Twenty minutes past Nelsonville, the land changes jurisdiction: Ohio's only national forest begins. Wayne National Forest sprawls across a quarter-million acres of reclaimed Appalachian hill country, and its Athens district — right on Hocking Hills' doorstep — now hosts one of the most ambitious trail projects east of the Mississippi. If the state park is the region's museum, the Wayne is its backcountry.
The Baileys Trail System
The headline act. On a 9,000-acre parcel near Chauncey, Doanville, and Nelsonville, the Baileys Trail System is building toward 88 miles of purpose-built singletrack — roughly 58 miles are open now — managed by the Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia (ORCA) in partnership with the forest. Designed first for mountain biking but open to hikers, trail runners, and adaptive athletes, it's machine-built and sustainably graded: flowing climbs instead of staircases, with loops from mellow beginner circuits (including adaptive-accessible routes) to expert descents. The longest single trail, Pig Iron, runs 7.1 miles.
| Trailhead | Location |
|---|---|
| Chauncey-Dover Community Park | 8433 W Bailey Rd, Millfield — the original hub, with parking and a picnic shelter |
| Doanville-York | 5034 W Bailey Rd, Nelsonville — about 4.5 miles from the first, adding direct Nelsonville-side access |
Bike rentals and gear are available locally through the trail organization, and the system connects toward Athens via the paved Hockhocking Adena Bikeway — meaning you can ride from a college town into a national forest.
The rest of the Wayne, briefly
The Athens district's Welcome Center on US-33 in Nelsonville is the orientation stop (free Junior Ranger activity guides for kids, maps for everyone). Beyond the Baileys, the Wayne offers dispersed camping, hunting and foraging under national-forest rules — notably more permissive than the state park — plus horse trail systems and, in the Marietta unit farther east, the famed 14-mile Archers Fork loop with the Irish Run Natural Bridge.
State park vs. national forest: the honest comparison
Hocking Hills State Park delivers world-class geology in concentrated, managed doses. The Wayne delivers scale, solitude, and freedom — long miles, legal campfires and camping, and forest recovering beautifully from its coal-country past (the Baileys' name and its "Pig Iron" trail nod to it). The best regional trip uses both: gorges by morning, Baileys miles by afternoon, and a Nelsonville evening in between.
Stay between park and forest
Nelsonville and Logan-area stays put the state park and the Baileys trailheads both within 20 minutes.
Find Cabins & Lodging →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Baileys Trail System?
A purpose-built trail network in Wayne National Forest near Chauncey and Nelsonville — roughly 58 miles open of a planned 88 — managed by ORCA for mountain biking, hiking, trail running, and adaptive use, with trailheads at Chauncey-Dover Park and Doanville-York.
Can hikers use the Baileys trails?
Yes — the system is multi-use, open to hikers and runners as well as bikes, with adaptive routes built into the beginner loops. Stay predictable, yield appropriately, and check trail status after heavy rain.
How is Wayne National Forest different from Hocking Hills State Park?
The Wayne is multiple-use national forest: dispersed camping, legal hunting in season, campfires, and long trail miles with real solitude — versus the state park's concentrated, day-use-only gorge features. Rules, and crowds, differ accordingly.