Southeast

Southeast Ohio covers the unglaciated Appalachian Plateau country in the southeastern third of the state, the rugged hill-and-river country running from Chillicothe east to the Ohio River and from Marietta south to Portsmouth. The terrain is the hilliest in Ohio — sandstone-and-shale bedrock cut into deep hollows, gorges, and cliff country, with the Ohio River running along the entire eastern boundary. The Wayne National Forest covers most of the public land. Twenty counties cover the region. Athens holds Athens and Ohio University; Hocking holds Logan and the Hocking Hills State Park country; Muskingum holds Zanesville (the historic pottery center); Ross holds Chillicothe (Ohio’s first capital and home to the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park); Washington holds Marietta (the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory); Scioto holds Portsmouth. The Hocking Hills State Park, Wayne National Forest, and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park concentrate the public-land scenery. Most trips here run outdoor and prehistoric-history focused. The Hocking Hills draw the largest single-stream visitor traffic — Old Man’s Cave, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave, Conkle’s Hollow, and Cantwell Cliffs; Hopewell Mound City at Chillicothe carries the Hopewell-culture itinerary; Marietta runs riverboat-and-Ohio-River history; Athens handles the college-town side.