It had been a good hike so far. During the past several miles, we had enjoyed seeing rocky outcroppings, mature trees, and carpets of ferns. As we climbed a steep hill toward the top of the ridgeline, the trail widened and grew brighter. Distant buzzards soared effortlessly in the bright, blue sky. We found ourselves standing on a rocky cliff. A few hundred feet below, forest stretched out to the horizon. It sounds a bit like the Hocking Hills, doesn't it? But it wasn't. It was Christmas Rocks.
Christmas
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One of my favorite places to enjoy the fall colors in central Ohio is Christmas Rocks State Nature Preserve in Fairfield County. My friend, Connie, and I went hiking there Tuesday. The best view is at the cliff on the Jacob's Ladder Trail. Here's what it was like.
Besides checking out the view from the cliff, we hiked the length of both trails there. Here are a few additional photos.
The ferns above stay green all winter. Ohio's settlers used these Read more ➜ 
This weekend we went to two sites to take in the fall color: Airplane Rock in the Hocking State Forest and Christmas Rocks State Nature Preserve in Fairfield County. The trees in Hocking State Forest were just starting to turn colors, so we felt that we were there a little too early to see the colors at their peak. We were also surprised that there was a crowd of people at Airplane Rock. In contrast Christmas Rocks is a bit farther north, and it was definitely more colorful. In addition Bob and