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!
Adventure. Create. Relate 