The forest is located in the rugged hills of the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau in Southern Ohio, with elevations ranging up to about 1100 feet above sea level. The historic Hope Furnace can be seen at Lake Hope State Park, just across the road from the forest.
References
^Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1369.