Hocking Hills

Hocking Hills, Ohio

I was fortunate enough to find another stretch of nice looking weather at the end of August, so I got a last minute reservation for three nights at the Hocking Hills State Park Campground starting Monday, August 28th. It was about a two hour and 45 minute drive and about 144 miles, with a decent amount of that being off interstates, although there was still a lot of four lane divided highways too. Overall it was pretty hilly (not surprising based on the name of the area), but a pretty easy drive. One thing to keep in mind if I go back is when approaching Adelphi, maybe ignore Google’s directions and stay on the main roads instead of taking Cremery Hill Road. It’s not impossible to drive, but is tighter than I would like. The campground itself was just fine: Since I got a last minute reservation, the site was a little shorter than I would normally go for and it wasn’t very wide, but fortunately I didn’t have anybody immediately next to me while I was there. It was also an electric only site, which I didn’t experience much last year, so I’m still trying to figure out my water requirements. Approximately 10 gallons a day was a little short for quick showers/drinking/dishes without changing my habits really, so it should probably be closer to 13-15, or be more strict with how I use the water. Thanks to my parents, as part of my birthday present, I now have a five gallon water container so I can more easily grab a few gallons if I run short again.

I had some maintenance items to knock off that night, and I also replaced my bathroom faucet. I went from this old knuckle buster: To this new one with much more room for my hands: It’s kind of funny to me that I made it five months last year with the old sink, but was pretty much immediately annoyed with it on weekend trips this year, I guess switching between my home faucets where I have plenty of hand room and the camper faucet made it more annoying.

Tuesday morning I got up and hiked a six mile loop around the gorge. The first half or so was very easy, mostly gravel trail through the woods with an occasional overlook into the gorge. Sometimes I like this kind of trail because you don’t have to spend as much time looking down at where you are going to step, and are able to spend more time looking around in the woods. The second half of the trail went down in to the gorge, and was much more technical, lots of climbing up, down, and around rocks. This can also be fun because it is much more challenging, but it’s also a lot more difficult to look around as much without pausing. I took the Rim Trial out by Rose Lake:

I then went by Cedar Falls, which was pretty dried up this late in the year:

There were some pretty cool bridges crossing the creek and the gorge:

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

While in the Hocking Hills area, there is a National Historical Park about 45 minutes away from the State Park, so I went to check it out Tuesday afternoon. I understand there is a cultural significance here for the Hopewell people, but this was a fairly underwhelming stop. The Mound City Group site, which is where the visitor center is, has these mounds on the ground, and that is the extent of the park:

The Hopewell people lived in the area approximately 2,000 years ago, although not directly near the mounds, which are believed to mostly cover burial sites.

Hocking Hills Part 2

Wednesday morning I hiked a smaller, three mile loop that hit some of the same parts I did the day before, but included a few more of the more popular attractions, including Old Man’s Cave and the Lower Falls, which were more like a trickle this late in the summer:

Overall, I liked the park and it is some place I would like to go back to again, especially in the spring to see the waterfalls with a little more water.