Hocking Hills State Park: Old Man's Cave (Blog Hike #914)

Trails: Gorge and Rim Trails
Hike Location: Hocking Hills State Park
Geographic Location: south of Logan, OH (39.43950, -82.53370)
Length: 1.1 miles
Difficulty: 7/10 (Moderate/Difficult)
Dates Hiked: May 1998, October 2022
Overview: A loop hike with lots of stairs past 2 waterfalls and through a rock-walled gorge.
Park Information: https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/hocking-hills-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=924419
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: From Logan, go south on SR 664 for 13 miles to the large parking lot for Hocking Hills State Park's Visitor Center and Old Man’s Cave on the left.  The hike starts at the northeast corner of this lot.

The hike: Hocking Hills State Park is easily my favorite state park in Ohio.  I am not sure which state park is my second favorite.  (Mohican? John Bryan? Maumee Bay?)  With over 4 million annual visitors, many people agree with my assessment.  The park's tight gorges lined with nearly vertical Blackhand sandstone remind me of those found at New York's famous Watkins Glen, and I have not been disappointed with any of my 5 visits to Hocking Hills.

            Hocking Hills State Park has several subsections, but the park's Visitor Center and campground are located at the very central Old Man's Cave area.  A gorge rather than a cave, Old Man's Cave is named for Richard Rowe, a hermit who lived here in the late 1700's.  Old Man's Cave passes through the entire 150-foot thick layer of Blackhand sandstone for which the park is famous, but it also contains 2 significant waterfalls and some other whitewater features.

            As I hiked here on a seasonally warm afternoon in late October, I thought back to my first hike through Old Man's Cave in May 1998.  The large state-of-the-art Visitor Center with concession area did not exist back then, the parking lot was 1/3 as large as it is today, and nearby SR 664 had a completely different road bed.  Also, crowds were about 1/10 what they were on my most recent visit, and the waterfalls were more scenic with the higher water tables of spring.  Many things change, but the allure of Old Man's Cave remains.

Entrance to Gorge Trail

            Due to the higher visitor count, foot traffic through the Old Man Cave's gorge is restricted to one-way: all hikers must hike downstream through the gorge and return upstream along the rim.  To execute such a route, start from the Visitor Center and head north with the main parking lot on your left and the gorge on your right.  When you reach a large information board on the left, look to the right for the entrance for the Gorge Trail, which heads down a wooden ramp.

Upper Falls

            After crossing Old Man's Creek on a stone bridge, turn right and descend some stone steps to reach the base of Upper Falls.  Upper Falls is one of the postcard sites in Hocking Hills: the bridge you just crossed and the sheer rock walls make a perfect frame.  Water falls in two short drops into a large plunge pool when there is enough water to fall, which there was not on my most recent visit.

Devil's Bathtub

            Continue downstream through the tight gorge, soon passing Devil's Bathtub, a round area where rocks carried by the creek scoured the sandstone walls.  The statewide Buckeye Trail also uses this route, as indicated by the powder blue blazes you see in the gorge.  The trail crosses back and forth over the creek using several bridges.  At 0.4 miles, you pass under the A-frame bridge that spans the gorge and connects the Visitor Center with the campground.  Just past this bridge, an unusual rock formation called The Sphinx juts out from the left gorge wall high above you.

The Sphinx

            After passing through a short man-made tunnel, the short-cut exit trail climbs out of the gorge to the right.  Unless you are getting tired, stay left to head for Lower Falls.  Climb a short set of stone steps and then descend a long set of steps to reach a trail intersection.  The famous Grandma Gatewood Trail heads left to continue further down the gorge first to Cedar Falls and then to Ash Cave.  This hike turns right to stay in the Old Man's Cave area.

Lower Falls

            0.7 miles into the hike, you reach the base of Lower Falls.  Lower Falls is taller than Upper Falls and it has higher water flow, but its lack of symmetrical framing makes it less photogenic.  Now the hardest part of the hike begins: you must climb a long and intricate series of stairs and tunnels to get back to the rim.  This section of trail gains about 150 vertical feet in less than 0.1 miles.

Tunnel leading to rim

            At 0.8 miles, you reach the rim.  Angle softly left to begin heading east along the north rim with the gorge to your right.  The rim walk is rather uneventful, and 0.3 miles of level walking along the rim returns you to the Visitor Center and the A-frame bridge to the campground.  The parking lot lies just beyond the Visitor Center.