Hikers of the Bluegrass

Hocking Hills is the crown jewel of the Ohio State Park system. A trusted friend and fellow outdoorsman said " Hocking Hills is more beautiful than Gatlinburg." There is a lot to see including waterfalls, a cave, recess caves including the largest recess cave in the eastern US., rock formations, gorges, overlooks, and towering hemlocks. There are 7 hiking areas. All these areas are concentrated in 2000 acres. We are going to hike through the Grandma Gatewood trail which is 6 miles long. there are spur trails which add on additional miles.

spur trail: Broken Rock Falls 1/2 mile
Whispering Cave 1 mile
Cedar Falls 1 mile
Ash Cave 9/10 mile
Total Miles 9.4 miles

The plan is to do two of these spurs Friday Night. We'll meet at Ash cave parking lot at 6:00 pm May 16th. We'll see both Ash Cave and Cedar Falls Friday night. If we see these two spurs on Friday night, the hike distance is 7.5 miles on Saturday.

Saturday: Meet at Ash Cave parking lot at 6:30 in the morning. Leave half the cars here at Ash Cave and shuttle the remaining cars to Old Man's cave/Visitors Center parking lot. Start on the trail by 7:00 am Saturday morning. Bring a sack lunch and at least three flasks of water.
Go through Old Man's cave and go through Whispering Cave and be on the way out of whispering cave by 11;00 am. Parking lots start filling up at 10:30 am. Hike the remainder of the Grandma Gatewood Trail until we reach the Ash Cave Parking Lot. I was told the Grandma Gatewood Trail is little used. Take our time and finish by 4:00 pm. Eat back at our cabins or a restaurant on the way back.

Sunday: We have time to go to at least two of the three hiking areas which remain. Bring a sack lunch with at least two flasks of water.

Conkles Hollow: 25 miles from Lake Hope on OH-374 East. Address is 24858 Big Pine Road, Rockbridge Ohio 43149. Hike is .5 miles bottom of gorge and 1.9 miles along the rim of the gorge.

Rock House: State Route OH-374, Logan, Ohio. Rockhouse is 29.9 miles from Lake Hope State Park. Gorge Trail is 1 mile. Rim Trail is also 1 mile.
If enough time, Cantwell Cliffs: Gorge trail and Rim trail start at the parking lot. 1-1.5 miles.

Cantwell Cliffs is 30.9 miles from Lake Logan State Park. The address is OH-374 Rockbridge, OH. We are going to stop at 1:30 at the latest.

Hocking Hills is 3 hours and 30 minutes from Lexington and 179 miles.
Hocking Hills State Park is 19852 St. Route 644 South Logan, OH 43138.
Ash Cave is State Route 56, Logan, OH. 43138.

I'm staying at Lake Hope state park. Lake Hope is 25 minutes from Hocking Hills. Lake Hope has both cabins and campsites. Hocking Hills has campsites. There are Airbnbs in the area. For State Park reservations phone 1-866-644-6727 or www.reserveohio.com. Lake Hope phone number is 1-740-596-4938. Information on Hocking Hills is explorehockinghills.com.

I was told most trails are one way. However leaving Whispering Cave a ranger told me "One-way trails are not a law but a guideline. We'll need to backtrack on the same trail we took to go to Whispering Cave to return to the Grandma Gatewood Trail. Since there is no parking at Whispering Cave, everyone visiting Whispering cave has to walk from either Cedar Falls or Old Man's Cave. if we leave that area by 11:00 am it won't matter because we'll have beaten the crowds.

WIFI is only available at the park lodges, gift shops, or restaurants. Lake Hope restaurant is open from 11:00 am until 8:00 pm. Hocking Hills has a restaurant. There are a number of area restaurants. See explorehockinghills. There is a Walmart about 25 minutes from Lake Hope State Park. The closer we get to the start date the more quickly accomodations will fill up. For extra energy on Saturday morning backpacking meals are calorie dense. Hocking Hills is consistently highly rated in several different polls.

Questions ?

Arguably the best hike in Tennessee, Backpacker magazine rates the Fiery Gizzard as a top 25 Trail in the US. The "Gizz" features cascading streams, numerous waterfalls, panoramic overlooks, rocky gorges, gentle slopes, lush woodlands, Rock Formations, old Growth Hemlocks over two hundred years old and this time of year Wild Flowers in bloom, full creeks and spectacular waterfalls. This trail offers a little bit of everything for the backpacker looking for a true wilderness experience. The trail has some sections with significant and steep elevation changes. Speaking with a park ranger, "the Fiery Gizzard gives a sense of accomplishment when finished". If you have done 10 or 11 miles rugged backpacks or hikes like the Gorge, this may be your next adventure.

A straight hike is 14.7 miles including spur trails. This is doable. Or a backpacking.

Backpacking Itinerary:

Saturday May 24th meet at the Fiery Gizzard North trailhead a 2:30 pm.
Hike the Grundy Forest Day Loop, 1.5 miles. Staying at the Grundy Forest Campsite
We'll see:
Schoolhouse falls
Cave Spring Rock shelter
Smiling Tree
Blue Hole Falls
Dog Hole Mines
Zenner falls
Old Growth Hemlocks
Confluence of the Fiery Gizzard and Little Gizzard creeks
Hanes Hole falls
Sunday May 25th, Hike 10.4 to 10.9 miles and stay at the Small Wilds campsite.
We'll see:
Hanes Hole falls
Confluence of the of the Fiery Gizzard and Littel Gizzard creeks
Black Cascade falls
The Chimneys Rock formations
Sycamore falls
Dog Hole Mines
Yellow Pine falls (seasonal)
Northern Gizzard Overlook
Ravens Point with a 270 degree view
Anderson Gorge
Anderson falls
Mid Gizzard Overlook
Laurel gorge
Chain Link falls
Small Wild Overlook
Moonshine remnants
Monday May 26th. 2.6 mile hike
We'll see 60 foot Foster falls, overlook and base.

Monday after completing the hike we can go home or a day trip to Falls Creek Falls

Swimming allowed at Foster Falls, Blue Hole falls and Sycamore falls

You are responsible for your own meals

SCPS welcome center Phone 931-924-2980, address: 11745 US 41 Monteagle TN. 37356
Fiery Gizzard North Trailhead, 131 Fiery Gizzard Road, Tracy City, TN 37387
Fiery Gizzard South Trailhead, 498 Foster Falls Rd. Sequatchie, TN 37374
Savage Gulf East Ranger Station, Phone: 931-692-3887, address: 3157 State Rd 399, Palmer TN. 37365

Strenuous hiking areas:

Grundy Campsite to Bridge to start Fiery Gizzard and from the bridge to @2/10 of a mile on the Doghole Trail, total estimated 1.5 miles
Fiery Gizzard at Ravens Point trail to past Chain Link falls, total 1.5 miles estimated.
Elevation Gain from Fiery Gizzard after the Bridge to Ravens Point 464. Elevation Gain from Ravens Point to Foster Falls 1240.

We can shuttle cars between Firey Gizzard North and South trailheads or There are two shuttle services. Reservations are suggested.

Driving distance is @250 miles or 4 hours and 37 minutes.

There is a free GPS map using Venza for the trail.

I have reserved two camping areas. For safety, Id like to see a minimum of 3 backpackers. Campsites hold 6 people. I think a maximum of 12 can go. We can always reserve another campsite while available. Each campsite has a fire ring.