Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio - Place for quiet reflection filled with Natural Beauty

April 17, 2015

Cedar Falls - Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio JDJ Photo

Hidden in the foothills of Appalachia's west slope about 50 miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio is an incredible place called the "Hocking Hills". It is an area of water carved gorges, incredible swooping cliff faces, waterfalls, pools, streams and relic ice age forests. The word Hocking comes from the Wyandot Indian word "hock-hocking" which refers to the Hocking Rivers bottle shaped gorge. Much of the areas draws, gorges and streams are protected in segments of Hocking Hills State Park. It is interesting to note that the Hollows moist, cool climate supports trees that are typically found far north of this location such as the Eastern Hemlock and the Canadian Yew which have lingered in this area since the great glaciers retreated over 10,000 years ago. One late winter afternoon I had the privilege to visit this area with a friend and do some serious exploring. We headed south out of Columbus and in a short while found ourselves pulling into a parking stall at the Ash Cave trail head. It was cold, overcast and snowing lightly so we rucked up, grabbed what gear we deemed necessary and headed on up the trail. 1/4 mile later we were standing in awe beneath a massive enclave cliff wall, so large that it literally dwarfed people standing under it. Early visitors to Ash Cave reported over a thousand bushels of ash as dry and free from moisture as on the day they were burned which has led to much speculation as to how they got there....presumably from archaic inhabitants. On the day I visited the cave, there was a trickle of water cascading over the north lip of the massive cliff that forms the cave.

Narrow gorge cut in Sandstone by Queer Creek
above Cedar Falls
JDJ Photo

This water dripped and misted down to the cave floor forming a giant ice mound over 10 feet tall. We explored around Ash Cave for a bit and then hurried back down the trail as there was more to see. We drove over to the Cedar Falls trailhead and parked our vehicle. Cedar Falls is the most impressive water fall in the area in terms of volume of water. Queer Creek rushes down a narrow cut gorge in the sandstone and then cascades over the cliffs down into a bowl ringed by rock walls. When we arrived at the base of Cedar Falls we were the only ones there. There was a fresh coating of an inch or so of snow on everything and tiny flakes were falling through the grey sky. After looking around for a bit at this magnificent waterfall, we climbed an impressive set of wooden stairs up to the top of the gorge and then walked around the rim and across a wrought iron bridge over the slot gorge above the falls cut by Queer Creek. We then decided to hike to Old Man Cave from our position. To do this we followed the Buckeye trail up a beautiful canyon next to a small stream. This trail for the most part hugged the base of the sheer cliff wall of the gorge. In some places steps were cut into the stone, the trail passed through clefts or keyholes in gigantic boulders. In other places such as “Whispering Falls” water cascaded over the rim of the cliffs and formed giant ice formations similar to the one we observed at Ash Cave. A plaque at the site states that if you stand quietly and listen you can hear the sound of falling water echoing off the 60 foot cliff face. The hollows, caves, overhangs, streams, waterfalls, and forests of the Hocking Hills are a magical place. The park is open every day from dawn to dusk but don’t get caught out there after dark. It gets incredibly dark down in the gorge, I mean pitch black. There are numerous cliff faces and the rock is very slippery and treacherous in the dark so if you visit, ensure that you get out before dark or you run the risk of getting seriously injured. For more information on the Hocking Hills visit the State Park website at http://www.thehockinghills.org/ or call them at 740-385-6841.