Field Notes Ohio

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117 parks in 7 regions

Conkle's Hollow Falls

Rockbridge · Hocking County

Narrow plunge falls at the back of one of Ohio's deepest gorges

20 to 25 ftheight

Easywalk

Yesaccessible overlook

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 narrow waterfall at the head of a gorge with cliffs nearly 200 feet high, reached on a mostly flat, partly paved trail.

Height: About 20 to 25 feet
Trail: About 1.5 miles round trip, partly paved
Accessibility: Lower Gorge Trail is wheelchair accessible
Managed by: ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Best time: Spring and after rain
Gorge depth: Cliffs rise nearly 200 feet above the valley floor

When it flows

Best in spring and after rain. The gorge stream can slow to a trickle by late summer.

The story

Conkle's Hollow is one of Ohio's deepest gorges, cut into Blackhand sandstone where a resistant cap rock protected the narrow valley from widening even as meltwater cut it deep during the Pleistocene. The cool, shaded floor of the gorge supports hemlock and yellow birch more typical of forests farther north, a legacy of that glacial era climate.

The state of Ohio purchased the hollow in 1925 to protect its scenery, and it was dedicated as a state nature preserve in 1977. The site is named for W.J. Conkle, who carved his name and the date 1797 into the sandstone on the gorge's west wall, one of the earliest recorded visits documented at the site.

Height estimates for the falls range from about 20 to 25 feet across sources; no official survey figure was found.

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 hidden money of Conkle's Hollow

An old folk tale holds that a band of travelers hid stolen money in a recess cave high on the hollow's west wall, marking the spot with a carved arrow on the gorge wall and climbing to the cache using two hemlock trunks laid up as ladders. When they returned for it, a storm had blown down one of the hemlocks, and the money was never recovered.

Behind the legend

No arrow carving survives today, and there is no record of any treasure ever being found in the hollow. The tale appears to be local folklore that grew up around the genuine 1797 Conkle carving nearby.

If you go

Look for W.J. Conkle's real 1797 carving along the lower Gorge Trail; the treasure cave itself is not marked or accessible from the trail.

Getting to the falls

About 1.5 miles round trip on the partly paved Gorge Trail, which follows the valley floor past sheer sandstone cliffs to a boardwalk and steps near the falls.

Status

Open to the public

Hours

Half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset, daily

Cost

Free

Phone

(614) 799-9538

Managed by

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

Please note

Stay on the marked trail; No pets; No swimming or wading in the falls or creek; No climbing on the cliffs.