Explorations of a surprisingly gorgeous area of Ohio!
Hocking Hills, in southeastern Ohio, is an area of the Western Foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It is known for its cliffs, gorges, natural rock shelters and waterfalls. There are many state, local, and private parks in the area. I visited two, Hocking Hills State Park and Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve.
My visit was split into an afternoon and the next morning. Definitely not enough time. I started at the Old Man’s Cave area of Hocking Hills State Park. This is the most popular part of the park and has several trail options.
Jana Irving Near the parking area is a one way loop trail, made up of different trails. The first views did not disappoint.
Jana Irving A creek runs through the gorge, leading to a lot of bridges.
Jana Irving It’s a nice gorge.
Jana Irving Cute little stone bridge.
Jana Irving Another stone bridge with a little waterfall underneath.
Jana Irving That kind of looks like a horse head.
Jana Irving But from this angle it looks like a turtle.
Jana Irving Brought out my wide angle lens for this one.
Jana Irving Old Man’s Cave.
Jana Irving It’s a good sized cave.
Jana Irving Love this.
Jana Irving Another waterfall.
Jana Irving So many cool bridges.
Jana Irving A very hard to see waterfall.
Jana Irving I took a side trail to another waterfall.
Jana Irving The trail was also great here.
Jana Irving Another hard to photograph waterfall.
Jana Irving Super neat trail.
Nearby at another parking area is Cedar Falls.
Jana Irving I love all the fallen leaves.
Jana Irving Very pretty.
Jana Irving Cedar Falls.
The next morning, my first stop was Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve. It’s not officially part of the state park but is nearby.
Jana Irving There is a section of the trail that is paved. It’s super pretty.
Jana Irving I love a good hollow.
Jana Irving This trail is great.
Jana Irving Very, very pretty.
Jana Irving An unpaved trail continues down the hollow.
Jana Irving Such as gorgeous trail.
Jana Irving Like, I love this.
Jana Irving The waterfall at the end of the trail was only a trickle, but this trail is worth this hike all on its own.
Jana Irving There is a waterfall in this picture. I swear. It was also raining by this point.
My last stop was back in Hocking Hills State Park Rock House area.
Jana Irving Part of the trail follows a cliff.
Jana Irving The roots on this tree are insane.
Jana Irving Now for Rock House.
Jana Irving Heading into the cave.
Jana Irving It’s a very large cave in the cliffside. You can easily fit a small house in this cave.
Jana Irving It has these really cool windows.
Jana Irving And a balcony.
Jana Irving Like I said, it’s pretty big.
Jana Irving Such a cool cave.
One can easily spend a few days in this area. There’s multiple parks to explore and even more trails. It will be returning someday.
Check out my next update where I return to the Great Smoky Mountains!
or
Check out the crazy history behind the Toledo War, fought between Michigan and Ohio!
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