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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  • 117parks & forests
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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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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Horseshoe Falls

Waynesville · Warren County
A low, wide horseshoe shaped ledge falls on Caesar Creek, next to a 103 foot suspension footbridge
3 ftheight
Moderatehike
Directions →Official source →

A wide, low horseshoe falls on Caesar Creek, reached by a lakeshore hike and a 103 foot suspension bridge inside a 3,741 acre state park.

Height
About 3 feet, spanning roughly 30 to 40 feet wide
Trail
About 2.4 miles round trip from Flat Fork Ridge
Managed by
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Best time
After rain; visible year round
Feature
A 103 foot suspension footbridge near the falls
Also nearby
Crawdad Falls, a smaller falls on Jonah's Run near Pioneer Village

When it flows

Runs year round below Caesar Creek Lake, but is fullest after rain and can narrow in a dry summer.

The story

Horseshoe Falls drops over a low, wide ledge of Ordovician age limestone and shale, the same fossil rich bedrock exposed throughout the Caesar Creek valley and prized by fossil collectors in the park's designated collecting area below the dam.

The creek and park take their name from Caesar, an enslaved man whose story survives only in a handful of conflicting 19th century accounts. Some say he escaped bondage and lived quietly along the creek; others tie him to General Benjamin Logan's 1786 campaign against Shawnee towns in the area, when an enslaved attendant reportedly learned of the coming attack, warned the Shawnee, and fled north with them along this creek. Quaker settlers Levi and Elizabeth Lukens farmed the valley in the early 1800s, and the land stayed in private and farm use until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acquired it in the 1970s to dam the creek for flood control, creating Caesar Creek Lake and the surrounding state park, which also protects a reconstructed pioneer village.

This falls is only a few feet tall; it is included for its width, its footbridge, and the well known local legend attached to the creek's name, rather than for a dramatic drop.

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

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.

Caesar's Creek and the Woman in White

Local storytellers say an enslaved man named Caesar once lived, or died, along the banks of this creek, and that on quiet nights his voice can still be heard drifting downstream, singing an old camp meeting song. A second, older tale, from before the lake was built, describes a ghostly woman in white who wandered the creek banks and vanished whenever anyone came close.

Behind the legend

Caesar was a real name attached to this creek by the early 1800s, but the record behind him is genuinely unsettled. Nineteenth century accounts disagree on whether he escaped enslavement on his own, fled north with Shawnee people during an army campaign in 1786, or served as a guide for frontier scout Simon Kenton, and no grave or burial site for him has ever been documented. The woman in white has no documented source at all.

If you go

Treat the story as local folklore rather than settled fact, and stick to the well marked Flat Fork Ridge and Perimeter Loop trails, which can get muddy after rain.

Getting to the falls

About 2 to 2.4 miles round trip from the Flat Fork Ridge Recreation Area, following the lakeshore and an emergency spillway, then crossing a 103 foot suspension bridge near the falls; the path can be muddy after rain.

Status
Open to the public
Hours
6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Cost
Free to hike; fees apply for camping and boat launches
Phone
(513) 897-3055
Managed by
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Watercraft
Please note
Stay on marked trails; Ohio hunting and fishing regulations apply in season; Fossil collecting is only allowed in the designated area below the dam.
Address
Flat Fork Ridge Recreation Area, off Clarksville Road, Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, OH 45068
Official page →DirectionsShow on the map

The pin on the map is approximate; use the address or the park's own directions to find the trailhead.

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

More falls nearby

Cedar Cliff Falls
About 21 miles · 25 ft
Open
The Cascades at Glen Helen
About 24 miles · 10 ft
Open
Clifton Gorge (Amphitheater Falls and the Blue Hole)
About 24 miles · 25 ft
Open

Parks nearby

Caesar Creek State Park
The falls is inside this park
Open
Cowan Lake State Park
About 11 miles · State park near Wilmington
Open
Little Miami State Park
About 15 miles · State park along the Little Miami Scenic River
Open
Stonelick State Park
About 19 miles · State park near Clarksville
Open

Buckeye Trail

Caesar Creek Section
On or near the Buckeye Trail
Open

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

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date? Email hello@fieldnotesohio.com.