Hiking the Parks & Preserves of Ohio
If I were a professional photographer, I guess this would be a very ordinary event. However since I’m not a professional photographer, this is kind of exciting! A while back I was contacted by someone from a graphic design firm, Bluestone + Associates. The firm had been contracted to do a project for Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden, and as part of this project, they wanted to use one of my photos.
Whenever I’m at Inniswood Metro Gardens, I stop by to see what’s happening in this tiny, municipal wetland. And right now, tadpoles are what’s happening.
Rockbridge is a small but scenic nature preserve in the Hocking Hills area containing a natural stone arch. It is longest arch of about a dozen stone arches in the state.
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.
Although reindeer don’t live in Ohio now, it was a different story during the last ice age.
Reindeer once lived in Ohio.
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 2.5 miles and passes several seasonal waterfalls.
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 until cursed by the Witch-king of Angmar who sent evil spirits, the barrow-wights, to haunt the once great tombs. So that’s my literary reference for places such as this.
Continue reading “Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park: the Voss Site”
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.
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.
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.
