Shady Trails Family Campground

The Great Outdoors

Ancient Native American mounds, earthworks, and related creations are scattered around central and southern Ohio, and some of them are within an hour's drive when you rent a camper near Shady Trails Family Campground. One of the closest is Fort Hill Earthworks and Nature Preserve, where you can find a nearly intact example of an ancient hilltop enclosure built by Hopewell Indians some 2,000 years ago. The earthworks likely functioned as a ceremonial gathering place. Eleven miles of hiking trails thread through the fully mature forest where some hard-to-find birds and rare or endangered wildflowers are commonly sighted.For a look at the grander achievements of the Hopewell people, take your Hillsboro camper rental to the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park near present-day Chillicothe. Here you'll see several mounds scattered across a 13-acre field, which at first glance, are nothing more than grassy knobs, but taken together, form complex and monumental geometric enclosures where ancient Native Americans gathered for feasts, funerals, and rites of passage. Learn more about the Hopewell culture and the park on a ranger-guided interpretive walk or canoe tour, or on two wheels.Anglers looking to land bass, muskellunge, and walleye need not travel far for game. Rocky Fork State Park, a mere 15-minute drive from your campsite at Shady Trails Family Campground, beckons visitors with a scenic gorge, dolomite caves, and natural wetlands where waterfowl, opossum, and muskrat abound. Also watch out for raccoons, red fox, and white-tailed deer. The small white flowers of Sullivantia bloom in the moist cliff face of the gorge in mid-summer. Motorized boating is allowed on the lake, with adrenaline-seekers taking advantage of unlimited horsepower for water skiing.

Exploring the Area

Camping in Hillsboro, OH, puts you close to Amish communities who have flourished in the area since they arrived here from Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. Highland County has its share of Amish entrepreneurship, with some of their businesses and shops located right in Hillsboro and nearby Bainbridge. Sample Amish homemade baked goods and produce, and admire their furniture and cabinetry. Watch Amish farmers on horse-drawn wagons haul their crops.For roadside curiosity, the hard-to-miss "World's Largest Horseshoe Crab" by the side of a local Baptist Church is worth a look. For the railfan, the B&O Railroad Depot on Main Street, built in the late 19th century, is also a must-see. And the archaeology enthusiast will be delighted to know that in Lynchburg, there's a mound left behind by a group of Ohio Valley Indians who lived in the area sometime between 50 B.C. and 500 A.D. It is one of the best-preserved earthworks in private ownership so plan ahead if you wish to visit.To experience rural Ohio, time your visit during the Highland County Fair in September and take your rental motorhome to Shady Trails Family Campground to get close to the action. Carnival rides, animal shows, and craft displays entertain the kids while a rodeo, tractor pulls, and demolition derbies make for fun-filled entertainment for visitors of all ages. The week-long fair, like many county fairs, is mostly a celebration of the farming life, so expect to see cattle, swine, and poultry displayed with blue ribbons.In this unassuming corner of southwest Ohio, who would expect that nature, culture, and ancient history come together in one neat package? Why not see for yourself? Book an RV rental in Highland County today and discover the surprises that await you.