Hocking Hills State Park · Trail Guide
The easiest trail in Hocking Hills — and it ends at Ohio's largest recess cave.
Ash Cave is the most accessible major trail in Hocking Hills State Park. The paved gorge trail is just 0.25 miles one-way with only 16 feet of elevation change, making it the only trail in the park system where wheelchair users can reach a world-class geological feature. The full loop incorporating the rim trail back totals roughly 1 mile.
The cave itself is Ohio's largest recess cave — approximately 700 feet wide, 100 feet deep, and 90 feet high, with a horseshoe-shaped rim and a seasonal waterfall dropping roughly 90 feet from the lip. The name comes from the massive ash deposits found here by early settlers, likely from centuries of campfires by Native Americans who used the cave as shelter.
The paved path follows a gentle descent through hemlock forest into the gorge, ending at the base of the cave. In spring and after heavy rain, the waterfall is at its most dramatic. In winter, the falls can freeze into a towering ice column — one of the most photographed scenes in Ohio. The cave's acoustics are remarkable; it has been used for church services, weddings, and the annual Christmas in Ash Cave event.
The gorge trail is paved asphalt. Wheelchair users can travel the full paved path to the cave and turn around where the surface becomes sandy at the cave floor. The rim trail involves steep wooden stairs and is not accessible — it's a moderate loop that returns you to the parking area from above.
Ash Cave's lot is smaller than Old Man's Cave but fills less quickly because the trail is shorter. Weekend mornings are still busy. The free weekend shuttle connects Ash Cave to Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls.
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