The Fire Tower at Scioto Trail State Forest -- A Short Photo Essay

Donna and I have family that lives south along U.S. 23. On our way to and from sits a sign for "Scioto Trail National Forest" about 10 miles south of Chillicothe, at the intersection of SR 372.

Donna and I are nature fans and we have often talked of taking this road and seeing where it led.

Coming back from Kentucky one day this past April, we decided to turn on this path and have a look.

A winding road led us back into the countryside; and after a few miles we left the random houses behind and reached the forest lands. The trees were all still bare; except for the pines.

We drove past the fire tower, down and around the roads past the maintenance buildings, through the picnic areas and the camp ground. Then we followed a one-way, one lane road that led through the forest and it put us back out at the fire tower.

Once there, we climbed from the car to stretch our legs and I decided to climb the tower and get some pictures. Donna decided to stay below.

This kind of thing is a challenge for me. I have something of a fear of heights; and the see-through nature of the metal construction didn't help.

The closer I got towards the top, the more often I had to stop to calm and collect myself. Admittedly, I get lightheaded and my legs feel a bit rubbery.

I made it all the way to the top of the stairs, but the door leading into the shack was padlocked. Bummer.

Regardless, I took what pictures I could.



The Fire Tower - 01



The Geodesic Marker



Looking up the Fire Tower



Looking Down the Fire Tower



View 1



View 2



View 3



Then I spotted the Fire of my Heart


(pictures have been sharpened and had their contrast and color saturation modified a bit)

After snapping the picture of Donna, I made my way slowly back down the stairs and met her at the car.

As we drove off, we deemed the place as pretty cool and decided to come back and try camping there; maybe this summer.



Scioto Trail State Forest information -- (click here)



Scioto Trail State Park information -- (click here)



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