On the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, the Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike set an attendance record with over 5300 people attending. Five hundred lucky people received a commemorative hiking stick. Bob and I just hiked the Old Man’s Cave portion of the hike this year.
Officially the hike begins at 9 a.m., but many hikers arrive early.
Staff members of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) were on hand to give 500 lucky individuals a commemorative hiking stick. There was a new kiosk at the beginning of the hike, plus a relatively new boardwalk at the trail head.
After climbing back up to the rim, Bob and I ended our hike. During the Annual Hikes that we’ve attended previously, we always did the entire hike. However in this case I had just started taking blood pressure medicine, and I was having some difficulties that I believe were associated with that. Bummer. Anyway it was great getting out and seeing Old Man’s Cave. If you’d like to see what the rest of the hike is like, check out our report on one of the hikes from other years.
The Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike for Other Years
53rd Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2018
51st Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2016
49th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2014
48th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2013
Additional information
- TrekOhio: An Overview of Hiking Trails in the Hocking Hills
- TrekOhio: Ohio Winter Hike Calendar — We update this calendar every December. It lists organized, group hikes held all over the state in January and February.
- TrekOhio: Gearing Up For Ohio Winter Hiking Season
- TrekOhio: Hocking County Parks & Nature Preserves
Thanks for taking such great photos.
My son and I participated that day and received a white ash hiking stick. Others around us got different hardwood hiking sticks such as black cherry and sassafras.
We had ideal hiking conditions: below freezing the week before to preserve ice formations and a warming trend during the hike.
Gerda, thanks! It sounds like you and your son had a great time. Very cool that you were one of the lucky ones to receive a commemorative walking stick!