Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.
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The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop around Ohio, with all 26 sections.
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Mounds & Earthworks43 ancient sites, including the Great Serpent Mound and the Newark Earthworks.
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Lake Erie Beaches20 public beaches from Conneaut to Toledo and the islands, with a map.
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Caves & Caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters, with a map.
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Waterfalls34 falls from the Cuyahoga Valley to the Hocking Hills, with trail notes and a map.
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117 parks in 7 regions

Cedar Falls at Edge of Appalachia

West Union · Adams County
Cascade over stepped limestone ledges
15 ftheight
Moderatehike

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.

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.

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.