Pine Run Trail to Vinton Iron Furnace

Vinton Furnace Experimental State Forest is roughly 12,000 acres used for forest research, but also open to hikers. There are several buildings at the park's 'headquarters' and if you go during the week, you can drive to a parking area nearby. This adds about 3/4 of a mile to each end of the hike, getting from the gate to the headquarters. Once there, the 'trails', which are essentially gravel roads, branch out like spokes on a wheel. Each spoke is marked by name and they are relatively easy to find. This hike leads from the entrance gate to the Pine Ridge trail, which ends at the ruins of the Vinton Iron Furnace, and coke ovens. Standing in the center of the headquarters area, the Pine Run trail would be at roughly 11 o'clock. Grades are mostly gentle and you are walking on a gravel road. There are no blazes on the road, but the path is obvious. When you reach the end of the road there is a turnaround surrounding a tree. A mowed path leads off to the right and begins to descend downhill, switching back several times. This is the most strenuous part of the trail, but it doesn't last long. The path leads you right to the ruins of the coke ovens. These ovens were made in Belgium in the mid 1800's, and shipped here as individual numbered bricks for reassembly. The coke they produced was used as fuel to make iron in the furnace, which is located directly over the hill from the ovens. Again, a mowed path to the furnace is provided. Iron furnaces dot the southern Ohio landscape but the coke ovens are the only known remnants of Belgian ovens anywhere in the world. The path back is simply reversing the route. This is a very underutilized state forest where you can go for a nice walk in the woods and experience some unique history. A day at Vinton here is highly recommended.