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Buckeye state forest with open hunting
Tar Hollow State Forest: seasons, rules and access
One state forest of 16,446 acres in Ross County and 2 more counties, open to licensed hunters.
Photo: Niagara66 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Getting to Tar Hollow State Forest
Parking, trailheads and gates near Tar Hollow State Forest
- Parking areaParking · 2.1 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.4 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.5 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.5 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 6.6 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
Tar Hollow State Forest: size, setting and history
Tar Hollow State Forest covers 16,446 acres in Ross County and 2 other counties, a state forest run by the ODNR Division of Forestry. Questions go to District 4 in Athens, the district that covers it. Walk it and you will find fall color, according to the agency listing. Expect company: the page names hiking, plus Buckeye Trail, horseback trails and backpacking trails. Parcels are owned outright by the state. You will find it as "Tar hollow" in OAC 1501:31-15-04(A)(3).
One line from the ODNR listing:
“Tar Hollow State Forest originated from the Ross-Hocking Land Utilization project of the 1930s.”
Sources disagree on size, from 16,139 to 16,446 acres; this page uses 16,446 (ODNR Division of Forestry State Forest Guide).
| Record | Acres |
|---|---|
| State Forest Guide | 16,446 |
| Hunting-status layer | 16,423 |
| GIS parcel area | 16,139 |
From the ODNR property page, ODNR hunting-status layer, OAC; retrieved 2026-11-05, checked November 6, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Tar Hollow State Forest
Tar Hollow State Forest: rules that apply on the ground
No restricted parcels: Tar Hollow State Forest is open land in the status layer.
- No salt, grain or feed may be put out.
- Count your does: two antlerless deer from public areas per year.
- The forest is open to hunting except where posted.
- Never fire across a forest road.
- Night hours: hunters allowed, others out by 11 p.m.
From the agency page, public hunting area rules, OAC 1501:3-6-03; checked November 6, 2026.
When the Tar Hollow State Forest game is in season
No game is named in the sources for Tar Hollow State Forest; statewide dates hold. Spring gobbler dates listed are the 2026 ones.
| Game | Season | Opens | Closes | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | Archery | Sep 26, 2026 | Feb 7, 2027 | County limit |
| Deer | Youth gun | Nov 21, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | County limit |
| Deer | Gun | Nov 30, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | County limit |
| Deer | Bonus gun | Dec 19, 2026 | Dec 20, 2026 | County limit |
| Deer | Muzzleloader | Jan 2, 2027 | Jan 5, 2027 | County limit |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Oct 1, 2026 | Oct 25, 2026 | 1 turkey |
| Squirrels | Regular | Sep 1, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | 6 daily |
| Cottontail | Regular | Nov 6, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | 4 daily |
| Pheasant | Regular | Nov 6, 2026 | Jan 10, 2027 | 2 roosters daily |
| Cottontail | Youth small game weekend | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 25, 2026 | 4 daily |
| Cottontail | Youth small game weekend | Oct 31, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 4 daily |
| Pheasant | Youth small game weekend | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 25, 2026 | 2 roosters daily |
| Pheasant | Youth small game weekend | Oct 31, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 2 roosters daily |
| Raccoon | Hunting | Nov 10, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | No limit |
| Raccoon | Trapping | Nov 10, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | No limit |
Dates and limits from the 2026-27 hunting seasons list and the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations; species from the record (No species named by ODNR for this area); checked November 6, 2026.
County rules around Tar Hollow State Forest
Ross County allows 3 deer per hunter in 2026-27. Final 2025-26 figure for Ross County: 3,402 deer checked. This season to November 3, 2026, 579 deer have been checked there.
| County | Deer limit | CWD | Zone | Spring | Fall | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross County | 3 deer | No | C | South | Open | 3,402 |
| Vinton County | 2 deer | No | C | South | Open | 1,931 |
| Hocking County | 2 deer | No | C | South | Open | 2,643 |
From the deer bag limit map, DSA, waterfowl zones, turkey zones, 2025-26 deer harvest report, harvest to date (ODNR Division of Wildlife); checked November 6, 2026.
Mapped hunting places beside Tar Hollow State Forest
Tar Hollow State Park lies 2 miles northeast of the Tar Hollow State Forest point, the nearest open land. Nearby public places: 3 wildlife areas, 2 state parks and 1 public access area. Neighbours closed to hunting: Bison Hollow State Nature Preserve (nature preserve), Camp Oty'Okwa State Nature Preserve (nature preserve) and Betsch Fen State Nature Preserve (nature preserve).
| Place | Type | Acres | County | Straight line | Which way |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tar Hollow State Park | State park | 604 | Ross | 2 miles | northeast |
| Ross Lake Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 1,107 | Ross | 8 miles | west |
| Great Seal State Park | State park | 1,682 | Ross | 9 miles | west |
| Pickaway County WA 3 | Wildlife area | 68 | Pickaway | 10 miles | north |
| Three Locks Road – Scioto River Fishing Access | Access area | 5 | Ross | 10 miles | southwest |
| Pickaway County WA 6 | Wildlife area | 50 | Pickaway | 10 miles | north |
Point: ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 3 parcels (polygon centroid of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Closed places from the lands.json closed list. Checked November 6, 2026. Statewide public land map.
Tar Hollow State Forest: who to call and which map to carry
District help: Wildlife District Four, 360 E State St, Athens, OH 45701, 740-589-9930. Ross County is patrolled by officer Bob Nelson ((614) 565-9754). Poaching tips go to 1-800-POACHER, any hour. A note on the map reads: be used as testing grounds for reforestation of tree species. A note on the map reads: watching, hunting and scenic touring.
- Area map PDF · legend: camping, no hunting, trail, lake, picnic
- Map [Archived PDF]
- Map [Archived PDF]
- Tar Hollow State Forest Map [Archived PDF]
- Route to the point
Address and phone from the agency page and the ODNR Property Details layer; district offices from the ODNR Districts layer; officers from the officer list; point from ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 3 parcels (polygon centroid of the largest part); checked November 6, 2026.
Supply towns and ODNR help around Tar Hollow State Forest
Measured straight, Adelphi is 7 miles from Tar Hollow State Forest. For a full grocery run, Chillicothe (21,769 people) is the pick. Allow for 32 miles of straight-line distance to the Oak Hill ODNR office.
| Town | County | 2024 population | Away | Which way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelphi | Ross | 311 | 7 miles | north |
| Chillicothe | Ross | 21,769 | 12 miles | west |
| Massieville | Ross | – | 12 miles | southwest |
| Andersonville | Ross | – | 14 miles | west |
| McArthur | Vinton | 1,743 | 17 miles | southeast |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); ODNR offices and businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 6, 2026.
First and last legal minutes across Tar Hollow State Forest seasons
Around Tar Hollow State Forest, deer light opens 30 minutes before sunrise and ends 30 minutes after sunset; rabbit and pheasant hunters keep strict sunrise to sunset.
| Day | Marker | Sun up | Sun down | Deer hours | Duck hours | Upland hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | Archery deer opens | 7:21 a.m. | 7:24 p.m. | 6:51 a.m. to 7:54 p.m. | 6:51 a.m. to 7:24 p.m. | 7:21 a.m. to 7:24 p.m. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Fall turkey | 7:26 a.m. | 7:16 p.m. | 6:56 a.m. to 7:46 p.m. | 6:56 a.m. to 7:16 p.m. | 7:26 a.m. to 7:16 p.m. |
| Nov 6, 2026 | Rabbit and pheasant | 7:04 a.m. | 5:26 p.m. | 6:34 a.m. to 5:56 p.m. | 6:34 a.m. to 5:26 p.m. | 7:04 a.m. to 5:26 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Deer gun week | 7:31 a.m. | 5:09 p.m. | 7:01 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. | 7:01 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. | 7:31 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. |
| Dec 12, 2026 | Second duck split | 7:41 a.m. | 5:08 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 5:38 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 5:08 p.m. | 7:41 a.m. to 5:08 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:47 a.m. | 5:11 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 5:41 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. | 7:47 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. |
| Jan 2, 2027 | Muzzleloader | 7:51 a.m. | 5:18 p.m. | 7:21 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. | 7:21 a.m. to 5:18 p.m. | 7:51 a.m. to 5:18 p.m. |
Hours rules from the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations; sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Eastern Time); checked November 6, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Tar Hollow State Forest district scenes and wildlife photos
Public range and clubs on the road to Tar Hollow State Forest
The closest ODNR-listed range to Tar Hollow State Forest is Hocking Hills State Park Archery Range, about 13 miles off as the crow flies. After it come club ranges that sit inside 30 miles.
From ODNR’s public range list and range pages, ranges’ own pages and directory listings, checked November 6, 2026.
Things people ask before driving to Tar Hollow State Forest
Do I need hunter orange on Tar Hollow State Forest during gun week?
Ohio requires a visible orange garment during deer gun seasons; camo orange counts.
May I bait deer on Tar Hollow State Forest?
Portable stands yes, bait no.
Which number reaches the Tar Hollow State Forest managers?
The area phone is 740-887-6275.
Deer hours at Tar Hollow State Forest on the first gun day?
Thirty minutes before sunrise to thirty after sunset; on November 30, 2026 that is 7:01 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. here (NOAA solar formula).
Is Tar Hollow State Forest fully open to hunters in the ODNR layer?
All parcels are open in the status layer.
Where do hunters buy supplies near Tar Hollow State Forest?
Adelphi, 7 miles away in a straight line.
Are Sundays open for hunting on Tar Hollow State Forest?
Ohio has no statewide Sunday restriction, so Sundays follow the regular seasons unless a lottery permit sets the day.
Do I have to report game shot on Tar Hollow State Forest?
Check it in by noon the next day; no check station visit is needed.
Acreage check: how large is Tar Hollow State Forest?
16,446 acres, according to the ODNR Division of Forestry State Forest Guide. The acreage table shows the spread.
What must I hold to hunt Tar Hollow State Forest legally?
Ohio license first, then the game permit. Public hunting land in Ohio charges no access fee.
Are there controlled hunts on Tar Hollow State Forest?
No drawn hunts here in 2026.
Which county deer limit applies to Tar Hollow State Forest?
It depends on the county: Ross 3; Vinton 2; Hocking 2. Only one buck per season in Ohio, and two antlerless deer at most from public land.
May I camp while hunting Tar Hollow State Forest?
Forest camping is limited to designated sites; check the forest office first.
Tar Hollow State Forest trip, last details
Rules, closures and lottery details for Tar Hollow State Forest can change mid-season; posted signs and the ODNR page have the last word.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4 · source 5; seasons from the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Checked November 6, 2026.
Other photos on this page: USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0); ShenandoahNPS (Public domain); Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren (CC BY 2.0).