by William Eric McFadden
From the Scioto Trail State Park website:
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Nestled within the beautiful 9,000-acre Scioto Trail State Forest in Ross County, Scioto Trail State Park’s 218 acres are a wooded refuge. Just south of Chillicothe, the ridgetops and winding forest roads offer breathtaking vistas of southern Ohio’s Scioto River Valley. The beauty and remoteness of Scioto Trail offers the best of escapes to park visitors. Camping, fishing and paddling are just a few of the adventures awaiting outdoor enthusiasts.
From the Scioto Trail State Forest website:
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During World War I, the area that is now Scioto Trail State Forest was used as an artillery range for Camp Sherman. Seventy-five millimeter guns and six-inch howitzers were set up at the mouth of Stoney Creek on the Scioto River and fired at targets in the general area of Stewart and Caldwell lakes.
The purchase of land for the state forest began in 1922, and most of the present forest area was purchased by 1937. The first 9,088 acres cost an average of $7.70 per acre. The forest was named after the Native American trail that ran from what is now Chillicothe to Portsmouth. They called it the Scioto Trail. Route 23 follows the path of the trail. The major development of the area took place in the 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps built most of the roads, lakes and early recreational facilities. The forest now covers 9,600 acres.
Scioto Trail State Forest maintains 26 miles of bridle trails for day use by horseback riders and hikers. Mountain bikes are also permitted on these trails.
Six miles of paved roads and 18 miles of gravel roads provide good access to all areas of the forest. Scenic vistas and overlooks on several of the roads attract many visitors year-round, but especially during the fall when the leaves are turning color.
Populations of deer, wild turkey, squirrel and grouse encourage many hunters to pursue their favorite sport at Scioto Trail State Forest. Mushroom hunting in the spring is attracting more and more visitors to the forest each year.
The 250-acre Scioto Trail State Park consists of two areas in the middle of the state forest. Two 15-acre lakes, a campground, two primitive camping areas, picnic areas, trails and a sled hill are all located within the park.
Pictures
Description
On Thursday, June 12, 2025, one member of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team performed successful simultaneous activations of Scioto Trail State Park (US-1990) and Scioto Trail State Forest (US-5448) in Ohio as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA; link) program.
While enroute to Chillicothe to provide communications support to the Southern Ohio Forest Rally (link), Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, stopped at Gazebo Island on Caldwell Lake within the state park to perform a two-fer activation.
The Scioto Trail State Park sign. (Yes, this
photo was taken as Eric was leaving the park.)
The gazebo on Gazebo Island on Caldwell Lake.
Eric arrived at Gazebo Lake at about 1830 UTC to find the island to be unoccupied. Choosing to operate inside the small gazebo, Eric carried his KX2 Mini Travel Kit, mast and spike, and large clipboard down from the parking lot onto the island. Because HF propagation conditions were unsettled, Eric chose to deploy the largest antenna he had with him, his Tufteln (link) 9:1 end-fed random wire (EFRW) with a homebrew 58' radiating element and three 17' counterpoise wires; he deployed the radiator as a sloper up to the top of his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 carbon-fiber mast held upright on a spike, and he placed the three counterpoise wires directly on the ground. Placing his Elecraft KX2 on the gazebo's table, Eric was on the air at 1854 UTC.
Eric's KX2 station, his mast, and his antenna.
Eric had marginal cell-signal at this location and would be able to use the POTA Spots website (link) to spot himself and to look for possible park-to-park (P2P) QSOs.
Eric began his operation on 20m. Finding himself a clear frequency to run, he began calling "CQ POTA" and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO came at 1855 UTC with KX9DX in Indiana. This was followed at 1856 UTC by a QSO with K1BZ in Maine and at 1858 UTC by a QSO with AA5UZ in Louisiana.
When responses to his calls of "CQ" stopped, Eric checked POTA Spots for P2P QSO opportunities and at 1911 UTC he completed a P2P QSO on 20m with KB5YZY at Little Prairie State Conservation Area (US-11128) in Missouri.
Returning to his run, at 1914 UTC Eric completed a QSO with KB6NU who was activating Pinckney State Recreation Area (US-3322) in Michigan. This was followed at 1916 UTC by a QSO with N9GZ in Illinois, and at 1925 UTC by QSO with NA9M who was activating Capital City State Trail (US-9773) in Wisconsin.
Switching to 40m, Eric found a clear frequency to run, began calling "CQ POTA", and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO in this run came at 1931 UTC with KD9YEY who was activating Morgan-Monroe State Forest (US-4215) in Indiana. This was followed at 1932 UTC by a QSO with KE8PEG in Michigan, and at 1934 UTC by a QSO with KW4NJA in Georgia.
Eric finished his operation by hunting for additional P2P QSOs. At 1938 UTC, he completed a P2P QSO on 20m with N8EU who was activating Cape Lookout National Seashore (US-0683) in North Carolina. At 1941 UTC, he completed a P2P QSO on 20m with K9MMS who was activating Silver Springs State Park (US-1024) in Illinois. Finally, at 1947 UTC, he completed a P2P QSO on 20m with WK4DS who was activating Cloudland Canyon State Park (US-2169) in Georgia.
In all, Eric made thirteen QSOs, including seven P2P QSOs, in fifty-three minutes of on-air time. All of Eric's QSOs were CW and were made at the 5-watt level.
Caldwell Lake.
Eric also submitted his log to the World Wide Flora and Fauna in Amateur Radio (WWFF; link) program for Scioto Trail State Park.
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