Ash Cave
The easiest and most accessible major trail in Hocking Hills, ending at Ohio's largest recess cave — a natural amphitheater so massive it has served as a shelter for thousands of years.
🐕 Dog Friendly: Dogs allowed on leash (6 ft max). Bring water, a collapsible bowl, and waste bags. Dispose of waste at parking lot receptacles.
Highlights
Ohio's largest recess cave (700 ft wide, 100 ft deep, 90 ft high), 90-foot seasonal waterfall, fully accessible gorge trail, spectacular frozen waterfall in winter
The Trail
Ash Cave is staggering in scale: approximately 700 feet wide, 100 feet deep, and 90 feet high, with a horseshoe-shaped rim that creates a natural amphitheater. The name comes from massive piles of ash that white settlers discovered in the 19th century. Archaeological evidence suggests the Shawnee, Delaware, and Wyandot tribes used the cave as seasonal shelter while traveling through the region.
The gorge trail is the star: a flat, paved asphalt path just 0.25 miles each way, winding through a lush gorge of hemlock, fern, and moss-covered sandstone. It's stroller-friendly, and wheelchair users can travel the entire paved section — the trail only becomes impassable where the surface transitions to sand near the cave floor. Van-accessible parking with striped access aisles makes this the most inclusive trail experience in the entire park system.
After rain or snowmelt, a waterfall drops roughly 90 feet over the cave's rim — one of the tallest in Hocking Hills. In winter, this waterfall freezes into a towering ice dome that can reach 40 feet, with ice chandeliers forming at the rim. The frozen waterfall at Ash Cave is widely considered the most dramatic winter sight in the park.
The rim trail adds perspective, looping back along the cliff top for about 1 mile total. However, the wooden stairs leading from the gorge floor to the rim feature anti-slip steel grating that can be painful for dog paws — if you're hiking with a pet, consider sticking to the gorge trail only.
Ash Cave anchors the southern end of the Grandma Gatewood Trail. If you're hiking the full 6-mile route from Old Man's Cave, this is the payoff. Picnic tables near the trailhead make it a natural lunch stop.
Tips & What to Know
Start here if it's your first visit to Hocking Hills — the easy trail and massive payoff set the standard for what the region offers. For wheelchair users, the gorge trail is genuinely excellent, not a consolation prize. The best frozen waterfall conditions occur in January and February after sustained below-freezing temps. The parking lot rarely fills except during fall foliage weekends.
Getting There
Address: 27291 SR-56, South Bloomingville, OH 43152
GPS: 39.3960, −82.5459
Parking: Moderate lot with designated accessible spaces
Stay Near Ash Cave
Find cabins with hot tubs and fire pits minutes from this trailhead.
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