Hocking Hills State Park Visitor Center & Hiking Trail Loop

Hocking Hills Welcome Center

(Old Man’s Cave)

This is the main Hocking Hills Visitors Center (there are others throughout the area.)

It’s located at the Old Man’s Cave parking lot off State Route 664 and also serves as a parking area for several hikes.

The Visitor Center is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM. (Hours are subject to change seasonally.)

Visitors can obtain more information by contacting the camp office at (740) 385-6842.

The visitor center has

• a gift shop, bathrooms, and information about the parks.
• The bottom floor has bathrooms, a fake cave you can walk through along with information about the animals you will see in the park.
• Upstairs, there is a giant map of the park and interactive stations to learn about the area.
• Kids love the diorama of the park. You can climb up on a stool and see the entire area with a birds eye view. It’s fun seeing the trails and where you will be walking.
• You might also get to see the park’s resident raptors, including hawks and owls, at the Raptor Enclosure behind the Visitor Center. 

Get Maps Here

There are giant maps along the walls with images/information about each area of the park.

This is super helpful when you’re deciding what hikes you want to do.

Be sure to pick up maps and ask any questions you may have. 

Random Fun Fact: There is also a VERY small pencil sharpener museum here.

Visitor Center Hiking Loop

Hike to the Upper falls, Devils Bathtub, Lower Falls, Old Man’s Cave, & back to visitor center (1.5 miles)

This is perfect for people who like to see a lot in a short amount of time. All of the attractions are super close together and around every turn is a new adventure. It’s a one stop shop kind of trail, 1.5 miles and you see 4 big attractions.

• Super doable with kids and so much to see.
• Not stroller-friendly or wheelchair accessible
• Don’t start the trails by the Visitors Center, start the trails by the parking lot or you will miss the Upper Falls and Devils Bathtub
• If you’d like to avoid crowds, it’s best to start here early in the morning as it gets much busier later in the day. We started at 8:30am and spent about 2 hours hiking here.

STOP 1: Visitor Center

STOP 2: Upper Falls

This hike starts off right away with a giant waterfall (Upper Falls.) You don’t have to hike far at all to reach it.

You will start on top of the waterfall and walk down to the bottom to get a different view. The water here is very pretty, almost turquoise. 

STOP 3: Devil’s Bathtub 

This is an area where the river pools together and creates a swirling bathtub of water. Looks cool!

Next, you’ll walk over lots of bridges, some of them made out of rocks (so fun), and some man-made out of stone. Lots of smaller waterfalls along this trail. 

Kids love climbing on the rocks and really want to go in the water but you CANNOT swim in any of the water. 

There is a fun underground tunnel on this hike too. You walk down the steps and into a pretty dark tunnel.

STOP 4: Lower Falls

Lower Falls, Hocking Hills

STOP 5: Old Man’s Cave

Enter Old Man’s Cave through a small archway in the rock.

It is super pretty and overlooks a lot of the park. You are pretty high up getting an aerial view of the area. It was fun to look down at the waterfalls/streams and see people crossing the stone bridge.

 PSA: There are a ton of steps to get up to old mans cave and back to the visitor center. 

Up Next

If you want to add on to your hike from here, there is an option to connect to other areas of the park like Cedar Falls, Whispering Cave (accessible by hike only), and Ash Cave. 

13178 OH-664 Scenic, Logan, OH 43138