Posted in Annual event, Hiking, Southeastern Ohio

53rd Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2018

We participated in the 53rd Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike on Saturday. This was our eighth time participating in this winter hike that runs from Old Man’s Cave to Rose Lake, Cedar Falls, and ends at Ash Cave for a total distance of 6.5 miles. A bus returns participants to the starting point. The weather for the winter hike was perfect, there was a nice base of snow throughout the Hocking Hills. Weather for the prior few weeks had varied above and below freezing creating huge icicles. Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Ice Column at Mohican State Park

I am reluctant to go hiking when the high temperature for the day is a single digit, so that's really put a crimp in our hiking plans for this winter. However we took advantage of a warm spell last week to book a couple nights at the lodge at Mohican State Park. Once there we did one of our favorite hikes that took us by Little Lyons Falls and Big Lyons Falls on the west side of Clear Fork with the return route following along the creek on the opposite side. As a reward for finally getting outside Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park visit

51st Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2016

We participated in the 51st Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike on Saturday. This was our seventh time participating in this winter hike that runs from Old Man's Cave to Rose Lake, Cedar Falls, and ends at Ash Cave for a total distance of 6.5 miles. A bus returns participants to the starting point. The weather for the hike, like most of this winter, was warmer than usual. There were some small patches of snow here and there, and small icicles. But the temperature was above freezing and Read more ➜
Posted in Park visit

The Hocking Hills at Winter’s End

Like a lot of other people, I'm totally ready to leave winter behind at this point. However Bob convinced me to open myself to winter's beauty once more by hiking in the Hocking Hills this past Friday. It was sunny, but cold (around 20° F, -6.7° C), so we had to bundle up. We visited two attractions in the Hocking Hills State Park: Ash Cave and Cedar Falls. Then we hiked the Gorge Trail in the Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve. To make things easier for ourselves, we reduced our hiking by parking Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Clear Creek Metro Park Winter Hike – 2015

Last Saturday we participated in the winter hike at Clear Creek Metro Park. This 5,382-acre Metro Park is located on the border of Hocking and Fairfield Counties; it features 14 miles of hiking trails. The day was cold, near freezing with an overcast sky. We arrived early about 9:20 AM for the 10 AM hikes and were greeted by park staff and volunteers who provided maps and routes for a variety of hikes. There were a variety of hikes available ranging from 1 to 7 miles and of varying Read more ➜
Posted in Annual event, Events, Hiking, Past events

50th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2015

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. Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Northeastern Ohio, Park review

Liberty Park: Ledges Trail

Liberty Park is a 1,908 acre park in Summit County. It features three trails totaling 3.3 miles, several sports fields, a half-acre dog park, and rest rooms. Summit Metro Parks plans to add a nature center in the future. We'd planned a nice early spring hike in Summit County for the last Sunday in March, but Mother Nature had other plans. We'd driven to Summit County the prior day encountering rain most of the way. Overnight the rain changed to hail and then snow. We awoke to a cold, Read more ➜
Posted in Central Ohio, Geology, Hiking, Park review

Shale Hollow Preserve

Shale Hollow is Delaware County's newest park having just opened in December. It is named for a small canyon of 20 to 40 foot shale cliffs rising above a stream named Big Run. We visited Shale Hollow a couple of times in the past month. The park consists of 188 acres encompassing a ravine, forest, and meadowland. A gravel roadway leads to a parking area next to a nature center. The nature center features a small exhibit explaining the natural history of the area including the 375 million Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking

49th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, January 2014

We participated in the 49th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike yesterday. This was our fifth time participating in this winter hike that runs from Old Man's Cave to Rose Lake, Cedar Falls, and ends at Ash Cave for a total distance of 6 miles. A bus returns participants to the starting point. The weather for this hike was grey skies with snow flurries in the morning. Temperatures for nearby Logan, OH were as follows: 7 AM 10 AM 1 PM 11° F (-12° C) 15° F (-9° C) 19° 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 ➜