Field Notes Ohio

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117 parks in 7 regions

Lower Falls at Old Man's Cave

Logan · Hocking County

Plunge falls into a deep pool at the far end of the gorge

25 ftheight

Moderatehike

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 deep plunge pool at the far end of the Old Man's Cave gorge, reached down a steep stone stairway.

Height: About 25 feet
Trail: About 1.5 miles round trip, steep stairs
Managed by: ODNR Division of Parks and Watercraft
Best time: Spring and after rain; slows in late summer
Nearby feature: Devil's Bathtub, a plunge pool upstream
Difficulty: Moderate, with a steep winding stairway and elevation change

When it flows

Best in spring and after rain. Slows in late summer, but the deep pool below usually holds water even when flow drops.

The story

Lower Falls sits at the downstream end of the Old Man's Cave gorge, where the creek makes its final drop over Blackhand sandstone before the valley widens. The same glacial era meltwater that shaped the rest of the gorge cut this stretch, leaving the winding stairway and steep walls hikers pass through on the way down.

Like the rest of the gorge, the area is tied to the story of Richard Rowe, the hermit believed to be the namesake of Old Man's Cave, who is said to have lived nearby in the late 1790s and early 1800s. Ohio acquired the gorge as parkland in the 1920s, and Civilian Conservation Corps labor in the 1930s built much of the stonework and stairs still used on the trail down to the falls today.

The exact coordinates for Lower Falls are approximate; sources describe its position along the trail rather than giving a surveyed point.

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 1.5 miles round trip along the gorge floor from the main trailhead, down a steep, winding stairway past Devil's Bathtub to the base of the falls.

Status

Open to the public

Hours

Half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset, daily

Cost

Free

Phone

(740) 385-6842

Managed by

Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Watercraft

Please note

Stay on the marked trail; No swimming or wading in the falls or creek; Pets allowed on leash.