Kentucky Road Trip Series
As part of our Kentucky road trip, we took a little side trip into Ohio. I’m a Pinterest junky and while researching Kentucky sights I kept seeing pins for Hocking Hills State Park. It looked like such a great place to spend the day. I knew I had to fit it into our itinerary somehow. Since this road trip was during the Covid-19 pandemic some of our must-sees were closed so that meant I had to do some shuffling in our itinerary. That meant a day at Hocking Hills was possible.
Our road trip took place in the fall and while that led to small crowds it also meant it was the dry season in Ohio and Kentucky. Hence, the majority of the creeks and waterfalls were dry. That was a major bummer for me. The scenery was still beautiful though.
Hocking Hills State Park
Hocking Hills State Park is in south-central Ohio near Logan. It is almost due east from Chillicothe. There are over 25 miles of trails, rock formations, waterfalls, and caves within the park. The park is broken up into 7 hiking areas; Ash Cave, Cantwell Cliffs, Cedar Falls, Conkle’s Hollow, Old Man’s Cave, Rock House, and Hemlock Bridge Trail to Whispering Cave. All trails are now one-way loop trails. We visited 4 of those areas so that is what I’ll be focusing on in this post.
Along with hiking trails, Hocking Hills has camping, boating, rappelling, swimming, and hunting to name a few. The park is open from dawn to dusk every day. Admission is free. The park’s Visitor Center is located in the Old Man’s Cave trailhead area. The Visitor Center has restrooms and rangers to help answer your questions. Trail maps are also available or you can find them on the Hocking Hills State Park website. Each trail has its own map.
A word of caution, while some of these trails may be listed as easy, please watch your small children. There rocky areas with steep cliffs. Streams also can be much deeper and faster than they look. Use your best judgment and have fun!
Old Man’s Cave
- Location: State Route 664, Logan, OH 43138
- Distance: 1-1.5 miles
- Time: 1-2 hours
- Level: Strenuous because of stairs, steep inclines, and cliff edges
- Tip: Arrive early or late to avoid crowds
Old Man’s Cave is probably the most popular trail in Hocking Hills State Park. It has a very large parking lot, restrooms, a Visitor Center, and picnic tables. The trail begins at a kiosk in the parking lot. The first stop along the trail is Upper Falls.
Hikers can choose between 2 different exits. Choice 1 is at Old Man’s Cave, which ends at the Naturalist Cabin and Visitor Center. This segment is 1 mile and takes about 60 minutes. Choice 2 is past Old Man’s Cave to Lower Falls, this segment also ends at the Naturalist Cabin and Visitor Center. Exit 2 is 1.5 miles and takes about 1.5 hours. You can choose to add on to choice 2 by taking the Broken Rock Falls spur. This is a strenuous 0.5 mile out and back trail to a waterfall.
We chose choice 2 and did take the Broken Rock Falls spur. Like I said at the beginning, everything was dry so no waterfall. I would say that the most strenuous parts were the Broken Rock Falls spur trail and that general area. We have been on trails more strenuous than Old Man’s Cave.
Ash Cave
- Location: 27291 State Route 56, South Bloomingville, OH 43152
- Distance: 0.5 miles
- Time: About 40 minutes
- Level: Easy to moderate
- Tip: Arrive early or late, the parking lot does fill-up
Next, we drove a short distance to Ash Cave. This was an area I really wished wasn’t dry. Ash Cave is usually the highest waterfall in the county with a sheer drop of 90 feet. Seeing the water would have been so neat. The first part of the Ash Cave trail is paved and wheelchair accessible. Halfway down the trail, you reach the Ash Cave and the seasonal waterfall.
From there, hikers can continue on the unpaved portion of the trail. There is a series of stairs then you reach the rim trail. We didn’t find this trail to be strenuous at all. Wheelchairs and strollers must return on the paved trail.
Across the road from the Ash Cave trailhead, there is a medium-sized parking lot, restrooms, and a picnic area. We loved picnicking here. It was so nice and shaded. We hiked both Old Man’s Cave and Ash Cave before lunch.
Rock House
- Location: 16350 OH-374, Laurelville, OH 43135
- Distance: 0.5 miles
- Time: About an hour
- Level: Strenuous due to steps and steep inclines
- Tip: Arrive early or late, the cave can get crowded
Rock House is the only true cave in Hocking Hills State Park and it was our first stop after lunch. There are 2 good-sized parking lots, upper and lower. There are restrooms near each. A picnic area can be found near the upper parking lot trailhead.
Rock House has 2 trailheads, one at each parking lot. Both trails do come together and exit at the same place. We chose to park in the lower parking lot. This meant that after our hike we would have to walk across the upper parking lot and down a short trail that connects to the lower parking lot.
The trail at Rock House isn’t a long one but it was steep in places. Also, the cave is located partway up a cliff so you must navigate several uneven stone steps. Our kids absolutely loved exploring the cave. My only complaint would be the number of people inside the cave. It was a little crowded for my liking. I would definitely classify this trail as strenuous. We were huffing and puffing near the end.
Conkle’s Hollow
- Location: 24858 Big Pine Road, Rockbridge, OH 43149
- Distance: Lower trail – 1 mile, Upper trail – 2.5 miles
- Time: 1 hour+, depending on the trail you choose
- Level: Lower trail – Easy, Upper trail – Strenuous
- Tip: Don’t miss the little spur trails off the Lower trail
Conkle’s Hollow was our final trail at Hocking Hills and it is actually part of the State Nature Preserve. Because of this pets are not allowed on this trail. This area has the smallest paved parking lot. During our visit, they were allowing people to park in a large grassy area adjacent to the trailhead. There are restrooms here, but I didn’t see a designated picnic area.
At Conkle’s Hollow, you have the choice of 2 trails, Lower or Upper. The Lower trail, which we took, starts off paved and mostly level. That portion is handicap accessible. After a small boardwalk, the trail is no longer paved and is rockier. It’s hard for me to tell you where to look for the waterfall because it was completely dry when we visited. I believe we walked all along the creek bed. In my assessment, the Lower trail is easy.
Your second choice is the Upper trail. This trail has cliff views, steps, and is strenuous. The steep cliffs at Conkle’s Hollow are 200 feet high and the highest in Ohio.
Hotel near Hocking Hills
During our stay in Ohio, we stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Chillicothe. We had a nice 1 bedroom suite with a kitchen. It worked out well for us. The area was okay with lots of restaurants and shopping nearby. There was a playground adjacent to the hotel parking lot. Also, nearby is the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. It’s worth a visit.
Further reading
- 2 Days at the Ark Encounter & Creation Museum
- Bowling Green, Caves and Corvettes
- 7 Days in Central Kentucky
- Alum Hollow & Green Mountain Trails
- 7 Family Hikes in Kentucky’s Big South Fork
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own. I was not compensated for this post. Our road trip was during the Covid-19 pandemic, our experiences may not be the same as yours.
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