Ride along with us on adventures at Hocking Hills State Park!
It’s been a bit since the Jones have taken a road trip, so we were all ready to enjoy a vacation! This time we headed to Logan, Ohio to enjoy some time hiking and exploring Hocking Hills State Park. This was a longer road trip for us, just over six and a half hours, but it was worth it! Most of the hikes in this area are perfect for children! They are shorter in length and there is so much to see-waterfalls, caves, sandy floors, boulders, tall trees, gorges-that your little ones will be engaged the entire hike. We never heard a complaint about being too tired to hike from the littlest Jones; instead she was sad when it was time to leave.
Where we stayed for our Hocking Hills vacation
For this trip we decided to stay at a hotel; the Hocking Hills area is known for having many cabins, but even when we booked this trip in January, it was hard to find a cabin that was a good fit for the three of us. Hocking Hills has lots of cabins for couples and large groups. It’s a popular spot, so we opted to go the hotel route. We booked a stay at Sleep Inn which was located in the town of Logan about twenty minutes from Hocking Hills State Park. The employees at the hotel were welcoming, engaging, and helpful with sharing recommendations for places to eat. The room was clean, the shower hot, there was a complimentary breakfast, and the littlest Jones enjoyed the indoor pool. Although we love being in a cabin, Sleep Inn was a perfect choice for our Hocking Hills vacation.
Since this Hocking Hills vacation driving route from Locust Grove took us through rural West Virginia and Maryland, we opted to pack lunches. This was a smart decision since there were no real options for large stretches of the trip. By the time we arrived in Logan, we were ready for a warm meal. We walked from our hotel to Millstone BBQ. This is a popular spot so it took a while to get our food, but everyone enjoyed their meals. I think our favorite part was the mini corn bread muffins that came to the table.
Hocking Hills Vacation Day One: Hiking at Hocking Hills State Park
We were ready to start our Hocking Hills vacation early on Monday morning. After a yummy breakfast, we headed out for our first hike at Hocking Hills State Park. One thing to note about Hocking Hills State Park is that it is spread out over a few miles and there is not one road that travels all the way through the park.
Old Man’s Cave is a one way, one mile loop that leads down into a gorge and then back up through beautiful scenery. Even on a Monday morning, the parking lot had many cars in it. By the time we left it was pretty full, so we would suggest starting early. Our pictures from Old Man’s Cave and the other hikes we completed on our Hocking Hills vacation don’t quite capture the scale of the tall rocks that surround the gorge. While this hike is only a mile, we walked slowly to really take in everything around us. The littlest Jones was excited to cross the stone bridges, learn about all the sand around the waterfall, and climb up the rock stairs. This hike is doable for most people, but it does have some stairs and uneven terrain. We would recommend that anyone trying out these trails in Hocking Hills wear sneakers or other shoes with a tread. Because these trails are well loved, many of the rocks are worn smooth and can be slippery if wet.
Old Man’s Cave is right next to the Hocking Hills State Park’s Visitor’s center. There is a pavilion and other picnic tables and spots to enjoy lunch. The visitor’s center is a great place to get information for your Hocking Hills vacation about all the hiking trails within the park, and there are interactive exhibits that share the history of the area and how the gorges were formed.
From Old Man’s Cave we headed south to complete the Ash Cave hike. This hike is only a quarter mile long, but the scenery is so enjoyable that we took our time and explored the cave. This trail started in the gorge and is paved and handicapped accessible. The star of this hike is, no surprise, Ash Cave. It is a seven hundred foot horseshoe shaped cave with a waterfall. While the dry weather has shrunk the waterfall, the cave with sandy floor was fun to explore. It also feels much cooler as you are hiking in the gorges making it an enjoyable respite from the summer heat. We continued the hike up a set of stairs to the rim trail (not handicapped accessible) where we could look down and see glimpses of the gorge trail. There is a trail that goes around the rim of the gorge, but for us, the gorge trail was a better option.
Our last trail of the on the first day of our Hocking Hills vacation was Rock House. This trail has a cave that you can explore. It is more of a challenge than Old Man’s Cave or Ash Cave because of the stone stairs and steeper terrain. We followed the loop trail to the cave where you go up a few stone stairs and wander around the cave. It is open in the front, so once your eyes adjust you can explore this shallow cave.
After a day filled with hiking, we were ready for some dinner. We went to the Olde Dutch Restaurant to fill our bellies with selections from their buffet. The littlest Jones declared this was her new favorite type of restaurant because she could see all the choices and decide if she liked a food before putting it on her plate. We asked her how you could decide whether something tastes good before eating it, but that was a battle for another day. We also explored the antique mall and other small shops around the restaurant before heading back to the hotel for the evening.
As you can tell the first day of our Hocking Hills vacation was full of hiking and fun! We really tried to slow down on the hikes and take in the nature around us. All the hikes are near each other, but because you are driving on rural roads that are a little windy at times, it can take up to twenty minutes to get from one to another. That was okay for us because it gave everyone a little time to rest before setting out on our next adventure!
Look for part two of our Hocking Hills vacation next week!
