Posted in Hiking, Park visit

The Lower Falls and Broken Rock Falls at Old Man’s Cave

We visited the Hocking Hills State Park in July to view a couple of the park's waterfalls: Broken Rock Falls and the Lower Falls. We scheduled our hike on a sunny day following a rainy spell, so we hoped that lots of water would be flowing over the falls. To get to these falls we passed by Old Man's Cave, one of the park's most famous attractions. The trail to all of these attractions passes through a scenic gorge. Below are some of the sights that we took in on the way to Old Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Autumn Visit to Rock Stalls Natural Sanctuary

It was cool and sunny on Saturday morning so we decided to take a look at fall foliage at Rock Stalls. Rock Stalls is a privately owned nature sanctuary run by Camp Akita. It is open to the public, and we last visited the site in February. It is a box canyon crisscrossed by small streams. There are also several, seasonal waterfalls along the rim. We arrived early Saturday morning at the parking area which was completely empty. The descent to the floor of the canyon was colorful Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Rock Stalls Natural Sanctuary

Rock Stalls Natural Sanctuary is a private preserve that is owned and operated by Camp Akita, but the management of Camp Akita also allows access to the general public. So this past Sunday Bob and I decided to stop by and see what we had been missing. I've published a GPS trace of our hike at the end of this article. From the parking lot at the western end, you go a short ways until the trail branches. You can take either branch because this portion of the trail is a loop. We decided Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking

48th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2013

We participated in the 48th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike today. This was our fourth time doing this winter hike which runs from Old Man's Cave to Cedar Falls and on to Ash Cave, a distance of approximately 6 miles. By the end of the hike, temperatures reached the mid-40's (7° C) with sunny, blue skies. The only thing missing from this year's winter hike was winter! A few small patches of snow and a few small icicles were the only real signs of winter. However, there was plenty Read more ➜
Posted in Birds, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Kessler Swamp State Nature Preserve

We'd visited every (non-permit) park and preserve in Hocking county except one - Kessler Swamp. This weekend on the way home from a hike at Conkles Hollow, we stopped there. The parking lot for the preserve in a pull-off off of Hideaway Hills Road. A very short path leads you to an observation platform overlooking the swamp. The preserve is a 20-acre site consisting mostly of the swamp which is fed by Durbin Run, a tributary of Rush Creek. When we visited we noted mostly waterfowl Read more ➜
Posted in Park visit

Mid-autumn in Conkle’s Hollow

Last weekend's sunny, warm weather encouraged us to go for a hike around the Rim Trail at Conkle's Hollow. I just wanted to share a few photos, so you could see how beautiful this area is. Panoramic exploration This is such a beautiful trail. I took several panoramic photos, but there's always the question as to how to present such long, skinny photos at a blog. So I'm trying something new. I made a one-minute video were I am basically just panning Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Boch Hollow State Nature Preserve

The parks and preserves in the Hocking Hills area are great destinations for the outdoor enthusiast. We've hiked them all - Hocking State Park, Conkle's Hollow, Rock Bridge, Wahkeena, Boch Hollow. Wait ... Boch Hollow? Boch Hollow is a 570 acre preserve located north of Logan, Ohio. Like Rhododendron Cove and Christmas Rocks, Boch Hollow used to be a permit only preserve, but it is now open to the public. We've provided directions to the preserve at the end of this article. Boch Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Hocking State Forest: Chapel Cave

Chapel Cave is a large chapel-shaped, recess cave located off a bridle trail in the Hocking State Forest. The cave is also known as Twenty One Horses Cave because it is reputed to be big enough to hold 21 horses (with their riders). This posting is the last of a series of hikes we took starting at the parking lot for the Rock climbing and Rappelling Area of the Hocking State Forest. The trailhead for Chapel Cave is located on the north end of this parking lot. It's a bridle trail marked Read more ➜
Posted in History, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

Hocking State Forest: Rock Climbing and Rappelling Area

On our visit to Balanced Rock we accidentally ended up in the Rock Climbing and Rappelling Area of Hocking State Forest. This 99-acre region of the Hocking State Forest contains a mile long escarpment of Blackhand sandstone varying in height, topping out at 100 feet. It is the only place on state land in Hocking County that is available for use by rock climbers and rappellers. That day we saw three groups of climbers using the cliff face. I'm not a rock climber, but the climbers seemed Read more ➜