
July 16, 2024
The United States is renowned for its national parks and expansive natural travel destinations. But interestingly, much of our signature landscape did not develop through natural processes alone but was aided by mass-scale human intervention.
In the last century, the U.S. Government invested unprecedented amounts to pay workers nationwide to plant billions of trees, curb wildfires, and build bridges, damns, roads, and walkways that are still in use to this day.
This initiative was known as the New Deal, and its objectives were carried out by the millions of workers who comprised the Civilian Conservation Corps.
1. What was the Civilian Conservation Corps?
The Civilian Conservation Corps, often referred to as the CCC or the C’s, was one of the primary programs to come out of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, whose impact is still palpable today. From 1933 to 1942, the CCC provided work for unemployed young men in conservation efforts and natural resource development as the country clawed its way through the lasting burdens of the Great Depression.
Though the program has left marks all across the nation with projects in infrastructure, transportation, and conservation, the efforts in landscape and recreation can still be visited and enjoyed today. There are plenty of CCC Parks in our Appalachian subregion of the Ohio River Valley. Below, we have compiled a list of summer vacation spots to add to your trip list to get equal doses of history and outdoor recreation!
Here are some CCC summer vacation spots in each Appalachian state that we recommend checking out!
OHIO

Pike Lake State Park/Forest
- Developed in the 1930s by the CCC before becoming a state park in 1949
- 13-acre lake was hand dug by CCC workers
- Offers boating, camping and cabins, disc golf, fishing, picnicking, swimming, hiking

Shawnee State Park/Forest
- Park first opened in 1922 by Theodore Roosevelt as a state game preserve
- Further improvements by CCC in the 1930’s
- Became a state park and forest after ODNR’s creation in 1949
- Offers archery, backpacking, birding, boating, camping, disc golf, fishing, horseback riding, nature center with historic CCC log cabin, picnicking, storybook trail, swimming
PENNSYLVANIA
PA has second highest number of CCC Camps next to California

Parker Dam State Park
- Features the CCC Interpretive Center
- 968 acres with a lake, cabins, campground, and plenty of educational programs around the park

Promised Land State Park
- Features the Masker Museum
- One of the largest CCC museums in the commonwealth
- 3000 acres surrounded by the Delaware State Forest
- Fishing + boating in two lakes
- Cabins
- Camping
- Hiking
KENTUCKY

Pine Mountain State Resort Park
- Kentucky’s first state park in 1924
- Hike through Azalea trail and see CCC buildings from the 1930’s before reaching the Laurel Cove Natural Amphitheater or enjoy the birding of the Cumberland Plateau or lounge at the lodge of the resort

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
- Three CCC camps were located in the area and all helped develop Cumberland Falls State Park
- Falls known as the “Niagara of the South”
- 25 cabins and cottages
- 49 campsites
- 51 rooms in the historic DuPont Lodge
- Plethora of trails
WEST VIRGINIA

Coopers Rock State Forest
- Established in 1936
- Buildings and scenic overlook built by CCC
- Features two campgrounds with 50 total campsites
- 21 total trails
- Whitewater rafting, fishing, skiing

Watoga State Park
- West Virginia’s largest state park
- Hiking, fishing, boating
- Opened in 1937
- Administrative building, stone cabins, swimming pools, stone culverts, and bridges built by CCC
- 17 total trails
Want to learn more about the Civilian Conservation Corps’ legacy?
Last year, the American Climate Corps (ACC) officially launched. The program aims to train 20,000 young workers in high-demand skills to reinforce sustainable industries and boost climate-responsive leadership.
The ACC was modeled after the CCC, again demonstrating the long lasting impact of this historic initiative.