Wayne National Forest, Ohio – Volunteer Vacations 2022

The Wayne National Forest is a patchwork of public land that covers over a quarter million acres of Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio. The Wayne National Forest is within a few hours’ drive of several metropolitan areas such as Columbus, Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Pittsburgh. Yet it retains an air of nostalgia, with covered bridges, rockshelters, springs and rugged hills covered with hardwood and pine, visitors to the Wayne are welcome to camp, hike, hunt, and fish. There are over 400 miles of trails on the forest for hiking, off-highway vehicle (OHV) riding, mountain biking, or horseback riding. On this trip, American Hiking Society volunteers will work on the Lake Vesuvius Lake shore Trail doing bench work, clearing, trimming, and trash clean up. The Lakeshore Trail is a scenic 8.25 mile trail that follows along the shore of Lake Vesuvius. This scenic trail takes you under overhanging hemlock, along rock bluffs, and across foot bridges.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the (Osage), Shawandasse Tula, (Shawanwaki/Shawnee), Kaskaskia, Hopewell, and Adena peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, and those who continue to steward these lands today. AHS invites all volunteers to join us in our commitment to support and amplify the work of Indigenous communities as they work to dismantle the systems of oppression that these communities continue to face today.