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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117 parks in 7 regions

Upper Falls at Old Man's Cave

Logan · Hocking County

Broad curtain falls over a sandstone ledge at the head of the gorge

15 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.

The first waterfall in the gorge, viewable from an accessible ramp and deck just steps from the parking lot.

Height: About 15 feet
Trail: A few hundred feet from the main lot; ramp accessible
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible ramp and observation deck
Managed by: ODNR Division of Parks and Watercraft
Best time: Spring and after rain; slows in late summer
On route: Grandma Gatewood Trail and the Buckeye Trail

When it flows

Best in spring and after rain. Flow slows noticeably by late summer, though it rarely stops completely this close to the trailhead.

The story

The Old Man's Cave gorge was cut through Blackhand sandstone by the creek that still runs through it, deepened by glacial meltwater as regional drainage patterns shifted after the last ice age. That erosion left a series of stepped ledges, including the one Upper Falls drops over right at the head of the gorge, along with recess caves and formations like the Sphinx Head and Devil's Bathtub farther downstream.

The gorge is named for Richard Rowe, a hermit and trader said to have lived in the main recess cave with his hounds from around 1796 until his death in the early 1800s; he is believed to be buried near the cave along with earlier settlers Nathaniel and Pat Rayon. The area became part of Hocking Hills State Park in the 1920s, and Civilian Conservation Corps crews built many of the stone steps, bridges and walls along the gorge trail in the 1930s.

The app already tells Old Man's Cave's Richard Rowe hermit story in more depth; this entry keeps that history brief and focuses on the falls itself.

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.