Date: 11/13/2020 – Distance: 2.7 mi – Elapsed Time: 1.5 hr – Ascent: 413 ft – Descent: 397 ft – Difficulty: Easy
Rockstall Nature Preserve is privately owned by Camp Akita north of Hocking Hills and is open to the public. It features a deep gorge with high sandstone walls, many small caves, and a couple of waterfalls, the big one being a 20 foot drop. It’s a small park, and the trails are pretty short but have incredible views.
The trailhead at the parking area.
At first the trail is just hardwoods: oak, hickory, and beech.
You can take either way to get you to the stairs into the gorge.
Beech keep their leaves longer.
Some white pines here too on the upper slopes.
Both parts of the trail intersection earlier lead to these stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs.
Little grotto.
You have to cross this creek.
A little hard to see the trail but it’s straight.
Large beech on the creek.
There are several caves in this gorge, including this larger recess cave opposite the stairs.
The sandstone is sweet.
Another recess cave further down the trail.
This hole looks man made. There is a crevice above where a drip could happen but it doesn’t line up exactly. Kinda looks like a dolphin head.
Progressing further into the gorge, toward the falls.
Looking back down the gorge.
Another cave.
I thought it was weird how this flat sided stone was perfectly vertical.
Yet another cave.
This hemlock is huge.
There are a lot of hemlocks here, they like the protected gorge and the sandstone.
The sun is blocking the falls straight ahead, but the gorge ends here rather dramatically.
Only a trickle today, however after a rain, the creek splits above creating two falls which converge here.
I didn’t know it then, but just around this to the right is another smaller falls.
Interesting markings. Looks like dripping water.
The hemlocks have amazing growth habits.
Back up the stairs before the last set of stairs, there is a subtle turn to the left. This is where the right fork at the start of the trail leads to.
This little cave is feeding the other waterfall.
Further up above the main falls the creek has another small falls.
I continued on a trail above the falls for awhile, until I realized that I was not in the preserve anymore. Not sure what this trail is, but I think it’s a trail for Camp Akita. It’s marked in royal blue blazes.
I returned to the top of the falls and took a left to get back on trail to the parking lot.
