Ohio’s Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area is the Wayne National Forest is a Premier Destination

Photo by John Clise

Ohio’s Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area is the Wayne National Forest’s premier developed recreation site and is named after the historic Vesuvius Iron Furnace. The rugged hills and out-cropping cliffs provide a scenic backdrop for this historical and beautiful site.

It contains a 143-acre lake, two family campgrounds and one group campground, beach and swim area, multiple picnic areas, fishing, boating, hiking, scenic overlook and an archery trail. This recreation area is home to the 46-mile Lake Vesuvius Horse Trail System, open from early spring to winter.

The Wayne National Forest is a patchwork of public land that covers over a quarter million acres of Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio. The Forest is divided into three units managed out of two Ranger District offices located in Nelsonville and Ironton, with a field office in Marietta, Ohio.

The Vesuvius Iron Furnace was one of 46 charcoal iron furnaces located in the six county Hanging Rock Iron Region of southern Ohio. The furnaces produced iron from 1818 to 1916. By 1875, southeastern Ohio led the nation in iron production. Civil War armaments, pots, kettles, steel tires, train wheels, and other tools were made of iron from this region. The hulls for both the Monitor and Merrimac were fired from ore mined in this region. Photo by John Clise.
Photo by John Clise
Photo by John Clise
Photo by John Clise
Photo by John Clise
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