Date: 08/23/2019 – Distance: 2.4 mi – Elapsed Time: 1.75 hrs – Ascent: 391 ft – Descent: 334 ft – Difficulty: Medium
Warning: This trail has dangerous cliffs over 200 feet above the gorge. It is not suitable for children. Stay on the trails and away from the cliff edges. A woman died here in June of this year after falling off of the cliff.
Note: This is a State Nature Preserve. No dogs period.
After grabbing some food after my Old Man’s Cave/Whispering Cave Loop hike, I had some more time in the day. I decided to drive to another Hocking Hills State Park site called Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve. It’s only a short drive from the campground. To get there I had to take a detour because there was a bridge out, if you follow the brown signs. From the campground, take a right on 664, and continue about 3.4 miles. Turn left on Blackjack Road and take it to the end about 1.5 miles. Turn left on Big Pine Road and continue about another 3.5 miles. You will pass the parking area for the Rapelling Area on the right. Conkles Hollow parking is on the right about a mile past the Rapelling parking lot.
The trailhead for this hike begins at the end of the parking area opposite Big Pine Road. It begins by crossing a bridge over Pine Creek. Shortly into the trail you will come to a staircase on the right. This is the beginning of the Rim Trail. If you go straight you go to the Gorge Trail which is concrete sidewalk most of the way to the falls, making it one of the only handicap accessible trails. There is also an entrance a little bit further from the stairs on the left which goes in the opposite direction in this Rim Trail loop. I began by ascending the stairs to the right.
Within the first quarter mile of this trail, it ascends over 200 feet. It’s quite a climb up to the top of the gorge. Near the top you find a knob and a warning sign.
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