Sight · Hocking Hills State Park
Two seasonal cascades tucked into a sandstone hollow.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Hocking Hills Tour Guide
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
Chapel Cave from Big Pine Road“Chapel Cave's trailhead is coming up on Big Pine Road. Allow about an hour and a quarter for the mile-and-three-quarter round trip, with creek crossings, horse-trail mud and a steep final climb.”
Plays as you drive up to Twin Falls in the Parkwolf Hocking Hills Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
The visitor approach is from the gravel Big Pine Road lot, following the bridle trail and continuing beyond Chapel Cave. Trail accounts describe creek crossings and a faint route near the cave; after rain, ground and rock can be muddy or slick, and horses share the trail. Allow extra time for route-finding and watch your footing. In Hocking State Forest, visitor access runs from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset; hikers should leave bridle trails before dark. For a photo, keep both cascades and the horizontal sandstone shelves in one wider frame so the hollow stays part of the scene.
Across the wider forest, sandstone cliffs record a landscape laid down about 300 million years ago, when rivers carried sediment toward a shallow sea. Later uplift let streams cut through the rock, leaving ledges and hollows like the ones around Twin Falls. Here, water breaks into separate threads as it slips over the shelves and into the shallow creek.
Wildlife
15 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
83 sightingsSnapping TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
13 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.
Keep exploring
ModerateAirplane Rock Trail3.6 mi · 2 hr · 0.3 mi awayA rolling forest walk leads to a sandstone perch above the valley.
ModerateChapel Cave Trail1.8 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.8 mi awayA creekside bridle trail leads to a cave with a 21-horse legend.
ChallengingConkles Hollow Rim Trail2 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayA hard loop of steep steps, wooded cliff tops and gorge views.
EasyConkles Hollow Gorge Trail1 mi · 1 hr · 1.4 mi awayA one-mile gorge out-and-back, with a paved start and rougher finish.
ModerateOld Man’s Cave Trail1 mi · 1 hr · 2.5 mi awayA one-mile gorge loop past a waterfall, cave and stone tunnels.
ChallengingWhispering Cave Trail3.3 mi · 3 hr · 2.5 mi awayA rugged one-way circuit to Whispering Cave via Hemlock Bridge.
ModerateGorge Overlook Trail2.8 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.6 mi awayA point-to-point gorge walk from Old Man’s Cave to Cedar Falls.
ChallengingGrandma Gatewood Trail5.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA tough 5.3-mile crossing for waterfalls, caves and sandstone gorge.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayChapel CaveA deep sandstone hall tucked off a shared forest bridle trail.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayAirplane RockA quieter airplane-shaped overlook after a hilly 3.6-mile hike.
Sight · 1 mi awayHocking State Forest Rock Climbing and Rappelling AreaClimb or rappel a mile-long sandstone cliffline—register first.Sight · 1.4 mi awayConkles Hollow State Nature PreserveA shadowy gorge walk and an exposed cliff-top loop.
Store · 2.2 mi awayGrandma Faye's Grocery & CarryoutPick up trail supplies, a sub, or fudge after Old Man's Cave.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayHocking Hills Archery RangeA good side stop if you brought your archery gear.
Campground · 2.6 mi awayHocking Hills State Park CampgroundStay beside Old Man’s Cave, with full-hookup sites and cabins.Sight · 2.6 mi awayUpper FallsA waterfall and stone bridge introduce the sandstone gorge.Parkwolf’s Hocking Hills ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
