Overview
About Devil's Bathtub
Why stop
- The bridge gives a direct view of the smooth basin and its small cascade.
Heads up
- Reaching it takes a walk through narrow passages and over uneven stone steps.
Map
Where it is
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Hocking Hills Tour Guide
Your drive to Devil's Bathtub, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Hocking Hills State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Old Man's Cave“You're approaching Old Man's Cave, where the creek winds past waterfalls, stone tunnels and a huge sandstone shelter.”
Plays as you drive up to Devil's Bathtub in the Parkwolf Hocking Hills Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Hocking Hills State Park Campground
- Hocking Hills Hike-In Campground
- Rose Lake Walking Access
- John Glenn Astronomy Park
- 22 audio storiesacross Hocking Hills’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor White-tailed Deer, Snapping Turtle, Chipmunk, and 9 more
- Works offlinemaps, 18 trails, 29 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Devil's Bathtub
A basin cut by the creekDevil's Bathtub is a smooth, rounded basin carved into the bed of Old Man's Creek in Old Man's…
Devil's Bathtub is a smooth, rounded basin carved into the bed of Old Man's Creek in Old Man's Cave Gorge. A small cascade pours in, and the water slips beneath the bridge toward Old Man's Cave. It is a quick stop on the gorge walk and a good close-up of the park's sandstone; it looks inviting, but it is not a swimming hole.
Make it part of the gorge walkStart from the Visitor Center lot off State Route 664.
Start from the Visitor Center lot off State Route 664. The short loop by Upper Falls, the Bathtub and Old Man's Cave is about a mile and usually takes around an hour. The route crosses uneven stone steps and narrow passages, then climbs back toward the lot. It is not wheelchair- or stroller-accessible. The Visitor Center has exhibits and public restrooms. Go early on a weekday for a quieter walk and easier parking; the gorge and lot can get busy.
See it from the bridgeThe bridge gives the clearest look down into the bowl.
The bridge gives the clearest look down into the bowl. Frame the little cascade with the curved sandstone channel to show both the water entering and the basin it has worn. Flow changes with conditions; after dry weather the falls can dwindle to a trickle.
Water did the carvingThe gorge cuts through Black Hand Sandstone, laid down more than 350 million years ago.
The gorge cuts through Black Hand Sandstone, laid down more than 350 million years ago. Here, a more tightly cemented layer constricts the creek, and swirling water and grit cut downward into a smooth basin several feet deep. The stream then passes beneath the bridge on its way to Old Man's Cave.
The Hades tale and the real warningA local tale says the swirling drain runs all the way to Hades, but that is folklore, not how…
A local tale says the swirling drain runs all the way to Hades, but that is folklore, not how the basin formed. Swimming and wading are prohibited and dangerous, so stay on the constructed trail. Winter ice is common on the gorge steps; use ice cleats.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Hocking Hills
16 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
87 sightingsSnapping TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
14 sightingsChipmunkMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
19 sightingsGray RatsnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
47 sightingsWatersnakeMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
11 sightingsRing-necked SnakeMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Hocking Hills. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
