Follow the beautiful Scioto Valley south out of Chillicothe to Waverly, with its historic district and Emmitt House Restaurant, and to a string of mounds, geometric remains, and historic houses along Wakefield Mound Road south of Piketon. On the opposite side of the Scioto River, a few miles before Portsmouth, the irregular Tremper Mound lies on private land beneath the western bluff. The city of Portsmouth, with remains of a huge complex of earthworks, stands at the most dramatic river confluence in the region.

Going south out of Chillicothe, either take Route 23/104 through the hills, or follow Three Locks Road along the Scioto River as it flows south between the huge, steep bluffs of its Teays-Age (pre-glacial) valley. This route along the base of the western river bluffs is also following the old canal bed, visible in aerial photos as lines of trees, and occasionally on the ground as an extra-large ditch, most of the way to the Ohio River.

Lower Scioto Valley

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