Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

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Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Cedar Falls at Edge of Appalachia

West Union · Adams County
Cascade over stepped limestone ledges
15 ftheight
Moderatehike
Directions →Official source →

A 15 foot limestone cascade in the Edge of Appalachia preserve, on a trail opened to hikers in 2020.

Height
About 15 feet
Trail
About 3 miles round trip
Opened to the public
2020, as part of the Helen C. Black Trail
Managed by
The Nature Conservancy and Cincinnati Museum Center
Best time
After rain; can slow in dry summer weather
Rule
Viewing is from an overlook; direct access to the falls is not allowed

When it flows

A rocky stream falls that runs best after rain and can slow considerably in dry summer weather.

The story

Unlike the sandstone falls of Hocking Hills, this Cedar Falls drops over ledges of Ordovician and Silurian age limestone and dolomite, laid down as sediment on an ancient sea floor and later exposed along Adams County's Appalachian foothills. The surrounding preserve also shelters a relict stand of northern white cedar that has survived here since the end of the last ice age, more than 14,000 years ago.

The trail sits within the Edge of Appalachia Preserve System, one of the largest privately held nature preserves in the Midwest, assembled through decades of land purchases by the Cincinnati Museum Center and The Nature Conservancy. The Cedar Falls portion opened to the public in summer 2020 as the Helen C. Black Trail, giving hikers their first developed access to this part of the preserve.

This falls is not in the Hocking Hills region; it is one of the up to four additional southeast Ohio falls added per the brief, in an Adams County preserve. Region classification is approximate; Adams County is sometimes grouped with southwest Ohio in tourism materials rather than southeast.

Stay behind railings and on marked trails. Wet rock at the top and base of a falls is slick in every season, and most Ohio falls do not allow swimming, wading or climbing. Flow depends on rain: many falls are a trickle in late summer and at their best after a wet spell, in spring, or frozen in a hard winter.

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Verified property location
Published coordinates for the falls or its trailhead
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

Getting to the falls

About 3 miles round trip through eastern red cedar groves and rocky stream bottoms to a cliff edge overlook above the falls. Direct access to the water is not permitted.

Status
Open to the public year round
Hours
Dawn to dusk, daily
Cost
Free
Phone
(937) 544-2880
Managed by
The Nature Conservancy and Cincinnati Museum Center
Please note
Stay on the designated trail; No pets except service animals; No swimming, wading or climbing at the falls; No camping, biking, hunting or flower picking.
Address
Parking area on Cedar Mills Road off White Oak Road, near Steam Furnace Road, West Union, OH 45693 (Edge of Appalachia Preserve, Helen C. Black Trail)
Official page →DirectionsShow on the map

Trails close for repairs, ice and high water. Check the official page before a long drive.

Parks nearby

Adams Lake State Park
About 7 miles · State park and nature preserve in Adams County
Open
Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve
About 8 miles · Nature preserve known for fossils
Open

Buckeye Trail

West Union Section
On or near the Buckeye Trail
Open

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

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