Gorge Overlook Trail

Gorge Overlook Trail is a 2.8-mile point-to-point hike from Old Man’s Cave Visitor Center to Cedar Falls, passing Rose Lake dam along the way. It stays on the wooded gorge-side trail rather than looping through Old Man’s Cave’s lower gorge. If you want to connect two of Hocking Hills’ best-known waterfall areas in one outing, this is a good choice; the 2.8 miles is the walk between the two ends, so plan your ride back.

Start at Old Man’s Cave Visitor Center parking and finish at Cedar Falls parking. Allow about 1½ to 2 hours for the route, plus time at the lake or falls. The park rates it moderate. Expect soil, sandstone, clay and gravel underfoot, with uneven footing and some short steep grades. Many Hocking Hills paths have directional routing, so follow signs where posted rather than assuming every segment can be reversed.

The park places the Rose Lake view about a mile and a half from the visitor-center end. The route crosses the dam, where the forest opens to the water for a change of pace. Rose Lake covers 17 acres and is also used for fishing and paddling; the roadside access is a separate half-mile walk and isn’t part of this route.

The trail ends by Cedar Falls. Queer Creek drops over sandstone here, and how much water you see changes with conditions. Give the falls some of the surrounding rock in your photo; the broad ledges and overhang are part of the scene. If Cedar Falls is your only goal, the separate Cedar Falls Trail is listed at 0.4 mile on the park map, without the longer Rose Lake connection.

The sandstone has a softer middle layer between tougher upper and lower layers. As water wears away the middle, it leaves recess caves like the one at the Old Man’s Cave end of this walk. The “old man” behind the name may have been a trapper who settled here in the 1790s, though his identity was never established. The cave and Middle Falls are nearby sights on the separate gorge paths, not stops on this higher connector.