Hocking Hills
(Admission is Free)

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This is probably the purest and most beautiful natural landscape in Ohio. In fact, unless you’ve been there, you wouldn’t believe that such a breathtaking place could be found in Ohio. Hocking Hills, located in southeastern Ohio, features extraordinarily picturesque caves, waterfalls, forest, gorges, abundant wildlife, rock outcrops and elevated views. The featured attractions are as follows:  

• Old Man’s Cave: Most people talk of Hocking Hills and Old Man’s Cave synonymously. It is a long stretch of valley that basically has it all. From the rocky cavernous terrain along Old Man’s Cave to streams, cliffs, undercut rock, waterfall and plant life. 
• Ash Cave: This is an enormous cave-like ridge with an impressive view from the bottom or top – both of which are assessable. It is very high and very wide. People walking along the bottom inner-rim look like ants as you hike toward them along the beautiful gorge. And on a good day, it has water flowing from the cave’s peak to a pond floor at the bottom.
• Rock House: No, no music here. Instead, it is basically a cave/cliff with natural window views through the rock. Inside, you may feel like this is a house that could have been used on The Flintstones. It has a spectacular view of the greenery and valley resting far below.
• Cedar Falls: This is a great place to relax and enjoy the rhythm of the pounding water. It has moss-covered cliffs and plenty of natural beauty surrounding the area.
• Cantwell Cliffs: A bit more remote to reach compared to other Hocking Hill’s highlights, Cantwell Cliffs is worth it. It’s plush forestry, deep valley and narrow passageway along the valley floor will certainly be appreciated by all. 
• Conkles Hollow: This area has hiking trails high along the cliffs or along the gorge floor. In any case, it is amidst a refreshing wilderness that seems untouched.

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CHASING FROZEN WATERFALLS

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It’s about this time of year everyone could use a weekend getaway.

Whether it’s alone time, together time or family time, a case can be made to escape for a couple to three days in the ice caves of Hocking Hills. Of course, when the ice hikes are over you retreat to the cabin, light a fire, have hot cocoa and then hop into the hot-tub. Now that’s a cure for the winter blahs!

It’s amazing how many people don’t know about the winter paradise in Southeast Ohio's Appalachia territory. Those that do mostly visit Hocking Hills in Fall or summer, even spring but winter? You bet!

What makes the wilderness of Hocking Hills so inviting in winter is the awe-inspiring sights of frozen waterfalls and ridges lined with icicles creating crystalized walls. But one of the more unusual sights are the iceberg plateaus protruding from a body of water below a waterfall, ascending upward creating an ice table.

The peace, quiet and serenity of this cluster of nine state parks allows one to rejuvenate their soul, rekindle romance or reacquaint themselves with their kids. Winter at Hocking Hills is the perfect time and place to just be. Most cabins even let you bring your dog.

Nearby there are small towns providing great shopping excursions for antique and craft lovers. For the more adventurous, there are activities such as horseback riding and rappelling. Side trips include a tour of the nation’s only washboard museum and other unique to-do's.

A mid-winter Hocking Hills night can be brisk but clear. There is no light pollution making the heavens above black with shiny white dots connecting one constellation to another. When’s the last time you ate popcorn and watched a meteor shower?

Buried treasure and nature’s riches fill the Hocking legends and wilderness. Among the caves, waterfalls, gorges, and rock outcrops are the unclaimed lore of robbers, the unmarked graves of early settlers, remains of ancient Indian civilizations and natural splendor. 

Conkle’s Hollow looks much today as it always has – one of the deepest gorges in Ohio, it has steep cliffs plunging to a valley floor so dense with plant life, sunlight is blocked at its deepest depth. The setting is perfect…for a tall tale. A petroglyph is rumored to have adorned the gorge wall, created by a band of Indians who stole huge sums of money from settlers along the Ohio riverbanks. The wall carving was an arrow pointing across the hollow to a hiding spot only reachable by climbing a towering hemlock. After the settlers gave up the hunt for the thieves, the outlaws returned to find the hemlock destroyed, thereby making it impossible to reach the treasure buried in the rocky wall of the gorge. The petroglyph having long eroded away leaves only the mystery of whether or not the money is still somewhere to be claimed. 

Nearby, another legend and natural wonder exists in what was once referred to as Robbers Roost, known today as the Rock House. The Rock House is, surprisingly,  the only true cave in the Hocking Hills region. It is a corridor located halfway up a 150 foot cliff measuring 25 feet high, 25 feet wide and stretching 200 feet long. Its structure includes natural windows cut through stonewalls and porous rock in the rear of the cave where Native Americans lit fires to cook and warm the cave. There is even evidence of a drinking water supply maintained by manmade troughs used to contain spring water that entered through the wholly sandstone. However, such amenities later made this an ideal hideout for robbers. 

Old Man’s Cave is one of the most popular natural attractions in Hocking Hills and also serves as the final resting place for some of its earliest inhabitants. A hermit by the name of Richard Rowe lived and died there. He is buried beneath the ledge of the cave. Before Rowe, two brothers who built a cabin by the cave’s entrance are also buried nearby. Old Man’s Cave has a bit of everything for nature lovers along its stretch of valley offering waterfalls, streams, forest, and wide variety of plant life, cliffs and undercut rocks. It is also part of the Buckeye Trail and America's Discovery Trail. 

Perhaps the most impressive natural treasure in the region is
Ash Cave, Ohio’s largest recess cave. Its massive horseshoe shape spans 700 feet wide, 100 feet high and comes complete with a cascading waterfall. Its name is telling of its history. Several thousand bushels of ashes were discovered there (one measured 100 feet long and 30 feet wide). The ash remains included pottery, arrows, animal bones, flints and additional evidence of Native American campfires dating back hundreds of years. Today, the enormous cave-like ridge features impressive views from top to bottom. While hiking up the inner side behind the falling water, people on the ground floor look like ants. 

Conkle's Hollow, Rock House, Old Man’s Cave and Ash Cave are just several of the many adventures to be had at Hocking Hills. Visitors will also enjoy the scenery of Cedar Falls – the best waterfall in the region; breathtaking Cantwell Cliffs; and Rock Bridge, a natural stone arch. 

There's plenty of winter left to find a weekend to escape life as you know it. Retreat to the hot-tub capital of Ohio - Hocking Hills! 

Excerpt from February 2009 edition of OhioTraveler by Frank R. Satullo