Field Notes Ohio

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117 parks in 7 regions

Whispering Falls

Logan · Hocking County

Tall, thin seasonal falls off the rim above Whispering Cave

100 to 105 ftheight

Strenuoushike

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.

Reported as the tallest falls in Hocking Hills at around 100 feet, reached on a newer, five mile loop trail past a swinging bridge.

Height: About 100 to 105 feet
Trail: About 5 miles, one way loop
Opened: 2017, the first new trail added to the park in 50 years
Managed by: ODNR Division of Parks and Watercraft
Best time: After heavy rain or snowmelt; often dry in summer
Difficulty: Strenuous, with steep stairs and cliff edges

When it flows

A seasonal falls that needs sustained rain or snowmelt to run. Often dry or reduced to a trickle in summer and fall.

The story

Whispering Falls drops off a rim of Blackhand sandstone into a hollow near Whispering Cave, a 300 foot wide recess cave shaped by the same undercutting and freeze thaw erosion that formed Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave. Because the drainage feeding it is small, the falls only runs with real force after heavy rain or during snowmelt, and it is often bare rock the rest of the year.

The Whispering Cave and Hemlock Bridge Trail, which reaches the falls, was opened by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in May 2017, the first new trail added to Hocking Hills State Park in 50 years, and it includes a swinging bridge over Queer Creek. Its trailhead later shifted to the rebuilt Hocking Hills Lodge, a roughly 31 million dollar replacement that opened in October 2022 after the original 1970s lodge burned down in 2016.

Height and exact position come from an unconfirmed waterfall database entry and hiker trip reports rather than an official park survey; some sources give the trail's opening as being reworked or rerouted in later years as the park added the new lodge, so treat 2021 style dates in other guides as referring to that later reroute rather than the trail's original 2017 opening.

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

Part of a roughly 5 mile, one way loop from Old Man's Cave past the swinging Hemlock Bridge to the falls and the 300 foot wide Whispering Cave, on steep stairs, dirt paths and boardwalks with no shortcut back.

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.