Hocking Hills, Ohio: state campground, Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, Old Man's Cave, hiking, and more!

June 2019, 3 weeknights, state campground site 58

You can find more photos from this visit in my Facebook album.

Sunset from campsite 58

Advance reservations and arrival

I made our reservation online through the Reserve America system, and chose our campsite. I had initially tried to reserve campsite 65 (I think); however, the system was malfunctioning that day, and I went with what had initially been our second or third choice. After arrival, we decided I had chosen the best site!

We arrived via Highway 664 from 33. This road is curvy and steep in spots. After arriving at the park, you just pull up to the window, if you have a reservation. The person we spoke with did not provide any park information, other than to tell us where to hang our tag, and where to put it when we checked out. She said the camper on our site had not checked out yet, and if they were still there when we got back there, we would have to come back to the front. We were glad the site was empty when we arrived, because the camp road in is also steep and curvy, with barely enough room for one large RV, let along two.

Hocking Hills State Park campsite 58

Campsite 58

This is a fabulous full hook up campsite, and we would choose it again. It is one of the most private full hookup sites in this campground. The pad for campsite 56 is not as close as it looks in the online photos on the website. Also, the dumpster in the area between site 58 and 63 was not close to our campsite at all (I was somewhat unsure about this when looking at their online photo beforehand). The campsites at the end of the road around the loop are actually more clustered, and that area was busier. Before we arrived, I had thought those sites would be in a quieter area, and that the sites would be larger, and they are not. Hocking Hills State Park is a large campground; however, this section where we stayed is the only area with full hookup.

Recreation: pool, hiking, natural sites...

Since we were not given any information when we checked in, we did not know if there would be a charge for the pool. The pool opened at 11:00 AM, and there was no charge. The water was not heated, so it was quite cool.

Rose Lake in Hocking Hills State Park

Rose Lake is just a short hike beyond the pool area. We walked there after we setup, and I wish we had thought to walk back there for the sunset.

We spent the next two days hiking from our campsite to Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, and all of the sites in Old Man's Cave area. Most people drive to the parking area at each site, and then walk back. Hiking from camp is doable, as long as you are prepared.

Gorge Overlook Trail in Hocking Hills State Park
between Rose Lake and Cedar Falls

Gorge Overlook Trail from Rose Lake to Cedar Falls is an easy trail. There is really no overlook on this portion; the trail is through the woods most of the way.

Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills State Park

Looking up from Cedar Falls

There are quite a few steps down to Cedar Falls, which are not difficult. There is just the climbing back up when done!

Lookout Tower near Ash Cave

Buckeye Trail between Cedar Falls and Ash Cave is a bit time consuming, and there is really no place to stop along the way. Other than the rest areas at the two ends, the only place to stop along this portion of the trail is at Lookout Tower near Ash Cave. There are three benches below the tower, which were in full sun when we stopped. This trail starts out easy from either direction, and most of the trail between Lookout Tower and Cedar Falls is narrow and hilly. We also had a few trees to climb over, and areas with water to maneuver around. After we reached Ash Cave, there is not another trail from there, so we hiked back the way we had come.

Ash Cave view from sitting area half way between bottom and top

There are many steps down to Ash Cave! There is a sitting area and overlook about half way down, and then there are more steps to the very bottom. The cave area is massive.

Waterfall at Ash Cave

The waterfall from the very top is 150' (according to the park info). I was surprised we could not hear it before we arrived, and then I saw how thin the water stream was when we got there. It had been raining before our trip, so possibly, this was a heavier stream than usual.

Snake next to Buckeye Trail

We rested here for a bit before walking back up to the top, and then hiking back to Cedar Falls. We saw a snake between Ash Cave and Lookout Tower.

Two photos of Buckeye Trail between
Cedar Falls and Old Man's Cave

After we had lunch back at Cedar Falls, we took the difficult trail to Old Man's Cave to get back to camp--Buckeye Trail again. To say that this trail is gnarly, is putting it mildly. Many spots were washed out or flooded, and sometimes it was difficult to see exactly where the trail was supposed to be. The scenery was great, and we hiked by a few small waterfalls.

Two photos of Trail CC between
Old Man's Cave and Hocking Hills campground 

There are two trails from Gorge Overlook Trail near Old Man's Cave to the campground, which we found without too much difficulty. Both trails are steep. Trail CC was quite narrow, and we had to climb over at least four trees. This trail comes out by campsite 93. Trail BB is almost directly across from the A-Frame Bridge at Old Man's Cave. It was a bit easier to navigate because it was wider and clear; however, it is also steeper than Trail CC.

A-frame bridge at Old Man's Cave

We hiked back to Old Man's Cave area the next day, and then hiked to all of the sites here. This is an easy trip from camp, and only about half as difficult a what we had hiked the first day. There are a few dark tunnels to walk through.

One of the tunnels near Old Man's Cave

I thought Devil's Bath was very cool, although my photos of that site did not turn out very well. I am adding a few more photos below, and you can find more in the Facebook album.

Old Man's Cave Upper Falls above
Devil's Bath below

Misc. and overall
I found this Ohio trail map more helpful than some of the ones I got at the campground. If you want to hike, and do not want to hike both ways, we observed shuttles picking people up and dropping them off: Road Runner, and Flintstone Mobile.

We saw several locations with fire wood for sale just before arriving at the state park. No one had signs out, so we did not learn the prices. We purchased the two bundles in the campground photo at the top of this post for $5 each at the gas station in front of Walmart when we arrived.

There is a tremendous amount of hiking in this area that we did not even get to. We definitely plan to visit again, although my husband says it will be with something smaller than our 35' fifth wheel!

Happy travels! Let me know if you have any questions.