Hocking Hills Region, OH: Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve

Our last hike in the Hocking Hills region was at Conkles Hollow, which we did Sunday morning before lunch.

Conkles Hollow is not actually in the Hocking Hills State Park, which was a surprise to us as it is listed on the state park website (linked to above). It is in the "Hocking Hills region" and is a state nature preserve.

The hike is short, less than a mile, if you stay on the gorge path (see map here) - the yellow dotted lines in that map. Again, we were with two young children and the rim trail here is not recommended to bring kids on. The gorge trail is flat and paved for almost the whole trail until the end near the waterfall. (The kids complained at first that it didn't really feel like a hike since we were on pavement - instead we were on a "walk".)

There are several signs detailing sights to see along the pathway.

It was really pretty this last weekend of June and was a good (fast, easy) way for us to end the trip.

The paved pathway will eventually end (with a sign) and turn into a real "hike". It is still very easy and you are rewarded with nice views of the gorge and rock walls.

There are stepping stones log slices at one point over the water.

The gorge ends in a cave/cavern area with a small waterfall dropping into a little pool. (This time we were better prepared than at Ash Cave and had a strict "no getting in the water" policy.) Some places online have said this may be the deepest gorge in Ohio. Whatever it is, it is nice and cool in here and very peaceful.

The hike was about 45 minutes (including stopping for a little while at the falls). There is a picnic area and bathroom near the parking lot here, which we used for lunch before ending our trip.