Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1
FREE hike-in camping. Camp 1 is the first designated backpack campground on Zaleski State Forest's Selinde Roosenburg Memorial Backpack Trail, in Vinton County near Lake Hope -- the closest camp to the Schoolhouse trailhead where the loop starts. ODNR's own map for the Selinde Roosenburg Memorial Backpack Trail 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' -- fill it in before you start at either trailhead (Schoolhouse or Iron Furnace, available 24 hours), drop it in the registration box and carry the stub. ODNR's Zaleski page adds that 'all campsites are on a first-come, first-served basis and there are no reservations.' Camping is capped at 14 days in any 30, AND -- unusual, so plan your route -- 'camps must be moved to a different backpack campground each day', so this is a walking trip, not a basecamp. ODNR says the backpack campsites 'offer a latrine and potable water year-round', but the trail map is more cautious: the water is serviced caches filled from the Village of Zaleski that 'may not be serviced in winter due to bad road conditions' -- carry your own and a filter. Fires only in the fire rings provided or a portable stove, cutting trees is prohibited, pack out all refuse, quiet hours 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Zaleski is Ohio's second-largest state forest (27,822 acres) and a public hunting area, so wear blaze orange in season; watch for venomous snakes. The trail is named for Selinde Roosenburg, an ODNR forest technician killed in a 2021 UTV rollover on a prescribed burn. Confirm current rules with the forest office (740) 596-5781 before you go -- we have not visited.
Everything you need — measured from Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1 · Ohio Division of Forestry · OH
- WWater0 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- MMechanic6 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- GGrocery9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- OOutfitter10 mi
- EVEV fast charger10 mi
- DDump13 mi
- ShShower13 mi
- AAir-up32 mi
- PPropane50 mi
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1
Nearby & resupply — around Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1 · Ohio Division of Forestry · OH (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRaccoon Creek · ~0.7 mi · USGS: perennial stream
- Also mapped (OSM)Bear Hollow Pond (water) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townMineral · ~3.1 mi
- Nearest rail line~7.4 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.2 mi
- FuelFuel · ~20.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~13.0 mi
- GroceriesBulk Food Depot · ~9.6 mi
- PharmacyThe Drugstore at O'Bleness Hospital · ~11.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicHopewell Health Centers · ~10.4 mi
- HardwareMenards · ~15.0 mi
EV charging — from Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1 · Ohio Division of Forestry · OH — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger10.5 mi straight-line NE — CITY STATION 2, Nelsonville, OH · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach11 within 25 mi · 46 within 50 · 188 within 100 · 482 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)13.3 mi — DONWOODAUTO HYUNDAI 2, Athens
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.2 mi — CHERRY RIDGE STATION 1, New Plymouth, OH · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Little Fish Brewing Co, Athens, 10.3 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for customer use only · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 214210 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1 · Ohio Division of Forestry · OH — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaAthens US50 WB · ~9.1 mi SE
- Vault / pit toiletDoanville-York Bicycle Trailhead · ~10.5 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSycamore Trailhead · ~10.6 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletElm Trailhead · ~11.0 mi N · USFS
Coming out here — Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1 · Ohio Division of Forestry · OH
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Raccoon Creek as a perennial stream, ~0.7 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 33.2% — steep. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~7.4 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. The nearest track the atlas classes as a main line is ~7.6 mi from the pin. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1 elsewhere
Other camps near Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 2~1.5 mi
- Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 3~3.1 mi
- Stone Church Horse Campground~20.1 mi · fee
- Burr Oak Cove Campground~21.1 mi · fee
Who holds the land at Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Zaleski State Forest, manager on record: Ohio Department of Natural Resources (state). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1
What we don’t know about Zaleski State Forest Backpack Trail - Camp 1
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.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it