36 Peninsula to Olds Hollow Trail

Lake Hope State Park and Zaleski State Forest

Lake Hope is a dammed, salamander-shaped body of water that’s the central feature of this state park, which is adjacent to Zaleski State Forest. Begin a 4.2-mile day hike from the Hope Furnace, a leftover from the region’s bygone iron-smelting days. Walk along the lakeshore in a nice second-growth oak-hickory forest. Then head into the forest and walk by a recess cave and a pioneer cemetery and into a mini gorge before returning in a wetland area.

Start: Lake Hope Furnace parking lot

Distance: 4.2-mile figure eight

Hiking time: About 1.5 to 2.5 hours

Difficulty: Moderate due to length and hills, including a descent into a narrow and sometimes slick gorge

Trail surface: Dirt

Blaze: None, but part of Olds Hollow Trail follows Zaleski Backpack Trail, blazed orange.

Best season: Mid-Apr through mid-Oct

Other trail users: Hikers only

Canine compatibility: Leashed dogs permitted

Water: Available at the parking lot

Land status: State park

Nearest towns: Zaleski, McArthur

Fees and permits: None

Schedule: Open daily from dawn to dusk

Maps: USGS quad: Mineral

Trail contact: Lake Hope State Park, McArthur; (740) 596-4938; http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/lakehope

Finding the trailhead: From SR 56 south of Nelsonville, turn south onto SR 278 and travel 4.6 miles to the Hope Furnace parking lot on the right. DeLorme: Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer: Page 79 B7. GPS: N39 19.87' / W82 20.46'.

The Hike

Begin and end your hike at Lake Hope State Park at the namesake Hope Furnace, built in the nineteenth century as an iron ore smelter. Ohio was once one of the nation’s leading iron producers, and some of the items made from the ore in this area included munitions for the Union Army during the Civil War. The forests here were cleared in order to fuel these furnaces, most of which had shut down by 1900. Since then a second-growth oak-hickory forest has come back nicely.

After exploring the furnace you will begin the Peninsula Trail by walking along the edge of Lake Hope, a salamander-shaped body of water created by an earthen dam stopping up Big Sandy Creek (also called Sandy Run), just upstream from its confluence with Raccoon Creek. All lakes in southeast Ohio are human-made, since the topography does not support natural lakes. They all take on the familiar look of dammed hollows. Although you are hiking along the water’s edge, you will find yourself in an upland oak-hickory forest because this is actually an upland trail. Look along the lakeshore for signs of a very active beaver population. You should see their dens as well as dams and stumps. This path forms a circle around the dining lodge and cabins, making it very accessible to guests.

You can pick up the Olds Hollow Trail at the end of the Peninsula Trail. Cross the road and begin hiking both the Olds Hollow and Zaleski Backpack Trails. The Olds Hollow Trail diverges from the backpack trail and takes you to some interesting sights, including recess caves and an old pioneer cemetery, where the sandstone grave inscriptions are slowly eroding. This secluded hike also takes you through a small yet striking gorge. In springtime look on the forest floor for wildflowers, including such common species as wild geranium, bloodroot, and blue-eyed Mary. The rare yellow lady’s slipper also blooms here. As you complete this loop you will walk parallel to a wetland area. Look here for water-loving birds, including ducks, kingfishers, and great blue herons. And as always, keep an eye out for wild turkeys and white-tailed deer.

Many other hiking options are available in Lake Hope State Park and Zaleski State Forest, including a 23.5-mile backpack loop with a nice 10-mile day-hike option along the backpack trail.

Raccoon Creek, 99 miles long, is said to be the world’s longest creek. One hundred miles would make it a river.

Miles and Directions

0.0Start at the Hope Furnace. After exploring the furnace walk to the road and turn right (south). Walk over the bridge, then look for wooden stairs to your right. Ascend the stairs and follow the path to a wooden footbridge. The trailhead is here, marked with a wooden sign. Walk into the woods. In less than 0.1 mile, cross a footbridge and then come to a fork. The Peninsula Trail goes both ways. Take the right fork.

1.6Pass a connector trail to the lodge on the left. Continue straight, paralleling the lake.

1.9 Cross a footbridge and continue straight; the trail here moves away from the lake.

2.1 Cross the lodge road and follow the grass about 150 feet past the Welcome to Lake Hope State Park sign. You will see a wooden trailhead where you reenter the woods.

2.6 Hit a T-intersection and a wooden signpost directing you right to stay on the Peninsula Trail (left on the Greenbriar to the cabins and lodge).

2.9 Return to the first trail junction. Turn right across the footbridge and come out at the road.

3.0 Cross the road and pick up the trailhead for both the Olds Hollow Trail and the Zaleski Backpack Trail. Cross the footbridge and turn left.

3.1 Come to a fork. Follow the sign right onto the Olds Hollow Trail.

3.5 Pass an old pioneer cemetery on the right. The trail continues slightly to the left and down from the cemetery. In a few hundred feet, you will come to a sandstone-lined gorge. Walk down the steps into the gorge and turn left, passing two small waterfalls. Cross a footbridge to the other side of the stream and continue walking along it.

3.6 Come to with a fork. The Kings Hollow Trail (the Zaleski Backpack Trail) goes right. Take the left fork. In about 100 feet, pass an informal trail on the right. Continue straight, crossing a footbridge and following blue and orange blazes.

4.1 Return to the junction that began the Olds Hollow loop. Continue straight.

4.2 Arrive back at the trailhead.

Hike Information

Local information: Vinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau, (740) 596-5033, www.vintoncountytravel.com

Local events and attractions: Lake Hope State Park has a number of facilities, including a beach, boat rentals, dining lodge, cabins, campground, and the nearby Zaleski Backpack Trail.

The Vinton County Wild Turkey Festival is an annual May event; http://vintoncountytravel.com/turkeyfestival.htm.

Accommodations: Lake Hope State Park cabins and campground; call (866) 644-6727 for reservations.

Restaurants: Lake Hope State Park dining lodge, (740) 596-0601, http://lakehopelodge.com

Lake Hope

The Moonville Ghost

Stories about the ghost of Moonville Tunnel, located in Zaleski State Forest, are a mixture of fact and fiction. (But, as they say, never let the facts get in the way of a good story.) Moonville was once a stop on the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad and was home to up to one hundred people, mostly employed by the furnaces and the coal mines. In 1859 a man was, in fact, killed when he was run over by a train. Who he was and exactly what happened, however, are less clear. Perhaps the most popular story claims that Moonville was in the throes of a plague-like epidemic. Fearing exposure, the train’s crew refused to stop in town. But supplies in Moonville were dwindling, so the town appointed one man to stop the train in order to save them all—but the train ran him down.

Over the years there have been a number of reported sightings of the Moonville Ghost. If you’re brave, you might follow the bed of the tracks to the sandstone-and-brick tunnel at night. If not, well, there’s a reason they’re called day hikes.