

The state park gets its name because the steep knobs that define the park's landscape are used on the Great Seal of the State of Ohio. The area is located above the Scioto River just north of Chillicothe of US 23. Its 1862 acres feature rugged wilderness without any huge attractions within like waterfalls.

The park features some of Ohio's highest points. It's combination of six hills, knobs, and mountains add a challenge for mountain bikers and hikers. While some of the trails are well maintained, others are not and require rerouting around fallen trees making the trails impassible, which means you are often fighting thorny plants.

Most of the side trails summit to the top of the hill they are named for with the exception of Rocky Hill and Bunker Hill. The Rocky Hill takes you to near the base and Bunker hill leads you around the summit; although, it did appear there might be an unofficial trail that goes to the top. The Shawnee Ridge does go to the top of Rocky Knob, which is landscaped with signs warning you not to get too close to the television and radio antennae due to its high radiation levels. Nice!

The views are varied. The best view was from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain and Mount Ives offers a view of the paper factory's smoke stacks. Sand Hill offers the most interesting terrain and features as well as switchbacks. The huge rocks at the top of Sand Hill are more interesting than the rocks at the area known as Rock Garden, and they are a quick hike from the parking area on Rocky Road, which is between the north and south access points of Great Seal Park.

There are over 20 miles of trails in the park, all mostly challenging and will test your endurance.

Great Seal Park Map, OH

Here are some pictures from my hikes at Great Seal.