SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
BACKPACKER.COM 25THINK DEEP THOUGHTS.
HOCKING HILLS STATE PARK, OHIO
Ash Cave once served as a shelter for indigenous
inhabitants of what is now Ohio. You can fi nd refuge of
your own in the state’s largest recess cave, which spans
700 feet across and is 100 feet from rim to back. Hike
a quarter mile from the Ash Cave parking area on the
handicap-accessible Ash Cave Gorge Trail for a brief out-
and-back, or take the .5-mile Ash Cave Rim Loop to see the cavern from
above. In October, hemlock and beech trees turn out their fall colors,
and in spring and after heavy rains, spot a thin cascade tumbling gently
over the cave’s rim. Want to go longer? A 10-minute drive will take you
to the Old Man’s Cave trailhead and a 5.1-mile loop through sandstone
tunnels to another historic grotto. CONTACT hockinghills.com