Here's the truth nobody puts on the postcard: Hocking Hills State Park's famous gorge trails are poor trail running. They're short, staircase-dense, one-way, crowded, and floored with sandstone that turns to glass when wet. But ring the park in a 30-minute radius and this becomes one of the best trail-running regions in Ohio. You just have to run the right places.
Where the real running is
Baileys Trail System (Wayne National Forest)
The headliner. Roughly 58 miles of the planned 88 are complete — machine-built, sustainably graded singletrack through Appalachian foothills near Chauncey and Doanville, explicitly designed for runners and hikers as well as mountain bikers. Flowing grades instead of staircases, loop options at every distance, and two trailheads (Chauncey-Dover Park and Doanville-York). The longest single trail, Pig Iron, runs 7.1 miles. Yield to bikes, run opposite the posted bike direction where signed, and you'll have the best footing in the region.
Zaleski Backpack Trail
Three contiguous loops totaling 29.1 miles through Ohio's second-largest state forest — real climbs, real solitude, and aid-station-style water at the campsites. The 10-mile South Loop is the classic long run. Full details in the Zaleski guide; wear orange during deer gun week.
Clear Creek Metro Park
Ten trails across 5,470 acres of ridge-and-ravine terrain — runnable grades, connecting loops, quiet weekday mornings, and Metro Parks maintenance standards. The best tempo-run terrain within 25 minutes of the cabins.
Hockhocking Adena Bikeway
The paved rail-trail from Nelsonville toward Athens is the recovery-day and speed-work option — flat, scenic river-valley miles when your quads are done with hills.
Running the state park anyway
If you must — and the sunrise light in the gorges is a real argument — go at opening (the park runs dawn to dusk), pick Cantwell Cliffs or the Cedar Falls–Ash Cave stretch of the Grandma Gatewood Trail over Old Man's Cave proper, respect the one-way flow absolutely, and treat every wet rock and stair edge as the fall hazard it is. Walking the staircases isn't weakness; it's how runners here stay runners. Dogs on leash where allowed, never at Conkle's Hollow.
Run big, recover well
Cabins with hot tubs sit 20 minutes from Baileys, Zaleski, and Clear Creek alike.
Find a Cabin Near the Trails →Frequently Asked Questions
Can you trail run in Hocking Hills State Park?
It's allowed but poorly suited — short one-way trails, heavy staircases, crowds, and dangerously slick wet sandstone. Go at dawn on the quieter trails if you do; the better running is on the surrounding systems.
Where's the best trail running near Hocking Hills?
The Baileys Trail System in Wayne National Forest — roughly 58 completed miles of purpose-built, runnable singletrack with loop options at every distance — followed by Zaleski State Forest's 29-mile backpack loops and Clear Creek Metro Park's ten trails.
Is there anywhere flat to run in the region?
The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway, a paved rail-trail running from Nelsonville toward Athens along the river valley — the local option for recovery days and faster efforts.