Sometimes I read things on the internet that say things like, “Best coffee in the world!” and think, “Sure, that’s just what your opinion.” Recently, I read that John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio is considered the “The Most Scenic Park in Western Ohio”. I had been to John Bryan SP years ago and I honestly could not remember what it was exactly like. I decided that we had to make the trip over there and explore the trails of John Bryan once again and see for myself if it was, in fact, the most scenic.
Getting to John Bryan State Parks
How Do You Get To John Bryan State Parks:
John Bryan is a little off the beaten path, but still close to US 70. My GPS took us to the main entrance where the park office is located. Stop here for some snacks, fill the water bottles, and grab a MAP! You’ll find the campground at the front of the park, plenty of trails, and an awesome playground.
3790 State Route 370
Yellow Springs, OH 45387
Trailheads
Trailheads:
When we arrived at John Bryan State Park I grabbed my camera and was going to snap a picture of the sign at the trailhead to use as our map, there wasn’t one. I knew we had made it to the trail but without a sign, I admit I kind of wondered. We drove to the main trailhead and found that parking was easy and abundant.
Since I had forgotten to get a map at the park office when we got there, we decided to use our Ohio State Park app to find our way around. We have Verizon service and it was not great at this park.
The hiking world is your little oyster here. Most of the hikes are short and moderate, you can’t go wrong picking out a family hike within the boundaries of this SCENIC State Park.
There are 10 trails to hike in John Bryan State Park:
- Big Furnace Trail (Camp Trail) – 1 Mile
- Quarry Loop Trail – .47 Mile
- North Rim Trail – 2.7 Miles
- Pitt-Cinci Stage Coach Trail – 1.3 Miles
- Poplar Trail – 0.1 Miles
- Ridge Trail – 1.5 Miles
- South Gorge Trail – 1.2 Miles (CLOSED DUE TO CONSTRUCTION)
- Orton Memorial Trail – 0.4 Miles
- Gorge Trail (John L. Rich Trail) – 1.3 Miles
- Narrows Trail (John L. Rich Trail)- .6 Mile
- Storybook Trail
Restrooms:
In a family, our size taking a potty break before any kind of hike is absolutely imperative. The kids made their way to the bathrooms and suddenly you hear their pretend gagging sounds. (INSERT ROLLING MY EYES HERE) John Bryan has bathrooms but they are pit toilets, bring your own hand sanitizer and be prepared to hold your nose.
Storybook Trail
I need to take a moment to talk about this special trail here in the park. I took my granddaughters on a hike through this and it was magical. My two-year-old grand kept saying, “Look, another story.” as we came upon each page of the book we were reading as we hiked.
This is a short but challenging hike for little people and it is PERFECT to give them a taste of the outdoors while searching for the next page of the book.
If you don’t have a lot of time or your kids are young this is a MUST-DO!
Check out the short reel on Instagram to see the trail and how to read the book as you go.
Things to Do at John Bryan State Park
HIking is one of the premier things to do at John Bryan State Park, however you can find plenty of other activities to experience when you visit.
CAMPING
We checked out the park on all the levels. Of course, we had to drive through the campground and vetted out some sites for a future stay here.
We did make note that John Bryan only has 9 electric sites but no water hookups at the sites.
Make sure you have a FULL reservoir of water in your travel trailer/RV or bring some jugs for water if you are tent camping. While this campground seems small, we are looking forward to staying there and hiking all the trails next year. I am learning that bigger isn’t always better. Great memories can be made in quiet sites with warm campfires.
ROCK CLIMBING AND RAPPELLING
A public rock climbing and rappelling area is located off the North Rim Trail. Equipment is not provided for you, so bring your own. Top-rope climbing is permitted from dawn to dusk and bouldering is prohibited. There are not many places to climb in the western part of the state, so take advantage of the opportunity here. We are still in the learning stages of climbing and don’t own our equipment, so maybe someday we can come here and do this.
Other Activities:
You can also enjoy mountain biking, picnicking, canoeing, and disk golf at John Bryan State Park. With so many things to do here, you can spend a full day or bring your camping gear and make it a weekend.
Pro Tips:
- Get a park map.
- Trailheads are marked but not easily identified.
- Take plenty of water.
- Cell service is spotty.
- I recommend you download the app to your smartphone Ohio State Parks.
Why not grab your hiking buddy or your family and head to the westernmost scenic Ohio State Park this weekend!
Happy Adventuring!
Brandy
When we head to this area we always go to Young’s Jersey Dairy! Ice cream and fun are only 5 miles away. YUMMY!
