Hocking Hills: Conkles Hollow, The Visitor Center, and the Hocking Hills Resort

This post is part of a travel series of our road trip in the midwest where we traveled to four states:  Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana.  We visited one state park, two national parks, and a historic farm..  To start at the beginning, go HERE!

After hiking Cantwell Cliffs and the Rock House in the morning, we then headed for Conkles Hollow.  This is a beautiful trail perfect for young families, the elderly, and the disabled for it is completely paved and level for the entire trail except the last 300 feet.

Conkles Hollow

Conkles Hollow has two trails:  one takes you up a bunch of steps which hikes the rim of the hollow looking down, and the other is the Gorge Trail where you are hiking deep inside the hollow looking up.  We chose to hike the Gorge Trail.

There is a small cave (The Grotto)  which you can easily see from the trail, but you can also take some short steps to get a closer look.

The Gorge Trail is 0.4 miles one way in, plus another 300 feet to the waterfall if you're able to hike all the way to the end.  

This trail is so mystical and beautiful.  It felt like a fairy land, it was so pristine and gorgeous; loaded with ferns and moss and dappled sunlight peeking through.  Some of the growth is so thick in places that little or no sunlight reaches the deep valley floor.

A kind stranger offered to take our photo.  I always appreciate that. 

If you love ferns, Conkles Hollow is your place because it is loaded with ferns!  

The vertical cliffs rise 200 feet above the valley floor.  In the last unpaved portion of the trail the gorge narrows to only a distance of 300 feet from cliff to cliff.

This is the where the paved trail comes to the end.  People often leave their strollers or scooters here, and hike the last 300 feet on foot if they can.

From here there are bridges and lots of rock scrambling until you reach your final destination,

The trail ends at a waterfall which sometimes can be just a trickle and other times of the season can have quite the nice pond underneath.

Hiking this trail really is a beautiful, serene experience.  You really do feel like you're in a magical land and not Ohio.   😁

Here is a short four minute video of the most exciting part of the Conkles Hollow Trail:  the last 300 feet to the waterfall:

Hocking Hills Visitor Center

After this, we were done hiking for the day and got back in the car to head to the lodge.  We stopped at the Hocking Hills Visitor Center first.  They have quite the nice Visitor Center filled with lots of informations of all the trails in Hocking Hills.  Pictured below is my husband pointing to Conkles Hollow, the one we just hiked.

Here is more information on Conkles Hollow:

Pictured below is a diorama of  Hocking Hills most famous attraction:  Old Man's Cave, which we will be hiking the next day.  It was exciting to see what our hike will be like after looking at this display.

Hocking Hills Resort

The Hocking Hills region has many resorts to stay at when visiting the area, but after I saw they built a brand new one, I wanted to stay here!  It is a gorgeous resort with indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs.

After we soaked our aching bones in the hot tub, we walked around the resort a bit to check I out.  

There's a nice brick patio area for weddings and other events.

I loved this art sculpture.  Those are rocks inside!

The foyer has two large fireplaces with a bridge on the second level.

There is a dining room on the premises, but we didn't eat there so I can't tell you how good the food was.  

They also have a little coffee shop/grab-and-go for people who don't have the time to eat in the diner.  

I love how open the foyer is, and how when you walk in you can see straight out to the back of the hotel.

There's this awesome map/artwork on the wall that highlights the main attractions of the park.

I don't have photos of our room.  It was just ok in comparison to the rest of the hotel.  But I also chose the most inexpensive room as we never spend much time in our room to justify a big expense for a nicer room.

Next week I will cover the best part of Hocking Hills:  Old Man's Cave!  Don't miss it!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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