Hocking Hills State Park Hiking Trails: Flat and Easy!

When people think of Ohio, hiking isn’t typically what comes to mind.  But there is a little state park with nearly 20 miles of easy hiking that you just can’t miss!  Hocking Hills State Park hiking trails are quite flat, besides some stairs, making it a must-see state park no matter your skill level.  

Hocking Hills is one of the more popular state parks in Ohio, and after looking at just a few photos, you can probably see why!  This state park has beautiful waterfalls, a peaceful lake, a great campground and miles of hiking trails.

No matter your hiking level, there are trails here for you.  So let’s jump right in with some important links!

Important Links

Hocking Hills State Park website

Hocking Hills State Park Camping Trip Guide

Hocking Hills State Park Camping – Make Reservations Here!

Hiking Trails Map

Campground Map

Location

Hocking Hills State Park is in southern Ohio, and not too far from several major Ohio cities.  This beautiful gem of a park is a great place to hike or camp or just to unplug for a bit.  

Address to use: 19988 OH-664 Scenic, Logan, OH 43138

Just 1 hour south of Columbus, OH, about 2.5 hours east of Cincinnati, OH, and 3 hours south of Cleveland,OH, a Hocking Hills State Park hiking trip is the perfect weekend getaway!  

3 Words of Caution!

The Hocking Hills area of Ohio was a little confusing when we first drove into the area.  There are so many cabins and campgrounds, it was a little confusing as to where we were actually trying to go.  

1. Use the Address to get there – I highly recommend using the address above so you don’t get lost in an area without much service. Which leads me to…
2. Download an Offline Map for this area – There is very little phone service in the park and the surrounding area.  With so many hills and hollows, it will interfere with your signal.  Have a paper map ready or downloaded versions of trail and driving maps.
3. Get There Early! – Hocking Hills State Park is Ohio’s most visited state park, so if you plan on visiting in the summer, make sure you arrive early (or go in the afternoon) to ensure you can snag a parking spot.

Parking

There are several parking areas throughout Hocking Hills State Park that allow access to various trails.  

The largest parking lot is located at the Visitor’s Center and can be found here:

19988 OH-664 Scenic, Logan, OH 43138

Next up is the Hocking Hills State Park Lodge and Conference Center that can be found:

20020 OH-664, Logan, OH 43138

Besides that addresses above, there are only trailhead parking areas where you can access Hocking Hills State Park hiking trails.  

In your GPS you can type in…

1. Cedar Falls Trailhead Parking – park here to access the Grandma Gatewood Trail, Cedar Falls Trail, and the Gorge Overlook Trail 
2. Ash Cave Main Parking Area – park here to access the Ash Cave Trail and the Grandma Gatewood Trail
3. Rock House Parking Lot – park here to access the Rock House trails
4. Conkles Hollow Parking Lot – park here to access the Conkles Hollow trails
5. Cantwell Cliffs Parking Lot – park here to access the Cantwell Rim and Cantwell Gorge Trails

Time to Spend Here 

Hocking Hills State Park is not a huge state park, but there are plenty of hiking trails to spend some time exploring.  I would recommend spending at least a weekend here to see the highlights all around the park.  Or you could spend a few extra days exploring the area too. The choice is yours!

Personally, my husband and I camped here for a full week in our camper.  While this length of stay allowed us to get plenty of time on the trails, we didn’t need a full week to see all the highlights.  But speaking of camping, Hocking Hills has a great campground you should definitely check out if you enjoy camping!

Camping 

With nearly 200 campsites, Hocking Hills State Park is a large, but peaceful campground to stay at.  Each site has easy access to showers and bathrooms while also having a pool!  Plus, if you aren’t much of the camping type, there are also a few cabins you can rent.

The best part about camping here was the accessibility to all of the Hocking Hills State Park hiking trails.  You’ll never have to worry about finding a parking spot, you’ll simply walk down the hill and can start your hiking adventure.  

For all the details and much more about Camping in Hocking Hills State Park, check out my other post here.  You’ll find all the details you need for the various ways to stay as well as find a price comparison to find what fits your budget.  Go check it out!  But for now, let’s get back to all the hiking details.  

If You Only Have Time For 1 Hike, Make It This One!

If you only have time for one hike, you’ll want it to be this one!  I’ll get into more of the details about Hocking Hills State Park hiking trails in a minute, but if you only have a few hours to kill, this is the loop you’ll want to do!

This trail was about a 2 mile loop and took us less than an hour to complete.  

Start at the Visitor’s Center and pick up the Gorge Entrance Trail heading north along the parking lot.  You’ll come to a set of stairs at the north end of the trail, and you’ll begin your descent into the gorge.  

From here you’ll stay on the Grandma Gatewood Trail, which winds you down through the gorge, over hand-carved steps, and alongside the stream that runs at the bottom of the gorge.  

You’ll see a majority of the highlights on this trail including several waterfalls, cliffs and caves that are the highlights of the park.  

When you have come to the Lower Falls area, you’ll loop back around on the Gorge Exit Trail and head back to the Visitor’s Center.  

Hiking Overview

Within and around the park, there are many beautiful trails filled with diverse terrains.  From cliff-view overlooks, to waterfalls, to many gorge trails and cave access trails.  When it comes to Hocking Hills State Park hiking, there is a little bit of everything.  

Below are a list of the trails, and you can find all of these on the map above!  This map highlights several of the “Must-See” areas in and around the state park.  Each box includes a parking area, meaning you will have to drive around to access several of these trailheads.

For example, from the visitor’s center (where you can find Upper Falls, Old Man’s Cave, etc.) it’s a 15 minute drive over to the Rock House area.  So you will need to drive over to that section of the park.  

List of Trails (as seen on map above)

• Ash Cave Rim Trail – 0.3 miles
• Broken Rock Trail – 0.1 miles
• Camp Access Trail – 0.3 miles
• Cantwell Cliffs Rim Trail – 1.1 miles
• Cantwell Cliffs Gorge Trail – 0.2 miles
• Cedar Falls Trail – 0.4 miles
• Conkles Hollow Rim Trail – 1.9 miles
• Conkles Hollow Gorge Trail – 0.4 miles
• Gorge Entrance/Exit Trail – 0.7 miles
• Gorge Overlook Trail – 2.8 miles
• Grandma Gatewood Trail – 5.3 miles
• Lodge Connector Trail – 0.1 miles
• Rock House Gorge Trail – 0.6 miles
• Rock House Rim Trail – 0.2 miles
• Rose Lake Trail – 1.6 miles
• Rose Lake Access Trail – 0.5 miles
• Whispering Cave Trail – 0.2 miles
• Whispering Cave to Old Man’s Cave Trail – 1.9 miles

As you can see, there are many short trails on this map!  But you’ll be combining several of them to hit the highlights around the state park.  

The Must-See Items!

Hocking Hills State Park trails will lead you to many beautiful places.  In fact, with all of those trails listed, you might feel a little overwhelmed.  But there are a few highlights that you won’t want to miss!

1. Upper Falls – These falls, when flowing, are set below a beautiful stone bridge that is highly photographed.
2. Devil’s Bathtub – This deep pool of swirling water can be seen from the trail.  This blue water created a legend that the water swirled directly to the depths of hell. And even though the water pops up just a few yards downstream, the name remains.  
3. Lower Falls – These falls, when flowing, flow into a refreshing blue pool of water and create a beautiful scene to photograph.  
4. Whispering Cave – This sand cave is a must see when you are in the park.  The sand creates a deafening silence and the trail is definitely worth hiking.
5. Rock House – This one way loop leads to a beautiful rock structure that feels almost tunnel-like.  
6. Cedar Falls – This skinny waterfall is not always flowing, but when it is, it truly shows the power of water cutting through rock.  
7. Cantwell Cliffs – Another one-way trail, the Cantwell Cliffs Trail is an impressive hiking trail that leads you through a labyrinth of rock and cliff faces.
8. Conkles Hollow – And finally, we have a section of must-do trails that are just outside the park.  Located in Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve, these trails will lead you to waterfalls, cliff overlooks, and of course walk you under and along rock cliffs.  

Our Hiking Experience

During our 1 week stay in Hocking Hills State Park, we were able to hike many of the must-see trails around the park.  From our campsite, we hiked down a connector trail and hiked around Rose Lake, the Gorge Overlook Trail, down to Cedar Falls, and of course the loop on the Grandma Gatewood Trail.  

All of these trails were pretty flat and definitely easy if you are used to hiking.  If not, then these might be considered moderate because of the many small patches of stairs.  

Overall, we would recommend a Hocking Hills State Park hiking trip to just about anyone.  And while none of these trails truly challenged us, it was a great way to spend a week experiencing one of the highlights of Ohio.  

Conclusion

If you are looking for easy hikes with plenty of diverse terrain to enjoy, look no further than the Hocking Hills State Park hiking trails!  With waterfalls, gorges, cliff faces and peaceful trees all around you, you’ll love hiking here.

Hocking Hills is Ohio’s most popular state park, and despite this fact, you can stay at their affordable campground for up to 2 weeks to get your fill of the trails.  The best part is you can access most of the trails straight from the campground!

If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to averagewildexperience@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to help.

-Happy Hiking!