Old Man's Cave

Old Man's Cave is the hike that made us realize Ohio has genuinely world-class scenery hiding in its southeast corner. We'd always thought of Ohio as flat farmland. Wrong. The Hocking Hills region has deep sandstone gorges, waterfalls, and rock formations that rival anything in the Appalachians.

The hike starts at the Upper Falls, where the creek drops over a wide ledge into a plunge pool. It's beautiful but just the beginning. From here the trail descends into the gorge on stone steps and starts winding between massive cliff walls. The sandstone has been carved into overhangs, recesses, and natural arches over millions of years. It's like walking through a geological sculpture garden.

The namesake "Old Man's Cave" is a huge recess cave - basically an enormous rock overhang creating a room-sized shelter. The story goes that a hermit named Richard Rowe lived in this cave in the early 1800s. Standing inside it, you can see why. It's massive, dry, and sheltered from the elements. Nature's apartment.

Below the cave, the gorge narrows and deepens. The trail follows the creek downstream through increasingly dramatic scenery. There are multiple small waterfalls, moss-covered rocks, and spots where the sandstone walls are close enough to touch on both sides. The whole thing feels enchanted.

The Lower Falls is the grand finale - the creek drops through a narrow slot in the rock into a deep pool surrounded by cliff walls on three sides. We stood on the bridge above it and just watched the water pour through. On a sunny day, light comes through the canopy and hits the water in a way that's genuinely magical.

We did the full gorge trail plus the rim trail for a loop of about 4.5 miles. The gorge trail has stairs - lots of stairs. Some sections are steep stone steps carved into the cliff. It's moderate because of the elevation changes and stairs, not because of technical difficulty.

Fair warning: this is the most popular hike in Ohio and it shows. On weekends the trail can feel like a highway. We went on a Tuesday morning in May and had reasonable space. If you go on a fall weekend, expect crowds. It's still worth it - the scenery is that good - but the solitude factor is low.

We're already planning to come back for Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, and Rock House. The Hocking Hills have us hooked.