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Our mission is to promote and apply management for the sustainable use of Ohio's private and public forest lands.

Program Administrator: Nate Kirk
614-265-6694

Division of Forestry
2045 Morse Rd.
Building H1.
Columbus, OH 43229

Mohican-Memorial State Forest
32 miles
22 miles
NA
NA
10 park and
pack
Memorial forest shrine, fire tower, mountain
bike and snowmobile trails

Administrative Offices
2205 Reiser Ave. SE.
New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663
330-339-2205

Directions to forest

Total acres: 4,525
County: Ashland County

Brochure with map (pdf)

Public Recreational Areas near Mohican-Memorial State Forest
Use ODNR's Recreational Areas by County Map to locate State Parks, Nature Preserves, Boating Areas, and public hunting and fishing areas near Mohican-Memorial State Forest.

Additional Information
 
The Memorial Forest Shrine is dedicated to the memory of 20,000 Ohioans killed in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War.
AUDIO SEGMENTS
AUDIO: Firewood Alert
AUDIO: Service Foresters
 
Mohican-Memorial State Forest Notes
Mohican-Memorial State Forest is located in southern Ashland County, midway between Columbus and Cleveland. It is easily reached from I-71 and State Routes 97 and 3. The natural attributes of the area combined with state and nearby commerical facilities have made this region one of the more popular year-round attractions of the state.

Mohican-Memorial State Forest is managed under the multiple-use concept for timber and wildlife habitat, forestry research and demonstrations of good forest land management, primitive recreation and natural beauty, tree seed for forest nurseries and protection of soils and watershed.

Timber products obtained from harvest, stand improvement and thinning operations include saw logs, veneer logs with some pulpwood and firewood. Pine plantation thinnings yield fence and guard posts and poles.

During the spring and fall fire seasons, a major objective of the forest organization is to prevent, detect and suppress wildfires that occur on state and private land within the protection district.

The many gas wells and transmission lines that you see are a result of the development of a natural gas storage field underlying the forest.

Land acquisition for the forest began in 1928 and has continued with the accumulation of over 4,500 acres (exclusive of state park land). The land use history of the forest is typical of eastern Ohio. Original forests were cleared for agriculture, but eventually erosion ensued and fertility decreased. Farms were abandoned and subsequently reverted to brush and woodland.

At the time of acquisition, planting of trees on abandoned land was a high priority activity. This resulted in the many plantations of white and red pine and mixtures of these and other pine species that you see today. Much of the tree planting was done by personnel of the Civilian Conservation Corps whose camp was located on the the forest during the 1930s. Native hardwood of the oak-hickory and beech-maple types and associated species of gum, aspen, ash, cherry and walnut occur on unplanted areas. Native white pine and hemlock are also found.

General Forest Rules

  • The Mohican-Memorial State Forest area receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Please respect the forest community that you find. Your consideration of other visitors using the forest will help provide an enjoyable experience for all.
  • Visitors are welcome at Mohican-Memorial State Forest between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
  • Motor vehicles are restricted to roads open for public travel. Forest roads have a speed limit of 20 mph, and vehicles may not be parked where traffic or access to service roads is obstructed. Parking areas are provided.
  • Use of horses is permitted on designated bridle trails only. Camping and building fires are prohibited except in areas provided.
  • Disturbance, defacement or destruction of any property, material, natural feature or vegetation is prohibited. Berries, nuts and mushrooms may be gathered and removed except from tree seed orchards or posted areas.
  • General visitation guidelines