Two days in the Hocking Hills from Upper Arlington: a stop-by-stop driving loop
A sandstone gorge with a waterfall and hemlocks in the Hocking Hills
A 190-mile round trip down US-33 covering five gorges, two small towns and one overnight, with drive times and lodging bands for every leg.
The route, the distances and why you leave at eight
From Upper Arlington the Hocking Hills sit roughly 55 to 65 miles southeast depending on which trailhead you aim for, and the drive is straightforward: east to the outerbelt, south, then US-33 through Lancaster to Logan. Reckon on 75 to 90 minutes door to trailhead without stops, more on a summer Saturday when US-33 backs up around Lancaster. The full loop described here, out via US-33 and back via the state routes through Circleville, runs about 190 miles over two days with roughly four and a half hours of total driving.
Leave Upper Arlington at eight. This is not a scenic-drive region where arrival time is flexible: the parking lots at Old Man's Cave and Conkle's Hollow fill by mid-morning between May and October, and on peak autumn Saturdays cars queue along the state routes. An 8am departure puts you at the first gorge before the crowd and gets you off the popular trails by early afternoon. Ohio state parks charge no admission, which is the region's great advantage and also why everyone comes.
Day one, 8am to 11am: Lancaster as more than a fuel stop
Most visitors blow through Lancaster at 65mph. Give it 90 minutes instead. The town made its money on glass and its Broad Street has a run of Federal and Greek Revival houses that would be a headline attraction in a state with less competition. The Sherman House Museum preserves the birthplace of William Tecumseh Sherman and runs seasonal hours with a small admission; the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio occupies the Reese-Peters House nearby with free galleries. Verify hours for both before you build the morning around them, as both run limited winter schedules.
If your group would rather move than look, substitute Rising Park on the town's north side. Mount Pleasant, the sandstone promontory at its centre, is a 15-minute climb on a rough path to a bare rock lip with a long view over the town and the farmland beyond — the first real geology of the day and a useful warm-up for the gorges. Coffee and breakfast are easy on Main Street. Be back on US-33 by 10.30 heading southeast toward Rockbridge.
Day one, 11am to 5pm: Rockbridge, Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave
Turn off for Rockbridge State Nature Preserve first, a short detour and a quiet one. Ohio's largest natural bridge spans about 100 feet of sandstone and almost nobody stops here, which after the Old Man's Cave crowds is worth remembering. Allow an hour including the walk in across a farm field. Then continue to the Old Man's Cave area on SR-664, where the visitor centre has restrooms, water, maps and a staffed desk. Park here and accept that this is the busiest half-mile of the region.
Old Man's Cave itself is a gorge walk of stone stairs, tunnels and recess caves along Old Man's Creek, and it deserves the traffic — allow 90 minutes for the loop. From there, the Grandma Gatewood Trail runs about three miles through hemlock woods to Cedar Falls, the strongest year-round waterfall in the park; if you would rather not walk it both ways, drive between the two. Finish at Ash Cave, five miles south, where a quarter-mile paved and accessible path leads into an enormous horseshoe recess. Do Ash Cave last: late light there is the best of the day.
Day one evening: Logan, dinner and where to sleep
Logan is the region's service town, 12 minutes from Old Man's Cave, and it does barbecue, pizza and burgers rather than fine dining. Eat by 7, because kitchens close early on weeknights. Hocking Hills Winery and a handful of small taprooms cover the drink question. Provision breakfast here too if you are staying in a cabin, since there is no grocery near the trailheads and the nearest full supermarket is in Logan itself.
Three lodging types, in order of preference. First, the state park lodge above Old Man's Cave, publicly run, purpose-built for this trip and typically $170 to $250 a night — the single best choice for a two-day loop because it removes the morning drive entirely. Second, the private cabins scattered through the hills, which run roughly $150 to $300 a night, usually impose two-night minimums on weekends, and reward groups more than couples. Third, the chain motels on the edge of Logan at $110 to $150, unromantic but flexible. Book cabins months ahead for October.
Day two, 8am to 1pm: Conkle's Hollow, Rock House, Cantwell Cliffs
Start with Conkle's Hollow, a state nature preserve rather than a state park, and the most dramatic gorge in the region. The lower gorge trail runs about a mile on a flat, partly paved path between 200-foot cliff walls and suits almost anyone. The rim trail above it is 2.5 miles with genuinely unfenced drops and a real fatality history — do not take small children on it, and check the posted rules, including pet restrictions, at the trailhead board before you set off.
Rock House, ten minutes away, is the only true cave in the park system: a corridor inside a cliff face with window openings, reached by a steep but short trail. Allow 45 minutes. If the group still has legs, add Cantwell Cliffs at the northern edge, where the descent through the rock crevice called Fat Woman's Squeeze is narrow, steep and the best hour in the region for anyone who finds the main gorges too tidy. If legs are gone, drop Cantwell Cliffs without regret and start north early.
Day two afternoon: the way home you should take
Do not simply retrace US-33. Head north and west on the state routes toward Circleville, an hour of rolling farmland, covered-bridge signage and small towns, and stop for late lunch there. Circleville's Pumpkin Show fills the third week of October with a genuinely enormous street festival — if your loop lands then, either build the trip around it or route around the town entirely, because parking within a mile is impossible. Confirm the dates with the festival organisers before assuming.
From Circleville it is about 45 minutes north to Upper Arlington via US-23 and the outerbelt, or an extra 20 minutes if you cut through Canal Winchester and Lithopolis for a look at small-town Fairfield County. Aim to be back by 5pm. If you have booked a third night, the same Upper Arlington-edge hotels that started the trip work for the end of it, and the Lane Avenue corridor at $150 to $260 gets you a proper dinner and a bath after two days of sandstone dust.
Seasons, safety and what to skip
October is peak, both for colour and for congestion; the middle two weekends see queues at every major lot before 10am. April and early May are the sleeper choice, with full waterfalls, no bugs and half the visitors. Summer is hot, humid and busy, though the gorges stay noticeably cooler than the ridge tops. Winter is the connoisseur's season for ice formations at Cedar Falls and Ash Cave, but the stone stairs turn lethal — traction spikes are not optional, and some trail sections close after ice storms. Check the park's trail status before driving down.
What to skip: the zipline and adventure-park operators unless that is specifically why you came, since they eat half a day and are unrelated to the geology; the roadside gift barns on SR-664; and any attempt to fit all six major gorges into a single day. Two gorges done slowly beat five done at a jog. Cell coverage is patchy across the hills, so download maps before leaving Logan, and fill the tank there rather than assuming a station near a trailhead.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Upper Arlington.
Yes, if you accept a long day and only two stops. Leave at seven, do Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave, eat in Logan and be home by seven. You lose Conkle's Hollow, Rock House and Cantwell Cliffs, which are the three places where the crowds thin out and the region gets interesting.
Ohio state parks and state nature preserves in the Hocking Hills do not charge admission, and trails do not require booking. The constraint is parking, which fills at the major trailheads by mid-morning from May to October. Arrive before 9.30 on weekends. Confirm current access rules and any temporary trail closures with Ohio State Parks.
Partly. Ash Cave has a quarter-mile paved accessible path to an enormous recess and is the standout. The lower gorge trail at Conkle's Hollow is flat and partly paved. Old Man's Cave, Rock House and Cantwell Cliffs all involve stone stairs, narrow passages and steep grades that rule out wheels entirely.
