Ash Cave is another popular attraction in Hocking Hills State Park. It is accessible by car on SR 56, a short drive from Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls.
Ash Cave is Ohio's largest recess cavern. It is at the end of a roughly U-shaped valley surrounded by cliff walls. High above the recess cave a waterfall spills into a stream that traverses the valley floor.
There is a small parking area at the entrance to the short trail that leads to Ash Cave. Additional parking is just Read more ➜ Hocking Hills State Park: Ash Cave
Ash Cave is another popular attraction in Hocking Hills State Park. It is accessible by car on SR 56, a short drive from Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls.
Ash Cave is Ohio's largest recess cavern. It is at the end of a roughly U-shaped valley surrounded by cliff walls. High above the recess cave a waterfall spills into a stream that traverses the valley floor.
There is a small parking area at the entrance to the short trail that leads to Ash Cave. Additional parking is just Read more ➜ 
Although reindeer don't live in Ohio now, it was a different story during the last ice age.
Photo courtesy of Dean Biggins of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, license: Public Domain
Reindeer once lived in Ohio.
About 24,000 years ago the Wisconsinan ice sheet expanded into Ohio. Central Ohio was buried under 1000 feet of ice (305 m). Near Lake Erie, the ice was five times thicker. As the ice sheet expanded southwards, all forests in its path were ground to a pulp. Animals from 
Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve is a scenic narrow gorge located in Hocking Hills State Park. Two trails are available to hikers. The upper trail is the Conkle's Hollow Rim Trail. This is a spectacular loop trail that follows along the rim of the cliff walls affording a view of the valley and the cliff on the other side. A word of caution: this trail is moderately strenuous and not at all suitable for small children. Enjoy the view, but stay away from the cliff edges! The overall hike is about 
Above you see a little green hill rising above the surrounding plain. This is a man-made structure. The first time I came across anything like this was while reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. There is a dramatic passage in the Fellowship of the Ring when the hobbit heroes are passing through the "Barrow-downs". Tolkien's barrows were mounds like the one above; they had been the final resting place of the ancient men of the first age. In the novel the barrow-downs had been a peaceful place 
My family went for a hike in Ohio's Mohican State Park this weekend, and I noticed a number of flowers that were just beginning to unfurl.
To see more-developed examples of the above flowers, check out my post, Common Spring Wildflowers in Ohio.
Besides the flowers, fiddlehead ferns also were beginning to unfurl.
New life is emerging all over the forests.
Rose Lake is in the Hocking Hills State Park. The lake's also known as the Hocking Hills Reservoir. When hiking between Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls, Rose Lake marks the halfway point. The annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike follows this very path every January, so depending on the weather it will be frozen or partly frozen then.
An earthen dam is responsible for this 17 acre man-made lake which has concrete spillway on one edge. Fishing is permitted with a valid Ohio fishing license. 
Rock House is one of the smaller parks of the Hocking Hills State Parks, but it contains ... yes, you guessed it ... a rock house. The Rock House is a real cave inside a cliff of Blackhand sandstone. It consists of one large (long) rectangular room with a couple of entrances and several "windows". One of the windows overlooks a cliff with a seasonal waterfall.
The actual trail is a relatively short loop trail, but the Rock House and cliff it's embedded in is well worth 
Cantwell Cliffs is located in the Hocking Hills State Park off of SR 374. Amenities include a parking lot, somewhat primitive rest facilities and two picnic shelter areas.
From the parking lot a trail leads down a series of earthen steps to a cliff edge. To the left steps descend through a narrow staircase carved into the rock. To the right a trail continues along the cliff rim. Choose either direction as the trail is a large scenic loop.
To the right, the trail follows the 
I took all the above photos from the Hoover Mudflats Boardwalk in Galena, Ohio.
Hayden Falls Park is part of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, but it's in Dublin, Ohio. You could drive past it without ever realizing it's there, but it's well worth a stop. The waterfall is about 35 ft high (10.7 meters) and fed by Hayden Run Creek which empties into the Scioto river.
Location
Address: 4335 Hayden Run Road, Dublin, OH
GPS coordinates: 40.068023, -83.108424
Directions: Here's how to find it. From Frantz Road (in Dublin, Ohio) turn