Hocking Hills State Park · Trail Guide
The most iconic trail in Hocking Hills and the starting point for the Grandma Gatewood Trail.
Old Man's Cave is the flagship of Hocking Hills State Park and its most-visited trailhead. The one-way loop trail runs 1.0 to 1.5 miles depending on your exit choice, passing through a deeply carved Black Hand sandstone gorge with two waterfalls, a natural cave, and some of the most dramatic geology in Ohio.
The trail is named for Richard Rowe, a hermit who lived in the recess cave from roughly 1796 until his death. He was reportedly buried beneath the cave's ledge. The gorge also serves as the northern terminus of the 6-mile Grandma Gatewood Trail connecting Old Man's Cave to Ash Cave via Cedar Falls.
The trail descends into the gorge past Upper Falls (roughly 20 feet), then follows Queer Creek — named from an old Appalachian dialect term meaning "strange," describing the creek's winding path through narrow sandstone channels. You'll pass Devil's Bathtub, a swirling plunge pool carved into bedrock, then the Sphinx Head formation, Old Man's Cave itself, and finally Lower Falls (roughly 25 feet). A 0.25-mile two-way spur leads to Broken Rock Falls.
Exit 1 heads toward the Naturalist Cabin and covers about 1.0 mile in 60 minutes. Exit 2 continues past the cave to Lower Falls and the Visitor Center, extending to 1.5 miles and roughly 90 minutes. Both exits are one-way — no backtracking.
Old Man's Cave has the largest parking lot in the park, but it fills by 10 AM on weekends in every season and by 8 AM during fall foliage. The free weekend shuttle (Saturdays and Sundays, 9 AM–5 PM, spring through late October) runs from downtown Logan directly here.
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