Old Man’s Cave in the Hocking Hills, Logan, Ohio

Now let me just start by saying this is probably one of my favorite places to visit. Old Man’s Cave is a place for families, friends, partners, or just the solitary observer of nature. If you are looking for a hiking experience that is tucked away from reality then this little slice of nature is a miracle to explore.

Side Note: My personal opinion is that the best time to go is in the Fall. All those trees covered in the deep reds, oranges, and yellows are a fantastic back drop to the falls and sandstone cliffs. Best advice I can offer: BRING A CAMERA. You won’t be disappointed with a single picture.

If you head down Route 33 towards Athens you will see the big sign that should be unmistakable to the public eye. Unfortunately for us, Caleb thought the sign said “Next 3 miles” when in actuality it stated, “Next right.” This became a long running joke because we realized we could never really get to the place we wanted to go without going the wrong way first. Anyways, once off the main highway it is about a 20 minute jaunt through the rolling hills.

Some history: A man named Richard Rowe is said to have lived in the caves for at least a brief period of time during the 17oo’s. Several different tribes of Native Americans also called the Hocking Hills their home throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. For more information visit http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2995.

Once you are there you can choose to start at the Upper Falls or Cedar Falls, which is about another 3 miles up the road. We decided to start at the Upper Falls and just wander through the gorge to the Lower falls. One of the best features about this place is that you are allowed to play in the water pools and waterfalls. People, these aren’t your back yard trickling streams, either. These are legit 30 feet or higher waterfalls that were created when the glaciers cut through Ohio thousands of years ago. Caleb decided it was time to ‘man up’ and jumped into the freezing cold falls for a picture opportunity. I, being the sensible and slightly wimpish of us two, decided it was to cold so just went in calf deep, but on a hot day in June it was definitely a welcome relief.

After awhile in the falls we continued down the path towards Cedar Falls. What’s great about Old Man’s Cave is that there are several different paths to get to any destination and you can wander off the paths (at your own risk) to go exploring. We decided it would be fun to wander off on a secluded path (in all honesty we did it to get away from a bunch of smokers < uh gross, and a little bit ironic in a FOREST, but whatever.) This little excursion is what really made me realize we were just a bunch of beginner hikers because we were just plain bad at picking the best/ least dangerous route to our destination. I literally saved Caleb from falling off a ledge, which will haunt him till he repays the favor  . After we got back on the main path we wandered around a little more, but as always we got hungry and decided to turn back and head to someplace to get some grub.

This is the place where Caleb and I started to have a real connection because we were outdoors, doing physical activity, and laughing so much it hurt. With so much to see it provides a variety of different things to talk about, which can subsequently lead to great stories. I would recommend to anyone that taking a date to this place for a day could possibly spark a little romance in your life.

Old Man’s Cave is beautiful, calm, and a tourist friendly place to visit for FREE. There is a gift shop, clean public restrooms, and a vendor for food available at the entrance if you plan on making it a day trip. There is also local camping and cabins available on their website.