Cedar Falls and Ash Cave

I visited two areas of Hocking Hills on this day. The first was Cedar Falls.

The trail to Cedar Falls.

In January 1998 a massive flood washed out all the man-made structures in the gorge, including this bridge. When they rebuilt the bridge, they decided to re-use the main "bent" steel girders as a reminder of what happened and will likely happen again. That's why the bridge has a curve.

Hundreds of people have left stone cairns to mark their passing through here.

Cedar Falls was named by early settlers who mistook the Eastern Hemlocks that thrive here for Cedar trees. No Cedar trees grow near the waterfall.

Here are some views of part of Grandma Gatewood's trail that leads from Cedar Falls to Ash Cave.

This section of trail is about 2 1/2 miles one-way.

I did not hike the whole distance due to time constraints in having to hike back the same way. 

I went about half way on the trail, turned back and then drove to Ash Cave.

I was very impressed to find an accessible trail to Ash Cave.

The Rim Trail is not accessible, so I took the accessible trail in and the Rim trail back, making a loop.

Accessible trail to Ash Cave.

History of Ash Cave:

One of the views of the gorge cliffs from the trail.

Approaching Ash Cave…a huge rock shelter.

This boy wanted someone to notice him and take his picture, so I did.

The foggy looking area in the center is mist from the waterfall.

Not much water falling right now.

Ash Cave

The trail continues behind the falls.

Pool below the waterfall.

You can see the groove that rushing water has cut through the rock.

Climbing the stairs that lead up to the Rim trail and looking down at the scene below.

Last look at Ash Cave.

Stairs to the rim.

The Rim trail back to the parking area.

I have one more area of this park to write about, then on to other adventures.

Rock House

Perhaps my favorite feature in the Hocking Hills' region was Rock House.

Rock House is unique because it is the only true cave in the park.

It is a tunnel-like corridor situated mid-way up a 150 foot cliff of Blackhand Sandstone. You can see the top of the cliff from the trail.

We pass a small rock shelter just off the trail…not part of Rock House.

First glimpse of Rock House through the trees. 

The cavern is eroded out of the middle zone of the Blackhand Sandstone.

One of the "windows" in Rock House.

The trail leads to a "doorway."

A little girl is looking out the window.

According to local folklore, other not so welcome visitors frequented Rock House.

Robbers, horse thieves, murderers and bootleggers earned Rock House its reputation as "Robbers Roost."

The beauty of Rock House is enhanced by beautiful color patterns on the walls. Shades of brown, red and orange are due to staining by iron compounds.

Let's go inside...

Many people have carved their names on the sandstone walls.

The "House of Rock" has a ceiling 25 feet high, while its main corridor is 200 feet long and 20 to 30 feet wide.

Water leaking through a horizontal joint running parallel to the cliff face caused the hollowing of the corridor.

A small series of joints run at right angles to the main joint and these formed the Gothic looking window-like openings of Rock House.

Looking up at the main horizontal ceiling joint.

Many pigeons use this cavern.

The pigeons didn't seem to mind people being there.

Rock House has a colorful past and has long been a popular tourist attraction.

In 1835, Colonel F. F. Rempel of Logan, OH erected a 16-room hotel, complete with ballroom, livery stable, and a U.S. Post Office. The hotel stood where the picnic shelter is near the parking lot today.

Numerous dated carvings in the rock bear evidence of this area's long-standing popularity.

I'm playing with forum friend Tina now, as we prepare for our trip to Ireland, but I still have more to post about Hocking Hills when I can.