Hiking – Adventure. Create. Relate

When I looked at our schedule for March, I was a little overwhelmed. Maddie and I went on a cave and waterfall tour for her spring break, Keith and Charlotte went to NYC with the Gahanna Lincoln Choirs, and then Charlotte and I had an overnight adventure to explore some permitted nature preserves in Hocking Hills during her spring break. It was a lot of time apart, so I knew we needed our own getaway in April. I applied for permits to explore nature preserves and reserved us a room at the hotel Charlotte and I enjoyed. Two nights away together was just what we needed to feel reconnected and ready to take on the last few weeks of Charlotte’s senior year and graduation.

We drove over Friday afternoon and went straight to Sheick Hollow State Nature Preserve. Charlotte and I had hiked there with a permit and we didn’t see anyone else the hours that we were there during spring break. We only got to explore a couple of the side hollows before we left to go , so I knew that there was so I knew that I wanted to return and see if we could make it to the end of the hollow. I had seen photos of a waterfall named Cathedral Falls that was supposed to be there, and I really wanted to see it in person. We arrived, parked next to another car in the little lot, and made our way back to the end of the hollow. It required several creek crossings, climbing over and under some logs, and lots of rocky, uneven terrain. Towards to end, when we could hear the waterfall, we ended up catching up with the people from the other car in the lot. it was definitely a one lane trail (if that), so we were able to chat with the older couple as we slowly made our way to the hollow’s end. It turns out that they were there as part of a photography contest that was happening that weekend – they had maybe 24 hours starting at 4 pm that day to take as many awesome photos as they could in Hocking Hills and get them entered into the contest. They were worried we were there for the same contest, but relaxed when they realized we were not competition. Cathedral falls was absolutely breathtaking – absolutely worth the treacherous trail to get there. We were able to enjoy it for a while as the other couple set up their equipment, and then we headed back out to find some showers and food. Here are a couple photos for you to enjoy.

The next morning, we got up and had continental breakfast at our hotel – Mainstay Suites in Logan, Ohio. We would definitely stay there again – it was clean and the breakfast was pretty good. Our first stop outside the hotel that day was Saltpetre Caves Nature Preserve. This was another State of Ohio Nature Preserve that required a permit, which ended up being a great thing because of the people there for the photography contest. It was a little bit crazy in the popular parts of Hocking Hills State Park! We heard other people when we were at the Saltpetre Caves, but we never saw anyone. It turns out there are 3 different caves, a few small waterfalls, and lots of cool rock formations to see in the Nature Preserve – I definitely recommend it to anyone that loves hikes that are a little less crowded but still scenic. Here are a few photos.

Our next stop that day was not a permitted Nature Preserve, but it was a lesser known area of the park. We went to the Rock Climbing and Rappelling Area, but we took the path towards Big Spring Hollow Falls. This waterfall is reported to be the tallest in the park, so I knew we had to see it. We encountered a few people on the path, but we had the waterfall to ourselves while we were there, so I would say this is definitely a less crowded hike. We were really glad that the waterfall was running – some of the falls in the park were just a trickle due to the dry spring we were having. Big Spring Hollow Falls did not disappoint! It was really refreshing to have to spray when we climbed up the right side – it had turned out to be a much warmer day than expected. Here are photos of the waterfall from left and the right.

When we left the Rock Climbing and Rappelling area, we decided to see if we could get reservations at the new lodge for dinner that evening. We were able to get a 5:00 reservation, so we went to get cleaned up a little and then made our way to the Hocking Hills State Park Lodge. It was absolutely beautiful, and the food was really good, too. Here are a few photos of the lodge.

After dinner, we decided we would take the trail behind the lodge to check out Whispering Cave and see the Hemlock Suspension Bridge. The bridge was pretty underwhelming, but we really loved Whispering Cave. It was a much harder hike than I remembered from our last visit – so many roots and a lot of elevation change – but we made it and my husband didn’t decide to leave me. Win-win! Whispering Cave really is cool – the acoustics are so good that you can clearly hear small noises from other parts of the cave like they are right next to you. It has a lovely view, too, as you can see from this photo.

We headed back to our hotel after that – we were ready for showers and relaxing. We had to get up and out the door the next morning, but I did get to have breakfast with a friend that just happened to be in the same hotel for the photography contest. It was really nice to catch up with her! Then it was off to Accepted Student Day at Capital University with Charlotte – but the adventure of getting through her senior year and all of the milestones is another post. 😉

Have you ever been to Hocking Hills? What is your favorite part? Let me know in the comments!

This past weekend, three of us were able to get away to Hocking Hills for the day. Living only about an hour away from Hocking Hills has been so wonderful – we try to make it to the park at least a couple times each year. My favorite time to be in the woods is Fall with all the beautiful colors, followed closely by Winter when everything in white and frozen. It is still very much Summer, but we have to go when we have the time. I’m hoping for another trip this Fall, but we will have to wait and see.

We started out at Old Man’s Cave. The new Welcome Center has been standing for a few years now, but with COVID restrictions, it was never open when we were there. So, we were excited to check it out before hiking. We did not wander the whole place, but we did enjoy the upstairs space, and I am sure we will be back to check out the gift shop soon. It is a really beautiful building and I love the enormous map on the wall by the help desk.

We have been to Old Man’s Cave recently, but we’ve stuck to the upper falls area for the past several years. So, we decided the time had come to return to the lower part of the area. It was super crowded and there were so many people on the trail until it split – most people went to the actual cave part of the trail, so we decided very quickly to take the other way. We continued on down to the lower falls where it was actually not too hard to get photos without people for a change. It might be because it was a bit cooler (although still really humid), so no one was swimming under the falls. I know that I sound like an old “keep those kids off my lawn” stick in the mud, but I believe in following trail signs. If it says no wading or swimming, I stay out of the water. If it says stop, no hiking beyond this point, I stop. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s fun, but I also want these parks to be open to the public for everyone’s enjoyment for a long time to come.

Waterfall by steps that go down near the Welcome Center

After we had that hike under our belts, we headed to a completely new-to-us area of the park – the Rock Climbing and Rappelling Area. It is very near to Conkle’s Hollow – one of my favorite parts of the Hocking Hills Area. The area is not well marked, especially if you are coming from inside – the signs all point the other direction, so we ended up having to turn around and back track. Once we parked in the gravel lot, we did not cross the street to get to the actual Rock Climbing and Rappelling area, we instead followed the bridle trail located at the far end the parking lot. Being that it was a bridle trail, we had to constantly be watching where we stepped – the horses in Hocking Hills are apparently very well fed. Keith and Charlotte wished they had put on bug spray, but I did not have any problems. We did encounter A LOT of mud, and we had to do some creek crossings, so waterproof hiking boots are a must if you choose to do this hike. I did not take photos of the worst parts of the trail, but here are a few photos of the not so bad parts.

We followed the orange blazes and then the white blazes. Pretty soon, we saw a sign that said “No horses beyond this point.” I took that as a sign that we were supposed to take the trail up, but it turned out that it was a more difficult and roundabout way that would have led to a double waterfall if there was more water in the creeks. Keith has pretty much told me he will not hike this again (he hates mud and mess), so we will not be seeing the Twin Falls near Chapel Cave. We did eventually come to the cave, though. When we arrived there was a group of people on horseback in the cave, so we communicated with them about where we should be to make their horses feel safe. This cave is also called 21 Horse Cave because you could supposedly fit 21 horses in it, so it was kind of cool to get to see horses here.

Ignore how shiny we all are – it was so humid!!

After we explored the inside of the cave, it was time to head back. On the way back, we accidentally took a different path through one of the really, really muddy parts and Charlotte ended up stuck in pretty deep mud – not quite over her boots. I found a path around to help pull her out, and thankfully her boots stayed on her feet. She waded in the water a bit to clean off the mud, but then her socks and boots were pretty wet. So, we headed for the car as quick as we could to get her cleaned off a bit. Thankful for wet wipes and napkins and a stash of plastic bags in the back of the car! Obviously this put an end to our hiking for the day, but we were all pretty ready to go home and shower anyway.

Our reviews of this one were a little mixed. I loved the hike because it was challenging. Keith hated the mud and bugs. Charlotte loved the adventure and was happy until the wet boots at the end. I am going to give it an 8/10 just because I can see how it is not the perfect hike for everyone.

Have you ever been to Hocking Hills? What is your favorite area of the park? Have you been to Chapel Falls? Let us know in the comments! 🙂

Tag: Hiking

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