Sometime around 2013 I heard of a place called Hocking Hills State Park in Southern Ohio. OHIO! As any good Michigander I knew there wasn’t supposed to be anything good in Ohio. I put it on my mental list of trips to take. Year after year the opportunity to visit never presented itself. I watched it become even more popular, with many people I know visiting. I even drove past the exit on 33 in 2017 heading to SC. In the pandemic era, looking for a weekend trip, we finally decided in 2020 to make the 4 hour drive. Our first stop would be a Cuyahoga Valley National Park. How could we be so close to a National Park and not visit??
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
One of 15 free national parks this one was really unique compared to others we had visited. Located about 30 minutes outside downtown Cleveland, it is surrounded by suburbs, houses, farms and restaurants. And not ones meant for tourists. I had seen my cousin taking her dog for hikes on occasion, but was not expecting how cool the rock ledges hiding in the woods were. We first visited Brandywine Falls via hike from Standford House. This gave us a change to visit the welcome center and see the railroad that runs along the Cuyahoga river. Typically this railroad runs the length of the park, stopping at shops and points of interest. You can even rent a bike and ride one way while taking the train back to your starting point. None of this was running while we were there, but is available again now.
We then explored the Ledges Trail. A great unexpected hike with lots to look at and explore. There are also many trail options for a short or long hike all that will have lots of ledges to see!
We stayed the night outside Columbus at a Category 1 Hyatt and got to see our first movie in a theater post covid! Waited 6 months to watch The Invisible Man and it was actually good! The Marcus Theater popcorn, however, was terrible.
Hocking Hills State Park
We finally made it! After years of procrastination we had made it to Hocking Hills. It took us about 1.5 hours from Columbus, but there are a lot of home rentals and campground nearby. I’d even looked into visiting in the winter and renting a cabin with a hot tub. It was just easier for us to cut down on the drive time the day before and stay at Hyatt with points. We also were keeping the trip to 2 days so we didn’t have much time for night minimums or enjoying an airbnb.
There are several different regions to Hocking Hills. We visited Old Man’s Cave, Whispering Cave, Cedar Falls and Ash Cave areas. Technically all of these points of interest are connected by hiking trails, but with limited time we drove from one to the other.
Old Man’s Cave is 100% the show stopper. It is MAGICAL. Very whimsical. I don’t have any photos that do it justice and I’m glad I wasn’t clear on what it was like before going. The surprise made it even better. When we visited it had to be done one way (from the far left of the parking lot, by upper falls, clockwise) and I think that was the perfect way to see it. Be warned there are a lot of stairs and steep parts to reach the top at the end. We followed the trail from Old Man’s Cave to Whispering Cave where the parking lot was closed. At this point you should be able to drive closer if you wish to see that one.
Cedar Falls is a quick loop to a refreshing pool and waterfall. We saw lots of families and dogs enjoying the water on a hot day. If you have time it would be the perfect spot to cool off. An even shorter walk is to Ash Cave, our last stop. When we visited it was a small trickle of water into a tiny plunge pool. The rocks and cave were definitely the star. Having more time and knowing more now I would have made a visit to Rock House. So don’t miss that area on your trip.
Cost Breakdown
This quick weekend trip was a cheap one. We drove our own car, used gift cards for Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, ate leftovers and only stayed over one night. Our Hyatt was less than my breakeven point of $95 to use points (Hyatt points are worth $.019 ea), so we paid in cash. They were also running a promotion where if we paid in cash we would earn $20 in points.
What’s great about these outdoor activities is they’re free. Both the National Park and Hocking Hills are fee to visit. It can be frustrating out west sometimes when every park has its own fee. This was more like traveling in New Zealand where the majority of our hiking and activities were free.
