Grandma Gatewood Trail

Grandma Gatewood Trail is a 5.3-mile, one-way hike from Upper Falls at Old Man’s Cave to Ash Cave. It links three of Hocking Hills’ best-known sandstone gorges. The park rates it difficult; allow about 3 to 4 hours of walking, plus time at the falls and cave. That’s a planning estimate, since there isn’t a dependable published time for the whole traverse. Steep gorge stairs and repeated creek crossings make the first miles slower than the distance suggests. You finish at a different lot, so set up a pickup or leave a car at each end. Walking back makes this about a 10.6-mile day.

The route drops from Upper Falls into the gorge, where sandstone walls crowd the creek and hemlocks keep the path shaded. Expect uneven rock, short steep descents and several creek crossings. A rock tunnel, the recess that gives Old Man’s Cave its name, and Lower Falls come in quick succession. There’s a marked connector back toward the visitor center partway through the gorge; it’s a useful shorter outing, but it doesn’t complete the Grandma Gatewood crossing.

South of Lower Falls, the blue-marked corridor follows the creek beneath hemlocks and sandstone cliffs toward Hemlock Bridge, then climbs toward Cedar Falls. The route shares this stretch with the Buckeye Trail. At junctions, stay on the blue Grandma Gatewood line rather than taking the separate Whispering Cave route. Cedar Falls drops below tall cliffs into a pool; it’s one of the route’s main rewards, and you can take a short break at the falls before the longer southern leg.

From Cedar Falls, the trail goes behind the picnic area onto a forest road. The first stretch is on that road, then the route crosses Chapel Ridge Road, passes Ash Cave Fire Tower and follows more forest road before dropping through mixed woods and hemlocks beside the stream that feeds Ash Cave. This leg spends more time in the forest and on old service roads than in the narrow gorges, so the walk changes character after Cedar Falls.

Old Man’s Cave and Ash Cave are sandstone recesses, shaped as water and weathering widen cracks in the rock. The softer middle layer erodes faster than the harder rock above and below it, leaving the broad overhangs you see along the route. Ash Cave is the finish: a wide arcing chamber with a seasonal waterfall. For a photo, stand across the shallow stream and include someone beneath the overhang; it gives the cave a sense of scale.

The trail honors Emma Gatewood, the Ohio hiker who completed the Appalachian Trail in 1955 and later helped dedicate the first section of the Buckeye Trail. She returned to Hocking Hills for annual winter hikes from 1967 through 1973. The name fits a route that doubles as part of the Buckeye Trail and links several separate park areas rather than ending at one overlook.

The main access lots have picnic areas and latrines, and there are shelters at Old Man’s Cave, Cedar Falls and Ash Cave. Plan food and water before starting; no refill or food stop on the through-route was confirmed. Leashed pets are allowed, with a six-foot maximum leash. Park trails are open from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, and winter ice is common in the gorges. If you only want Ash Cave, its separate quarter-mile paved accessible path from the south lot is a much easier visit than this through-hike.