Facilities and Activities:
| General | Land, acres | 320 | | Day-Use | Hunting | yes | | | Hiking Trail, miles | 4 |
State Park Location Maps:
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State Park Photo Gallery:
volunteer positions open
State Park Event Calendar:
volunteer positions open
Nearby Parks:
Burr Oak State Park
Big Bottom State Memorial Park
Stroud Run State Park
Muskingum River Parkway State Park
Trimble State Wildlife Area
Sunday Creek State Wildlife Area
Wayne National Forest
Wayne National Forest Dam
Wayne National Forest Pond
Howes State Park
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| State Park Overview: |
 | The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry welcomes you to the heart of Ohio's hill country. Gifford State Forest is the smallest of Ohio's state forests, at 320 acres, but offers some very pleasant hunting and hiking opportunities in the scenic northern edge of Athens County. This state forest was donated to the state in 1959 by William Gifford Selby under conditions that it be used for experimentation and research. It was named for his mother Virginia Gifford and her family. Today, Gifford State Forest is managed by the Division of Forestry as a seed orchard facility. Treees planted here are genetically superior plants that produce superior seeds which are made readily available to the division's tree nurseries. In turn, the seedlings grown from these seeds are made available to the citizens of Ohio for reforestation on public and private lands. Game animals such as deer, grouse and rabbit, as well as many non-game animals thrive in the area. Hunting these and other game animals is permitted on the forest in season. The forest is open to the public from 6 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. |
| Reviews By Park Visitors: |
| Be the 1st to Review Gifford State Forest. You can rate it, post a comment on it, or do both. |
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| Area Accommodations |
| Cottages and Cabins | | | |  | Mesa Vista Lodge - Union Furnace, OH
Mesa Vista Lodge offers 4200 sq. ft. of luxury living with 6 bedrooms, 4 full baths, 2 gas log fireplaces, massive kitchen/dining/great room with cathedral ceiling, 8-10 person hot tub and 2400 sq. ft. of covered walk-around porch.
Web Site: http://www.mesavista-lodge.com/ |
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| | Note to Park related businesses:
List your vacation cabin, weekend getaway, log cabin rental, romantic cottage, vacation home, resort, hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, country inn, campground, RV park, horseback riding stable, canoe livery, river rafting, outfitting, sporting goods store, guide service, RV rental or any other park related activity, park related attraction or park related service on Google or StateParks.com. (more).... |
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| Local Visitor Information Web Sites |
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| Related Links: |
| Big Trees of Athens County, Ohio - Big Trees of Athens County, Ohio. This page was last revised on May 15, 2002. Native tree species are in boldface. Trees that are not strictly native but are close to their native ranges are... | | The Ohio Academy of Science-OHIO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY200APPENDIX - ... in the following locations [27,53-56,68,187]: Athens Twp.: Watertower Woods Bern Twp.: Gifford State Forest Canaan Twp.: Dow Lake Strouds Run State Park Carthage Twp.: Desioner Woods Dover Twp. ... | | Area Campgrounds | | Strouds State Park
11661 State Park Rd
Athens, OH
(740) 592-2302
| Smoke Rise Resort & Campgrounds
82 N Court St
Athens, OH
(740) 592-4077
| Carthage Gap Camp
22575 Brimstone Rd
Coolville, OH
(740) 667-3072
| Rivers Bend Campground
1051 State Route 144
Coolville, OH
(740) 667-3530
| Inn the Woods
17250 Campbell Rd
Nelsonville, OH
(740) 753-0500
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| | Area Fishing Related Businesses | | Frank's Bait Carryout & Cnfctn
101 Central Ave
Athens, OH
(740) 593-3755
| Village Bait & Tackle
26201 Main St
Coolville, OH
(740) 667-6817
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| | Area Resorts and Lodging | | Burr Oak Resort
Glouster, OH
(740) 767-2112
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