Last weekend, the weather was supposed to hit 75 degrees in November! Now, the Hines family LOVES warm weather and we LOVE hiking. So I knew that there was absolutely no way we could stay indoors over the weekend. We feel like we have worn new trails into all the hiking paths in our local area, so we packed up a picnic lunch and made the 2hr drive to Hocking Hills in Southwest OH.
Hocking Hills is truly in the middle of nowhere. It’s about as backwoods as you can get! There are many surrounding towns, but it’s still a bit of a drive to get to the actual park entrance. And if you struggle at all with carsickness, I highly recommend a dramamine and a barf bag! Even though the roads aren’t steep mountain terrain, they are very curvy, and it’s something about those curves after a long trip that just don’t sit well with the tummies. Don’t ask me how I know..that is a story best kept for a different time and place!
We decided to hike Old Man’s Cave trail, but were not sure of the distance or difficulty level of the hike. It was a beautiful sunny morning and we arrived at the top of the trail around 10:30. We packed our waters, a few snacks and the kids shed their jackets the moment we started down the trail. I left my jacket in the van, but wish that I had brought it because it turns out that most of Old Man’s Cave trail is in a canyon where the sunlight doesn’t reach, so at least 20 degrees colder than up top in the sunshine!
The trail does not disappoint and starts right off with a gorgeous canyon waterfall. The waterfall itself is not much more than a trickle, but the pool and the surrounding rock walls are something to behold!
We continued to follow the well-marked one-way trail (due to COVID). There was a lot of other people out that day, but it didn’t feel too crowded. The trail was a medium difficulty level- the kids were doing great climbing all over everything and up and down the steps and hills. However, there are several times on the trail where we were walking next to a very steep cliff drop-off and it made my Mama heart so nervous. So be warned if you go: your children need to be able to listen and stay away from the edges, otherwise you will be carrying them a lot!
The way the sunlight was streaming down on us through the trees was magical. Most of the fall foliage wasn’t visible from down in the canyon, or had already fallen off the trees, but I just couldn’t get over the sunlight!!
This spot was called the Devil’s Bathtub, and I couldn’t spend more than 3 seconds gazing at it because there was absolutely NO EDGES and the sign said that if you get in, it’s almost impossible to get yourself out. So, color me nervous. I didn’t enjoy that part of the hike haha!
Although the hike was not hard, there was a lot of up and down and mixed terrain. These steps cut into the rock were pretty cool!
Our kids are excellent hikers. We figured that we hiked 3-4 miles that day, and the two big kids did every step of the way by themselves. Ezra hung out in the backpack a bit, but also did his own fair share of hiking!
We reached Old Man’s Cave, and it’s breathtaking. It is just amazing to stand there and look around at nature and what God has made. There was quiet a few people there, but there was kind of a reverent hush so it didn’t feel crowded. Or maybe it’s just because we are all SO SMALL compared to the massive cliff rock overhang.
After Old Man’s Cave, we kept walking the lower falls. We were getting pretty tired and decided to head out back to the parking lot. The climb out of the canyon was pretty intense, with a couple hundred steps and it felt like climbing an entire mountain! Once we made it out on the top it was sunny and so much warmer! We grabbed our lunches from the van and had lunch on a picnic table at the trailhead.
At this point, we were all tired but I didn’t want to head back home until we had really gotten the best of Hocking Hills. So we decided to drive to another trail head and do the Rock House trail. Ezra fell asleep on the way there, so Theo stayed in the van with Ezra while I took the two bigger kids on the one mile hike
The rock house was so cool! It is basically a cave with window and door openings, so it seems just like a house inside. The only part that I didn’t like about it was how many other people were there at the same time. The noise really took away from the peaceful ambiance of the house.
Then we began the hike out. Which was 90% uphill. STEEP HILL. At one point, the kids were on their hands and knees crawling up the hill, haha!!! I’m sure it wasn’t actually that far of a distance, but that last half mile of the hike was the hardest part of the entire day! But, also…it was SO beautiful. The trees were in beautiful reds and yellows and oranges and the sunlight was almost magical.
We hopped in the van and made the two hour drive back. And you know your kids are growing up when not a single one of them fell asleep in the van on the way home!
If you live anywhere within driving distance of Hocking Hills, I highly recommend a trip! The park also has cabins- from rustic to very nice. There are a lot of Airbnbs within 30 minutes of the park and I noticed that there were a lot of people driving their RVs, so there must be some kind of camping situation there as well. We could have spent several more days there, hiking around and enjoying being outside!