American Adventurer
Agency-listedODNR Division of ForestryFree

Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5

Drive-up · public land · OH · 38.66029, -83.20763
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The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

FREE hike-in camping. Camp 5 is the southernmost designated backpack campground on the Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail, in Scioto County west of Portsmouth, on its own side trail off the main south loop. ODNR's own Shawnee Backpack Trail map states the rules: 'People may camp only in the designated campground areas shown on the map' and 'A self-registration permit (NO FEE) is required of all hikers' -- you fill it out before you start, at the trailhead parking (available 24 hours) or at forest headquarters on a weekday, drop it in the registration box and carry the stub. No reservations are taken and none are needed; ODNR confirmed in June 2025 that Shawnee stays first-come, first-served. Camping is capped at 14 days in any 30-day period. There is a latrine at each campground and nothing else. WATER: do not count on it -- the only supplies are caches near road crossings, filled from the City of Portsmouth, and ODNR warns they 'may not be serviced in winter'; carry your own and a filter. Shawnee is Ohio's largest state forest at 63,000+ acres, the 'Little Smokies', and it is a public hunting area, so wear blaze orange in season. ODNR specifically warns about venomous snakes here -- both copperheads and the endangered timber rattlesnake -- so watch where you put your hands and feet in rocky ground. The forest is open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. to everyone but legal hunters and anglers. Do not confuse this with Shawnee STATE PARK's Turkey Creek Campground nearby, which charges. Confirm current rules with the forest office (740) 858-6685 before you go -- we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5
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Weather outlook — at Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,135 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5NIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.

Everything you need — measured from Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5 · public land · OH

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 5 miWDump · 5 miDSuburban Propane · Propane · 34 miPGarrison Short Stop · Fuel · 4 miFGrocery · 4 miGSmith Discount Pharmacy · Pharmacy · 12 miRxOhio Builder Surplus · Hardware · 6 miHMechanic · 4 miMLaundry · 5 miLShower House 2 · Shower · 20 miShAir-up · 30 miAUrgent care · 10 mi+River City Adventure Company · Outfitter · 12 miOGarrison Post Office · Mail · 4 mi@Glockner Chevrolet · EV fast charger · 15 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • FFuel4 mi
  • GGrocery4 mi
  • MMechanic4 mi
  • @Mail4 mi
  • WWater5 mi
  • LLaundry5 mi
  • DDump5 mi
  • HHardware6 mi
  • +Urgent care10 mi
  • OOutfitter12 mi
  • RxPharmacy12 mi
  • EVEV fast charger15 mi
  • ShShower20 mi
  • AAir-up30 mi
  • PPropane34 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 mi out.

One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗

The site — Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5

Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
Elevation
1,135 ft
State
OH
Coordinates
38.66029, -83.20763
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5 · public land · OH (OpenStreetMap)

  • Nearest townGarrison · ~4.0 mi
  • Drinking waterWater · ~4.9 mi
  • FuelGarrison Short Stop · ~4.2 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~5.0 mi
  • GroceriesGrocery · ~4.2 mi
  • PharmacySmith Discount Pharmacy · ~12.4 mi
  • Hospital / clinicHospital · ~9.7 mi
  • HardwareOhio Builder Surplus · ~5.6 mi

EV charging — from Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5 · public land · OH — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5 · public land · OH — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5 elsewhere

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Other camps near Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5

Permit
A self-registration permit (no fee) is required of all hikers.
Area rules
People may camp only in the designated campground areas shown on the map.
Source
public land records
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
Source: ODNR Division of Forestry, Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail map (dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/odnr/forestry/Maps/shawnee_backpack.pdf), 'Backpack Trail Rules' 1-3, read 2026-07-29. Pin: ODNR GIS OIT_Services/ODNR_POI/MapServer/0 (statewide, all-division Points of Interest), SUBTYPE='Primitive Camping', outSR=4326 ('Primitive Camping' point). Name: 31 ft from ODNR's own 'Camp 5 Backpack Side Trail' in ODNR GIS FOR_Services/Forestry_Trails_verify/MapServer/5 ('Forestry_Trails'), true nearest-point distance per segment -- not a bounding-box centre (next-nearest camp trail 16,335 ft), 1,079 ft from the main south loop. Corroborated by OSM node 10177525008 'Camp 5' 120 ft away (fee=no -- corroboration only). Wilderness check: 7,540 ft from the Backpack Wilderness Side Trail, so the advance special-use permit that governs the wilderness does not apply. FREE STATUS: ODNR's own backpack-trail map requires 'a self-registration permit (no fee)' -- the operator prices the permit in the sentence that requires it -- and Ohio charges no state-forest entry or vehicle permit (no Discover-Pass analogue), so the free-only guardrail on ACCESS cost is met; a free self-issued register is expressly allowed by the mission. CAMPING-ALLOWED guardrail met by the restrictive form of rule 1 ('may camp only in the designated campground areas'). Corroborated by ohiodnr.gov 'Primitive Camping' ('reservations are not required or accepted' at backpack campsites) and by the ODNR news release of 2025-06-06, which keeps Shawnee and Zaleski on first-come, first-served while moving Hocking and Mohican-Memorial to reserved permits. Hunters camps (licensed hunters only) and horse camps (horse required) on these forests were checked and EXCLUDED. NOTE: the GIS `FEE` attribute is NULL on 100% of rows in both layers and was NOT relied on. Ingest 2026-07-29.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.

What we don’t know about Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5

A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.

Before you go — Shawnee State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 5

Fire rules & restrictions →Off-grid communication →First-night troubleshooting →Getting unstuck →All field notes →
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