A Walk in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio USA

Bridge over the Upper Falls, Hocking Hills State Park Ohio USA

Upper Falls
The waterfalls that dot the Hocking Hills State Park are easily accessible via a network of walking trails. The bridge over the Upper Falls is a charming extension of the beautiful cliffs of Black Hand Sandstone either side.

Hocking Hills State Park, in the American state of Ohio, comprises 2,356 acres (9.53 km²) of caves, waterfalls, trees, and hiking trails. The park is known for the dramatic geologic features that, over the aeons, have carved themselves into the surrounding Black Hand Sandstone.

Black Hand Sandstone is the name given to an early Mississippian (about 355 million years old) coarse, sometimes conglomeratic, quartz sandstone. Endemic to Ohio, this massive sandstone rock was named for a location (Black Hand Gorge on the Licking River) rather than for its colour – which ranges from tan to orange. (If you are into geology, the Time Scavengers blog on Black Hand Sandstone includes a wealth of detail and illustrative photos.)

Hocking Hills State Park has over 40 kilometres (25 miles) of hiking trails that criss-cross through six distinctly different natural areas, each featuring magnificent natural sandstone rock formations. The Park itself sits within a larger network of nine State Parks and Nature Preserves, three State Forests, and a National Forest, meaning that visitors are spoiled for choice.

Fortunately, we had the advantage of local knowledge!

My husband and I were visiting relatives living about an hour and a half away from the entrance to the Park. On a lovely summer Sunday afternoon, we strolled around the most popular walk: the 10 kilometre (6 mile) Old Man’s Cave Hiking Trail loop. This is a lovely trail, which includes a lot of steps, but meanders through beautiful hemlock and beech trees, taking in a magnificent landscape of cliffs, caves, and waterfalls. We included a section of the Grandma Gatewood Trail to Cedar Falls, and so were on a portion of the much longer Buckeye Trail, which is in turn, part of two national systems: the North Country Scenic Trail and America’s Discovery Trail.

Join me for a lovely afternoon walk:

Old Man’s Cave Trail
From the carpark, our trail winds down through tall trees into a dark gorge …

Stone Bridge over Old Man’s Creek
… that was carved deep through the sandstone by Old Man’s Creek over the millennia.

Lower Falls and Old Man’s Cave
Black Hand Sandstone is made up of almost pure quartz sand and pebbles that is resistant to erosion. The softer middle portions of the rock have weathered more, resulting in recesses and rock-shelter caves all through this area. Brothers Nathaniel and Pat Rayon, came to the region in 1795 and lived in this cave briefly, but the cave was named for the hermit Richard Rowe who lived and died here in the early 1800s.

Lower Falls
It is a beautiful and dramatic landscape of gorges and overhangs; waterfalls are common where the Black Hand Sandstone is exposed.

Mossy Rocks

Another Stone Bridge
These old weathered stone bridges help to illustrate how long the park has been popular.

Cedar Falls
Queer Creek tumbles 15 metres (50 feet) into a pond below. Cedar Falls is the largest waterfall by volume in the Hocking Hills region. Towering eastern hemlocks (not cedars, as the early settlers misidentified them) stretch up all around us.

Roots and Reflections

Stone Bridge on the Buckeye Trail

Stairs and Pathways
All of the stairways are winding; many are steep.

Caves in the Cliffs
If you look at the two tiny walkers on the path here, you can get a sense of how massive the cliffs and overhands are, and the height of the stately trees.

More Stairs

Young Girl and her Selfie
Visitors of all ages take advantage of the beautiful surrounds to take pictures.

Patterns in the Rocks
For years, water has worked it’s way into cracks and crevices

Moss and Ferns
Moisture and low light along the creek bed promotes the growth of moss and ferns.

Out of the Tunnel

A-Frame and Step Bridges

Step Bridge
The stepped bridge on the Old Man’s Cave – Cedar Falls Loop Hike is made of independent concrete pillars with cantilevered platforms attached.

Another Bridge
Every bridge we cross is unique and different!

Holes in the Rocks
All around us, crevices and caves have been carved into the rocks.

Devil’s Bathtub
The Devil’s Bathtub is one of the more dramatic features along the Old Man’s Cave Trail: more than one log has been sucked into this vortex over the years!

Under the Upper Falls
Technically, paddling and swimming are not allowed in State Parks, but plenty of people enjoy cooling off at the waterways.