The most iconic place in Ohio? By far Hocking Hills State Park and the surrounding areas. So of course basically as soon as I moved to Ohio I wanted to take a weekend trip here. Getting camping reservations in Hocking Hills State Park is difficult, however the nearby Tar Hollow State Forest is much easier! So a quick payment to the ODNR and we were off for a weekend of camping and hiking.
Tar Hollow State Forest and State Park
We camped at the Tar Hollow North Ridge Campground. It is a tent only campground with about 20 – not well defined – camp spots. There is water and vault toilets at the campground, and a small parking lot. This was the perfect opportunity for me to try out my new tent, sleeping bag, and backpacking pack. While we brought a cooler and my Coleman camp stove, we kept everything else very minimal. It definitely was not my favorite camp site layout because of how close all the sites were to each other.
We rolled up just before sunset on the first night. It was a scrambled to get the tent set up and enjoy some yummy camp food and good nights sleep. In the morning, full breakfast was on the menu before we went to drive around and hike in Tar Hollow State Forest. Our second night of camping was not so peaceful – it poured down rain and thunderstormed all night. Miraculously the new tent did an amazing job at keeping is dry overnight. This tent was a new purchase for me that I got on sale during Prime Day on amazon – if you’re interested here is the link to it!
Tar Hollow State Forest did not have much in the way of clearly defined hiking trails. We went to check out an old fire tower. We also found a section of the Logan Backpack Trail, which parallels/is part of the Buckeye Trail through Tar Hollow State Forest. The Buckeye Trail is a 1,400 mile backpacking loop around the entire state of Ohio. More information on the trail can be found at the ODNR website or the Buckeye Trail Association. We were initially going to hike this section, but after about a quarter of a mile we opted to turn back. Why? The overgrowth and ticks we were finding on the dogs.
Hocking Hills State Park
After the failed hiking attempt at Tar Hollow State Forest we jumped back in the car and drove 30 minutes to Hocking Hills State Park. Of course we went to the Old Man Cave section of Hocking Hills. Typical for a Saturday, we fought the crowds to enjoy a gorgeous hike. We hiked from Upper Falls, to Devils Bathtub, to Old Mans Cave, to Lower Falls, and continued to Whispering Cave then looped back around for a total of 3 miles. It was by far one of my favorite hikes, minus the crowds. I can not describe it and do it justice, so just check out the photos below!
Before you go
Both Tar Hollow State Forest and Hocking Hills State Park are dog friendly – on leash of course. We had a great time with both the dogs doing all of the hiking and adventuring.
For camping reservations you need to go through the ODNR website. It costs around $20 per night for a basic tent camping spot. The website also gives a great idea of the activities and things to do in the area.
Unlike Utah, there are very few primitive camping areas in Ohio. The primitive camping that does exist is primarily in the Wayne National Forest. You will still want to do your research on the national forest before camping anywhere you want. This is an adjustment having to always pay for camp spots, but the benefit is that most state parks I have been to so far in Ohio are FREE admission. So I suppose it is a trade off.
While Ohio doesn’t provide the same views as hiking in Utah does, it is unique in its own way and has some really gorgeous pockets of wilderness. Check out more of my Ohio adventures on the website!