The 5 Best Birding Spots in Hocking Hills

Clear Creek Metro Park

Clear Creek is Ohio's largest dedicated natural area and has been designated an Important Bird Area by Ohio Audubon. Over 2,200 species of plants and animals have been documented here, including more than 160 bird species and nearly 40 species on Ohio's rare and endangered list.

For birders, the headline number is this: 18 to 20 warbler species breed here annually, with over 100 species of birds nesting in the valley each summer. The Hemlock Trail is the go-to spot, running along Clear Creek Road about half a mile west of Camp Wyandot. Breeding Canada warblers, hermit thrushes, veeries, and occasionally magnolia warblers and blue-headed vireos are reliably found along the lower end of this trail. Expect to encounter around 12 breeding warbler species just on this one stretch before the trail becomes steep.

The park's unique position at the intersection of glaciated and unglaciated Ohio—where prairies of the west meet Appalachian forests of the east—produces habitats found almost nowhere else in the state, including wild rhododendron colonies and the last remaining Ohio stands of this southern shrub.

Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve

Conkle's Hollow may be compact at 87 acres, but it punches well above its weight for birding. The Ohio Ornithological Society describes it as the premier nature preserve for breeding birds of both southern and northern affinities in southern Ohio. Sheer Black Hand sandstone cliffs rise nearly 200 feet above the valley floor, and the deep, cool gorge—only 100 feet wide in places—creates the conditions that attract northern breeding species far south of their typical range.

The Lower Gorge trail is accessible and relatively easy, placing you in prime habitat for black-throated green warblers, cerulean warblers, and scarlet tanagers. Turkey vultures and red-shouldered hawks are commonly spotted soaring above the rim. Spring and summer are the best seasons here, when wildflowers carpet the gorge floor alongside peak bird activity.

Lake Logan State Park

Lake Logan offers something the forest parks can't: open water. The 400-acre lake draws waterfowl, wading birds, and raptors year-round, and nearly 200 bird species have been recorded here over the years—the highest species count of any single site in the Hocking Hills area.

Bald eagles are now year-round residents and are frequently visible soaring over the lake or perched in the tall trees along the shoreline. Spring brings osprey, migrating waterfowl, gulls, terns, and the possibility of shorebirds on the swimming beach. Over the years, birders have also documented notable rarities including red-necked grebe, red-throated loon, white pelican, whimbrel, and purple gallinule.

The surrounding oak-hickory forest hosts year-round residents like pileated woodpecker, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, and wood thrush. The Pine Vista Hiking Trail provides a short loop through the wooded hills with opportunities for songbird sightings.

Hocking Hills State Park

The main state park complex—spanning Cantwell Cliffs, Rock House, Conkle's Hollow, Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, and Ash Cave—sits within over 11,000 combined acres of parkland and state forest. Each area has its own birding character.

Cantwell Cliffs is considered especially good for raptors. Rock House attracts northern breeding species in its sheltered cave environment. Old Man's Cave features pine plantings that draw species of northern affinity, including pine warblers and red-breasted nuthatches. Cedar Falls and Ash Cave offer additional northern-affinity habitat along their hemlock-lined trails.

Spring and summer bring Blackburnian warblers, worm-eating warblers, brown creepers, and pine siskins alongside the more common woodland species. Winter is worth visiting too—northern irruptive species like evening grosbeaks and crossbills sometimes appear.

Rockbridge State Nature Preserve & Wayne National Forest (Kern Road)

Rockbridge State Nature Preserve is a 202-acre wilderness area in Hocking County that harbors some of the rarest bird species in Ohio. The natural rock bridge—Ohio's largest—sits within hemlock forest habitat that supports winter wrens, red-headed woodpeckers, American robins, and eastern bluebirds year-round. Spring brings migratory warblers and scarlet tanagers to the preserve's mixed forests.

Kern Road in Wayne National Forest is one of the best yet least-known birding spots in the region. It offers year-round opportunities: northern shrike and short-eared owls in winter, and prairie warblers, sparrows, and other breeding songbirds in spring and summer. The area is also popular for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, so you can combine birding with other trail activities.