Our Adventure to The Hocking Hills

Cedar Falls Trail is a short .4 mile trail but has around 100 steps total to go down and back up. While not very long, there are a lot of steps. When you get to the bottom of the steps turn right to head to the waterfall and back up out of the park. If you turn left at the bottom of the steps it takes you on the Grandma Gatewood trail which is 1.2 miles. We usually only go about a .25 of a mile to the creek and turn around. It's pretty flat up to the creek area, sometimes we cross over the creek and explore a little on the other side. We usually do a little bit of Grandma Gatewood trail before heading over to Cedar Falls.

Whispering Cave Trail

Moderate

1 mile to cave, 5 miles for

entire trail

This is a newer trail to the Hocking Hills. Not technically a State Park but is adjacent to Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls. While the entire trail is about 5 miles, it is about 1 mile to get to Whispering Cave itself, then you can turn around and go back without having to do the entire trail. You can park at The Lodge and access the trail from behind The Lodge, there is signage to help you find your way. The trail itself is not long but there are about 150 steps total to descend into the gorge. Turn right at the bottom of the steps to make your way to Whispering Cave. After a heavy rain the trail can be muddy and there are a lot of natural rocks and dirt paths to traverse. Follow signs to Whispering Cave, reverse the same route to get back to The Lodge parking lot.

If you want to check out the Hemlock swinging bridge, start at the Hemlock Bridge Trail which is 1 mile to get to the Whispering Cave trail which is another .2 miles. This route is it 2.4 miles round trip.

Ash Cave State Park

Easy

.3 mile (point 3 mile)

Great for little ones!

Ash Cave State Park is another very popular park and is the easiest to hike. There is plenty of parking, restrooms and picnic tables across the road from the park. The hike is mostly paved so you can take strollers and wheelchairs very easily. Toward the end of the trail is a bunch of sand to play in and rocks to climb in front of the tallest waterfall in the Hocking Hills. You can turn around and walk back to the parking lot or if you can climb the stairs behind the waterfall to walk a little bit of the rim trail if you're feeling adventurous!

Rock House State Park

Moderate

.6 mile (point 6 mile)

Rock House State Park has 2 main trails; gorge and rim trail. To get to the Rock House itself, take the gorge trail. Similar to Cedar Falls, it's not very long but there are a lot of steps to go down into the gorge about midway through the trail and an incline gravel path coming back out of the park. The Rock House itself you need to navigate climbing up a few rocks to get into it but it's really neat and fun for kids! It can be very dark so use your cell phone flashlight or bring a little one to navigate around a little easier.

Cantwell Cliffs
State Park

Challenging

1.3 mile

This is definitely one of the most challenging hikes of all the state parks. It is also one of the most remote and least visited. It is a one-way loop, with the main attraction, "The Big Squeeze" and one of the three waterfalls within the first .1 mile of the hike. There are a lot of steps to navigate, most are stone, some are wooden that can at times be displaced due to trail erosion. There are also a lot of cliffs along the trail to be mindful of, especially with little ones. I would not recommend this hike for beginners or intermediate hikers, especially children.

Conkells Hollow
Nature Preserve

Easy

1.2 mile

Great for little ones!

Conkells Hollow is a Nature Preserve so no animals are allows and it is very strict on staying on the trails. There are two main trails; the gorge and rim trail. The rim trail is about 1.2 miles round trip, is mostly flat and paved until about the last quarter of a mile. To get all the way back to the waterfall you do have to traverse some steps, rock areas and a small creek. The rim trail is about 2.5 mile, has a lot of steps to start out and then you walk the rim of the state park which is mostly flat at the top but follows the cliffside so again, be mindful of doing this trail if you have little ones.

Boch Hollow
Nature Preserve

Easy

1.4 mile roundtrip

Great for little ones!

Rockbridge State
Nature Preserve

Easy to Moderate

2.7 mile

On the other side of the county is Boch Hollow Nature Preserve. There are a few different parking areas with several trails. For the easiest kids hike, park at the 'North Trailhead'. Follow the meadow path to Waypoint 'C', at the Y here, you'll want to follow the path on the right to head to the Pond. There is a slight incline to walk up getting to the pond, but a majority of the trail is flat. There are a lot of mosquitos along the creek, so you'll want to be sure you bring repellant with you on this hike. There are a lot of other trails to explore here, but this one is the most kid friendly.

HIDDEN GEM!

Robinson Falls is a beautifully unique corkscrew waterfall. There are just a few parking spots for this across the street, so ODNR regulates it by requesting a permit ahead of your visit. You can visit HERE to find more information about Robinson Falls and click HERE to apply for your permit, it is free, but they request 14 days in advance. The hike is less than half a mile but is moderate. Since the number of visitors each day is restricted, the trail is more natural. The parking spot can be a little hard to find, you'll see it on the left after you pass the main preserve parking lot but before Zwickle Road. From the parking spot, cross straight across the road and go over the (????). The trail is unfortunately not well marked. If you can get the permit, find the parking and navigate the trail it is definitely well worth the adventure!

Rockbridge State Nature Preserve is an easy to moderate hike. It is 2.7 miles to hike both loops. The first .4 mile is pretty flat, then it goes uphill. At point B it Y's off, if you go to the left it starts out pretty flat and then goes down further into the valley. Then you'll come to point C and go left to view the Rockbridge. This is the most amazing viewpoint of the park! There is a natural rock bridge that you can go over with a waterfall flowing from it. If you go a little further down the trail then you can go underneath the bridge which is really awesome. From here you can continue to the Hocking River, it isn't much further but is steep at first and then flattens out. As you head back on the trail, making your way from point C to E it is the steepest part of the trail. There aren't steps, it's all dirt with a lot of tree roots. Once you get to point E on the trail, you can go left to venture on to the Rock shelter or turn right to head back towards the parking area. Again, most of E to B and a little past B is more uphill. If you're an avid hiker, this is probably an easy hike but if you're not then it's probably considered more moderate. The hike is well worth the Rock Bridge view, especially if it's after some rainfall in recent weeks. I would recommend this hike early in the day or in the evening. The hike may be more difficult in the heat of the day. Be sure to take plenty of water for the hike back up!

Wahkeena
Nature Preserve

Easy

1.65 miles of trails