Field Notes Ohio

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117 parks in 7 regions

Rock Run Falls

Jackson · Jackson County

Small cascade where Rock Run drops from the lake's spillway into the valley below

Small cascadeheight

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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 quiet cascade fed by Lake Katharine's spillway, crossed by a footbridge on the Pine Ridge Trail.

Height: Not precisely measured; a modest multi tier cascade
Trail: About 2 to 2.5 miles round trip on the Pine Ridge Trail
Managed by: ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Best time: After rain; lake outflow keeps some water flowing most of the year
Nearby feature: Lake Katharine, open to muscle powered boating by permit
Rule: No pets; stay on designated trails

When it flows

Fed by the outflow of Lake Katharine, so it runs fairly steadily but is heavier after rain and lighter in dry late summer.

The story

Rock Run cuts through sandstone cliffs and ravines typical of the western edge of the Allegheny Plateau, and the preserve's cool, moist ravines shelter the state's largest known populations of bigleaf and umbrella magnolia, trees more typical of the Gulf Coastal Plain that were left behind here after the last ice age.

The lake and surrounding land were donated to the state by business partners Edwin A. Jones and James J. McKitterick, with the lake named for Jones's wife, Katharine. The preserve protects both the manmade lake and the natural ravines around Rock Run, and the small waterfall below the spillway is one of several cascades hikers pass on the Pine Ridge Trail loop.

The waterfall's height is not clearly documented in available sources; it appears to be a modest cascade rather than a named, measured drop, so treat the description as approximate. No park id from the provided list was confirmed to be within about 20 miles, so the parks list is left empty.

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

Reached along the Pine Ridge Trail, roughly 2 to 2.5 miles round trip with about 300 feet of elevation change, crossing a footbridge above the falls with a side path down toward the base.

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 designated trails; No pets; No public restrooms; Boating on the lake requires a permit and is muscle powered only.