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Clifton Gorge (Amphitheater Falls and the Blue Hole)

Clifton · Greene County

A seasonal plunge waterfall dropping into a natural stone amphitheater, plus rapids, cascades, and a deep pool called the Blue Hole, all inside a dolomite gorge

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Visiting information you can trust

Check before driving — this site is seasonal, approximate, privately run, or otherwise uncertain. Confirm hours and access with the official source above.

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: Approximate — boundary or exact point not confirmed
Approximate location, use the address or 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 dolomite gorge on the Little Miami River carved by glacial floodwaters, with a seasonal plunge waterfall, rapids, and the deep, legend haunted Blue Hole pool.

Height: About 25 feet at Amphitheater Falls
Trail: Gorge Trail about 1 mile, with connecting Rim and Narrows Trails
Managed by: Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Designation: National Natural Landmark since 1967 or 1968, depending on the source
Best time: Spring for the seasonal falls and wildflowers; the Blue Hole and main rapids run year round
Rules: Pets are not permitted in the nature preserve

When it flows

Amphitheater Falls only runs after rain or snowmelt and can dry up completely by summer. The main gorge rapids and the Blue Hole hold water year round, and ice formations are common along the cliffs in winter.

The story

Clifton Gorge is cut into dolomite and shale bedrock laid down in the Silurian period, roughly 400 million years ago, and the gorge itself was carved by a torrent of glacial meltwater rushing out from beneath the ice around 15,000 years ago. That surge of water cut the amphitheater shaped bowl where the seasonal falls now drop and scoured out the deep pool known as the Blue Hole.

The Little Miami River powered more than a dozen mills here in the 1800s, including textile, grist, and paper mills; the cantilevered Clifton Mill just east of the preserve, built in 1802, is still standing and operating today. Most of the other mills were abandoned by the late 1800s as water power gave way to steam and electricity. Native American people, including groups associated with Tecumseh, lived in the surrounding forests before Ohio statehood. Part of the gorge became a National Natural Landmark in the late 1960s, the upper gorge became a state nature preserve in 1973, and a new exploration center with exhibits on the area's mill history opened in 2025.

Coordinates are an estimate; no single official source publishes GPS for Amphitheater Falls specifically. Some sources call this a state nature preserve, others describe the falls as part of John Bryan State Park, since the two properties adjoin each other.

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.

The Ghost of the Blue Hole

A story passed down by early settlers tells of a young Native American woman who loved a man already devoted to someone else. After watching him with the woman he loved, she is said to have climbed a rock above the Blue Hole and thrown herself into the water below, while he did nothing to stop her. Some who visit the gorge at night say they can still glimpse her figure above the rock and hear a faint cry before it fades into the water.

Behind the legend

No documented name, date, or record of a drowning at the Blue Hole has been found. The story appears to be a folk legend attached to a dramatic natural feature rather than a recorded historical event.

If you go

Stay on the marked trails and behind any railings near the Blue Hole, since the dolomite ledges are steep and can be slick, and visit in spring or after rain if you want to see Amphitheater Falls actually running.

Getting to the falls

The Gorge Trail runs about 1 mile one way along the rim and down into the gorge on natural rock and dirt paths with stairs and narrow spots near the Narrows; the connecting Narrows Trail was being partially rebuilt for accessibility as of 2026, with an alternate parking lot off State Route 343 during the work.

Status

Open to the public

Hours

Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset

Cost

Free

Phone

(614) 799-9538

Managed by

Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Please note

Stay on designated trails; Pets are prohibited in the nature preserve; No swimming or rock climbing.