Hocking Hills Ohio: Old Man's Cave

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.  The rest of the posts in consecutive order are HERE.

On our second day in Hocking Hills we woke up super early to hit the most popular trail in the park:  Old Man's Cave.   Old Man's Cave is normally super crowded, but we were only the second car in the parking lot on the day we were there, plus it was drizzling a bit, so we had the trail pretty much to ourselves for most of our hike;  which we loved.

If you remember my post from last week, I showed a diorama we saw at the Visitor's Center which displayed the Old Man's Cave trail.  It is such a cool trail because the entire trail is deep inside a gorge with many interesting geological attractions like waterfalls and caves.

The trail is a one-way 1 to 1/2 mile loop trail depending on where you decide to exit the trail.  You start the one-way loop trail at the Upper Falls so right away you see immediate beauty and you didn't have to hike for miles to see it!

                                Upper Falls

I just love the old stone bridge above the falls.  I think the mix of modern architecture with the natural geological formations was one of my favorite things about this trail.  The creators did a beautiful job making sure all the bridges and steps blended well with the natural surroundings.

We took a lot of very short videos of all the highlights of this trail.  This first video shows the Upper Falls.

The Devil's Bathtub

The Devil's Bathtub is the next trail highlight we came across.  I included a video that shows the Devil's Bathtub in action and also a photograph of the plaque that explains the natural phenomenon.

There were so many picturesque bridges to stop and take a photo on;  and of course we stopped at each and every one! 😀

My hubby found this geological formation humorous:

A Frame Bridge Over Gorge

The A Frame Bridge over the gorge is just stunning.  And right below it is a very interesting foot bridge over the creek.  The A Frame Bridge and the foot bridge are works of art in a forest!  Even though it's perfectly safe, I was a little nervous walking across it because there are no handrails and my eyes played tricks on me with the water below and all the different levels of the bridge.  My husband took a humorous video of me attempting to cross the bridge, you can see that below.  Try not to laugh too hard. 😆 I am not an athlete.

We saw a couple of more interesting rock formations before we reached Old Man's Cave.

Old Man's Cave

If you have little kids, they will love walking through this tunnel of rock!

Old Man's Cave isn't actually a cave, but a huge cliff overhang.  It is about 200 feet long, 50 feet high, and 75 feet above the stream.

Here is more information about the cave and also how it got its name. 

I actually found the area around the cave more interesting than the cave itself.  I loved the steps leading up inside the cave.  Can you see them in the photo below?  They blend in with the sandstone so much.

There is also another gorgeous stone bridge and a Romeo and Juliet style balcony!

Right beneath the cave is another little waterfall.

This is the view from inside the cave.  I love the "frame" the cave walls naturally provide.

And finally, here is a video of the entire cave, starting with walking up to it and the view from the inside of the cave.

From here you can continue up and out of the gorge completing your one mile loop or you can hike another a half mile to see more interesting sites.  We hiked the extra half mile, plus another 1/4 mile detour to see "Broken Rock Falls".

Once again, I was blown away by the man made architecture and how beautifully it blended in with the natural surroundings.

There is so much gorgeous green moss in the gorge as it is the perfect growing environment.

Of course we found another cute bridge to stop and take a photo on!  😁

Did I mention how much I love moss?

Sphinx Head

The next natural highlight on the trail was the Sphinx Head.  I had to squint my eyes and look pretty hard to see it, but eventually I did.  Can you see the sphinx head in the second photo pictured below?

Lower Falls

The Lower Falls is the last big highlight of the trail.  Once you reach this point, you can either climb back up out of the gorge or hike 1/4 further to see "Broken Rock Falls".

A video of the Lower Falls

The Lower Falls is very serene.  I loved the huge rock wall in the area.

And of course it had yet another gorgeous stone bridge! 😀

We started to climb back up and kept seeing one jaw dropping sight after another.

Pictured below are the steps to get you out of the gorge and back to the Visitor Center, or you can hang a left like we did and hike 1/4 mile further.

Broken Rock Falls

"Broken Rock Falls" isn't much to see, and quite frankly isn't worth the extra 1/4 mile hike, BUT, the trail leading to "Broken Rock Falls" is pretty cool!

Eventually this "cool" trail comes to a complete end where you see a little trickle of water flowing through a broken rock.  The falls are very aptly named.

Yup, this is it.  Broken Rock Falls 😆.  Can you see the trickle of water in the top right corner?

I hope you enjoyed hiking Old Man's Cave with me today.  Once again, I could not believe I was in Ohio.  This is quite the trail and definitely not one to be missed if you are ever in the Hocking Hills Region.

Because next week is a holiday week, I will not be posting that week.  I will be back with more trails we hit on Day 2 on July 10th.

Have A Great Day and a Happy Independence Day!  Amy

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