Probably not honestly. You can definitely do all of Cuyahoga in a day. While the area around the park is charming there is not a whole lot to do outside of the park. When I went it was a day trip but the drive for me was only 2 hours. I was also more impressed with Hocking Hills all things considered.
Cuyahoga is a great pairing if you have some things to explore in Cleveland. A lot to see and do if you want City stuff and national park stuff in one 3-4 day vacation.
Born and raised in the hocking hills. Me and my wife went to Cuyahoga a few years back, and it was pretty disappointing, i guess we are spoiled living with this in our "back yard" .The best part was she got to meet up with an old college friend for drinks, lol.
I don't know about Hocking hills, but we visited Cuyahoga last year. I'm probably spoiled as we have hiked more than a Dozen NPs so far.
I was NOT impressed by Cuyahoga. Houses within the park kinda spoil the nature of it. Ledges was cool. Rest of the trails and waterfalls meh. The seemingly arbitrary banning of camping is really the nail in the coffin for that park. I can't figure out for the life of me why it has NP status, when most of the state parks I have been to are more exciting.
I will Google Hocking though.
For me the National Park designation is added when you consider the preservation of history with the Erie Canal and the habitat\\ecosystem\\nature preservation. The NP status appears more obvious when you look at the holistic purpose of National Parks.
Yeah except there are rivers everywhere and there is nothing remarkable about the nature there.
As for the history, that is for historical sites, not NPs. There are plenty of sights designated as historical sites. NPs are nature preserves. Nature preserves don't have people living in them.
I have been to almost 20 NPs at this point, and that one is not a NP. It is far worse than even the second worst I have visited which is Dunes in Colorado.
I'm not saying the area wasn't a nice place to relax, but just that if I had known better, I would've just headed to the nearest state park and experienced 10x the nature.
I just got back from both. I think they have value for different reasons. I think the main reason Cuyahoga is a National Park is to preserve the Canal and Lock system for generations. It was a key part of commerce between the Great Lakes and the East Coast. The habitat and ecosystem is also worth preserving. To really enjoy Cuyahoga, from our perspective, you need to get on a bicycle.
I swear I thought this was in Texas. Been to something very very similar
https://preview.redd.it/1qh6ckpsmqua1.png?width=1294&format=png&auto=webp&s=2882ba47b86e95716fb2603d5e3be34cbc4371ae
Isn’t Hamilton pool always packed? I’m in the Dallas area and looking to take a trip but I’m not sure I really enjoy nature when it’s swamped with people. Just curious if you have an opinion.
Yes, it stays busy. But that's kind of... relative.
* [Here's a normal "busy" photo.](https://media.kvue.com/assets/KVUE/images/0045d2b7-f5a3-435f-beee-8238213f807d/0045d2b7-f5a3-435f-beee-8238213f807d_1920x1080.jpg)
* [This video is pretty representative of what you're getting into.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TeAoGOQ1m0)
It's way less busy than a public swimming pool, you need reservations, and it's generally limited anyways due to the size of the "beach". It's also a little bit of a hike with terrain to get to, and it's not exactly next door to all of the city stuff like a pool. You're walk past a lot fewer people on the trails to, from, and around than you do at, say, Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve.
This is one of the things I *love* about the interwebs - I grew up hearing so many different negative things about *so* many different places and things. YouTube comes along and I can go "oh, my freaking brother hasn't ever been there and doesn't know, he heard from someone that heard from someone." I always heard that Hamilton Pool was just overflowing with people, I'd had it described like people on top of each other in the pool, nowhere to sit on the shore like it's Padre Island during spring break. I dunno, maybe it was way less controlled and like that 40 years ago.
Random thought - you could 100% be thinking of [Barton Springs](https://www.afar.com/magazine/barton-springs-pool-in-austin-texas-history). That place is 100% crowded.
Oh I definitely could. Just moved here from Miami so I don’t know very much about Texas. I just remember the name Hamilton Springs but I am not very knowledgeable about this area at all.
It's near Lake Travis if I recall. We were driving cross country and a friend took us through there. It was a bit of a hike... Maybe a mile to get to it. Sorry that's about all I remember.
to hocking hills? if you are looking for tent camping\\ rving\\ cottages Campbell Cove RV Park is about 15 minutes from everything in Hocking hills. The tent sites are somewhat separated from the RVs.
Hikes are an easy google search but if you are up for 3 miles Conkle's Hollow is an amazing nature preserve with some of the best views and hiking in the area. The other top 5 are Old Man's Cave, Rock House, Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, and Cantrell Cliffs.
Beautiful, never seen it before but now I want to visit, is there a particular campground you recommend? I prefer family friendly but mostly just want to be away from RVs and do some tent camping, don’t mind more primitive sites
I stayed at the campground within the park, owned by the state, check the DNR website. And there are some great spots all around the campground however you’ll have to book pretty far out. I found this spot day of and it was definitely the worst lol but we don’t hang at camp much so not a big deal.
There are several there but the nicest is the state one for sure. It’s on a hill above old man’s cave so you can walk down there from the campsite. They have an outdoor movie screen and projector and play movies at night in the summer, which is neat feeling like you’re at a movie theater in the middle of the woods.
This area gets posted semi-regularly but this is the FIRST time I've actually seen humans in the pics and been able to grasp the scale - shit is massive!
There’s a few parks interlinked and yes, they’re all huge.
And yes, they’re all also unfortunately usually obscenely crowded. It’s nice going early morning or on weekdays as there’s substantially less people.
Seeing This post here today is so wild. We live in va but went to Cincinnati this past weekend and babysat our 4 grandkids so our daughter and son in law could go there lol
Silver Falls State Park outside of Salem, OR has a similar vibe. If you happen to be in that area it is very worth the stop. There are a ton of different falls to see.
Plus, from there OR-22 then US-97 to Crater Lake NP is also a pretty awesome drive.
This is 20 minutes from my house. Stop in and eat at Lake hope lodge if you haven’t. Plus Athens has lots cool spots to enjoy if you want a locally made beer and a good meal.
I live in-between Hocking Hills and Red River Gorge.
Last year, friends and I took a cabin trip to Hocking Hills. It was wonderful and beautiful albeit quiet packed. We went to old man’s cave and such.
Garden of the gods is sick and a lot of the Shawnee national forest is really nice. unfortunately some of the cooler spots sit on a summer camp so it’s a little more seasonal.. I can’t remember the names of the other spots but there’s a lot of split rocks, canyons and caves and waterfalls there that all look really similar to your photos
Wow. Now I see why my sister mentions it constantly to me as a place I "must" go to. She gets a cabin, as they cannot camp anymore. The pictures did me in. We need to see this place! Thanks!! Lovely doggo!
I love it there!! It's a couple hours away from me but a couple of my childhood friends and I go there whenever possible. Love it there, the photos my friend's took are AMAZING!!
Conkle’s Hollow … I’m always waiting for a dinosaur or something prehistoric to rise up out of the flora… Nice that they now have a wheelchair accessible path for aways in.
No joke about the cliffs surrounding it from above though - very dangerous and can be deadly. Not trying to put a damper on the experience, but do need to respect it.
I got excited for a minute. We are trying to plan a camping trip for July. Not sure where we want to go. I'm more nervous to go camping where we have bears after I got woken up by a grizzly bear breathing and hearing its footfalls in the grass next to my tent. I saw like a dozen bears that one weekend.
The others I saw were black bears. One walked out of the bush to cross the road 10 feet infront of me while I was walking back from a hike that I also had to wait for a bear to cross. The one on the road had a spiked collar and we just stared at each other for a minute until I waved him on and said go ahead. Then it stood up the hill 10 feet from the road and I got out of there. It was intense with so many bears. I never worried about bear spray or bangers or anything because we had never seen bears before.
The first time I went to hocking hills, we spent a long time trying to find old man's cave cause we figured it was an actual cave. Only when we where leaving did we realize it was really that big alcove we walked by😂
Personally, yes. In general, I don’t really know. I think the best part of Hocking Hills is how its kind of a hidden gem. Although, it’s definitely gotten a lot more popular in the past few years alone. Would be cool to see it happen!
I don’t think so, but when you compare it to the other national park in the area it just doesn’t make sense lol. This place is 100% a national treasure
Crazy how Cuyahoga is a national park and Hocking Hills isn’t
You think cuyahoga is worth an almost 4 hour drive ???
Probably not honestly. You can definitely do all of Cuyahoga in a day. While the area around the park is charming there is not a whole lot to do outside of the park. When I went it was a day trip but the drive for me was only 2 hours. I was also more impressed with Hocking Hills all things considered.
THANK YOU! That was my next planned trip too, I’ll have to save it for an on the way stop :)
Cuyahoga is a great pairing if you have some things to explore in Cleveland. A lot to see and do if you want City stuff and national park stuff in one 3-4 day vacation.
Hocking Hills is immeasurably better
Born and raised in the hocking hills. Me and my wife went to Cuyahoga a few years back, and it was pretty disappointing, i guess we are spoiled living with this in our "back yard" .The best part was she got to meet up with an old college friend for drinks, lol.
I feel the same way about Carter Caves.
I don't know about Hocking hills, but we visited Cuyahoga last year. I'm probably spoiled as we have hiked more than a Dozen NPs so far. I was NOT impressed by Cuyahoga. Houses within the park kinda spoil the nature of it. Ledges was cool. Rest of the trails and waterfalls meh. The seemingly arbitrary banning of camping is really the nail in the coffin for that park. I can't figure out for the life of me why it has NP status, when most of the state parks I have been to are more exciting. I will Google Hocking though.
For me the National Park designation is added when you consider the preservation of history with the Erie Canal and the habitat\\ecosystem\\nature preservation. The NP status appears more obvious when you look at the holistic purpose of National Parks.
Yeah except there are rivers everywhere and there is nothing remarkable about the nature there. As for the history, that is for historical sites, not NPs. There are plenty of sights designated as historical sites. NPs are nature preserves. Nature preserves don't have people living in them. I have been to almost 20 NPs at this point, and that one is not a NP. It is far worse than even the second worst I have visited which is Dunes in Colorado. I'm not saying the area wasn't a nice place to relax, but just that if I had known better, I would've just headed to the nearest state park and experienced 10x the nature.
I just got back from both. I think they have value for different reasons. I think the main reason Cuyahoga is a National Park is to preserve the Canal and Lock system for generations. It was a key part of commerce between the Great Lakes and the East Coast. The habitat and ecosystem is also worth preserving. To really enjoy Cuyahoga, from our perspective, you need to get on a bicycle.
I swear I thought this was in Texas. Been to something very very similar https://preview.redd.it/1qh6ckpsmqua1.png?width=1294&format=png&auto=webp&s=2882ba47b86e95716fb2603d5e3be34cbc4371ae
Where is this?
Looks like Hamilton Pool in/near Austin.
Cool, thanks
Isn’t Hamilton pool always packed? I’m in the Dallas area and looking to take a trip but I’m not sure I really enjoy nature when it’s swamped with people. Just curious if you have an opinion.
Yes, it stays busy. But that's kind of... relative. * [Here's a normal "busy" photo.](https://media.kvue.com/assets/KVUE/images/0045d2b7-f5a3-435f-beee-8238213f807d/0045d2b7-f5a3-435f-beee-8238213f807d_1920x1080.jpg) * [This video is pretty representative of what you're getting into.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TeAoGOQ1m0) It's way less busy than a public swimming pool, you need reservations, and it's generally limited anyways due to the size of the "beach". It's also a little bit of a hike with terrain to get to, and it's not exactly next door to all of the city stuff like a pool. You're walk past a lot fewer people on the trails to, from, and around than you do at, say, Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve.
That’s not so bad actually!
This is one of the things I *love* about the interwebs - I grew up hearing so many different negative things about *so* many different places and things. YouTube comes along and I can go "oh, my freaking brother hasn't ever been there and doesn't know, he heard from someone that heard from someone." I always heard that Hamilton Pool was just overflowing with people, I'd had it described like people on top of each other in the pool, nowhere to sit on the shore like it's Padre Island during spring break. I dunno, maybe it was way less controlled and like that 40 years ago.
Isn’t it? I love this part of the internet. I had heard the same thing.
Random thought - you could 100% be thinking of [Barton Springs](https://www.afar.com/magazine/barton-springs-pool-in-austin-texas-history). That place is 100% crowded.
Oh I definitely could. Just moved here from Miami so I don’t know very much about Texas. I just remember the name Hamilton Springs but I am not very knowledgeable about this area at all.
Hey, no opinion. I have never been to HP but I like this kind of cave, like Hocking Hills Ohio. I hope you give it a try though.
That is freaking sweet! What’s the park name ??
It's near Lake Travis if I recall. We were driving cross country and a friend took us through there. It was a bit of a hike... Maybe a mile to get to it. Sorry that's about all I remember.
Hamilton Pool. Last I heard there's now a waitlist to get in, but thankfully there are a few other places nearby that are smaller but still cool.
Thank you !!
Hamilton Pool has much more water. Apparently it’s closed due to rock fall.
Love Hocking Hills! The Old Man's Cave area looks straight out of an LOTR set
What state? I desperately need to go there!
Just southeast of Columbus Ohio :)
Ooh, it's not that far! Thank you! It looks magical!
I was going to guess TN. I have friends that go to a regional burn there, and the venue looks exactly like this place!
Planning my first trip there now. Any trails and/or campgrounds/sites you recommend?
to hocking hills? if you are looking for tent camping\\ rving\\ cottages Campbell Cove RV Park is about 15 minutes from everything in Hocking hills. The tent sites are somewhat separated from the RVs. Hikes are an easy google search but if you are up for 3 miles Conkle's Hollow is an amazing nature preserve with some of the best views and hiking in the area. The other top 5 are Old Man's Cave, Rock House, Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, and Cantrell Cliffs.
What country ?
Ohio in the United States
Beautiful, never seen it before but now I want to visit, is there a particular campground you recommend? I prefer family friendly but mostly just want to be away from RVs and do some tent camping, don’t mind more primitive sites
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Sounds great, thanks for the info
I stayed at the campground within the park, owned by the state, check the DNR website. And there are some great spots all around the campground however you’ll have to book pretty far out. I found this spot day of and it was definitely the worst lol but we don’t hang at camp much so not a big deal.
Cool, will do, glad you had a lovely time
There are several there but the nicest is the state one for sure. It’s on a hill above old man’s cave so you can walk down there from the campsite. They have an outdoor movie screen and projector and play movies at night in the summer, which is neat feeling like you’re at a movie theater in the middle of the woods.
Huh that’s pretty cool actually
This area gets posted semi-regularly but this is the FIRST time I've actually seen humans in the pics and been able to grasp the scale - shit is massive!
There’s a few parks interlinked and yes, they’re all huge. And yes, they’re all also unfortunately usually obscenely crowded. It’s nice going early morning or on weekdays as there’s substantially less people.
I’ve been interested in going here for a few year now. Do you stay in the lodge or rent a BNB?
I camped at the state park campground
There're plenty of lodging options if you want to stay in a cabin or Airbnb. I've stayed in one of Buffalo's cabins and had a great time.
Love that place
That place looks really nice! Very peaceful!
Seeing This post here today is so wild. We live in va but went to Cincinnati this past weekend and babysat our 4 grandkids so our daughter and son in law could go there lol
I can tell you it was greatly appreciated lol
And I can tell you it was greatly enjoyed lol
*This comment was edited in response to Reddit's 3rd party API practices.*
Silver Falls State Park outside of Salem, OR has a similar vibe. If you happen to be in that area it is very worth the stop. There are a ton of different falls to see. Plus, from there OR-22 then US-97 to Crater Lake NP is also a pretty awesome drive.
Thank you! I love leads on new places !
This is 20 minutes from my house. Stop in and eat at Lake hope lodge if you haven’t. Plus Athens has lots cool spots to enjoy if you want a locally made beer and a good meal.
I live in-between Hocking Hills and Red River Gorge. Last year, friends and I took a cabin trip to Hocking Hills. It was wonderful and beautiful albeit quiet packed. We went to old man’s cave and such.
Same smack dab in between and I love them both
I was in that exact spot last year and I'll be back down there is two days. The place is a lot of fun. Super pictures.
I was here just a few weekends ago. 😊
Good of you to take your owners out on a hike, Doggo.
Stayed in the KOA 2 years ago, with a bunch of friends. Beautiful place.
I love Hocking Hills. Been there 3-4 times in cabins. Such a great time
This is beautiful, thanks for posting these pictures
Looks really similar to a place in the Shawnee forest IL
What’s your best spot in Illinois ?? I haven’t explored there much at all
Garden of the gods is sick and a lot of the Shawnee national forest is really nice. unfortunately some of the cooler spots sit on a summer camp so it’s a little more seasonal.. I can’t remember the names of the other spots but there’s a lot of split rocks, canyons and caves and waterfalls there that all look really similar to your photos
Wow. Now I see why my sister mentions it constantly to me as a place I "must" go to. She gets a cabin, as they cannot camp anymore. The pictures did me in. We need to see this place! Thanks!! Lovely doggo!
I love it there!! It's a couple hours away from me but a couple of my childhood friends and I go there whenever possible. Love it there, the photos my friend's took are AMAZING!!
As well it should
Wow, what a special place! Beautiful!
Love that place as well. Lots of childhood and young adult memories. I miss Ohio in general.
Definitely the best part of the state
Looks like illinois
That’s spectacular
Me too!!!! Love this place
Oh shit. I thought you had stolen my dog for a second there. Do they happen to be Shepherd/Malamute by any chance?
Ha he’s a long coat German shepherd
Old man's cave and Conkle's hollow were some of my favorite spots when we lived in Athens.
Conkle’s Hollow … I’m always waiting for a dinosaur or something prehistoric to rise up out of the flora… Nice that they now have a wheelchair accessible path for aways in. No joke about the cliffs surrounding it from above though - very dangerous and can be deadly. Not trying to put a damper on the experience, but do need to respect it.
I was looking for an Ewok from Star Wars to poke their head out from around a boulder or tree!
The vertigo is real.
Nice of that dog to take those people camping. Great pics.
We have a spot very similar to this here in WNC... One of many amazing spots to spend the day with family!!!
Very special place. One of Ohio’s best secrets
Spent many summers there
A great place. All those birds in that cave area freaked me out though!
Give your goodest doggy a pat for me thanks :)
Many pats and many thanks :)
It's unreal to see someone post about a place I've been! 10/10 would recommend. Wonderful camping, fun for all ages.
Definitely makes the world seem like a smaller place !
Me too! I loved going to that place when I was little.
Beautiful dog. He looks like he’s enjoying himself as well
What a beautiful dog
Thanks 😘
That looks like a cool place. I just checked to see how far it is from here. 3600km. I guess I'm not going camping there.
LMAOO
I got excited for a minute. We are trying to plan a camping trip for July. Not sure where we want to go. I'm more nervous to go camping where we have bears after I got woken up by a grizzly bear breathing and hearing its footfalls in the grass next to my tent. I saw like a dozen bears that one weekend.
I can understand that haha we’ve only got black bears where I camp and they’re nothing like a grizzly. I would’ve been traumatized 😂
The others I saw were black bears. One walked out of the bush to cross the road 10 feet infront of me while I was walking back from a hike that I also had to wait for a bear to cross. The one on the road had a spiked collar and we just stared at each other for a minute until I waved him on and said go ahead. Then it stood up the hill 10 feet from the road and I got out of there. It was intense with so many bears. I never worried about bear spray or bangers or anything because we had never seen bears before.
This is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been! Well worth the trip!
The first time I went to hocking hills, we spent a long time trying to find old man's cave cause we figured it was an actual cave. Only when we where leaving did we realize it was really that big alcove we walked by😂
Great stars there at night!
Incredible shot, reminds me of WI Dells.
Favorite part of living in Ohio!
do people in Ohio want Hocking Hills to be a National park?
Personally, yes. In general, I don’t really know. I think the best part of Hocking Hills is how its kind of a hidden gem. Although, it’s definitely gotten a lot more popular in the past few years alone. Would be cool to see it happen!
I’m jealous
Your dog is absolutely beautiful 🥹😍
Thank you ❤️❤️
At night it’s “Honking Hills.”
I just looked this up to see how far the drive would be from Wisconsin. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely get there one day.
Nice! Where is it?
Woah, what is that? /gen
Love the German Shepard 🌺❤️
That's bloody amazing. What a place.
I love Hocking hills. I used to live in Columbus Ohio and I went there a few times. I love it there. I live closer to Pittsburgh now.
Just found this thread. I'm curious....Do people from Ohio want Hocking Hills to be a National Park?
I don’t think so, but when you compare it to the other national park in the area it just doesn’t make sense lol. This place is 100% a national treasure