My friend Emma and I planned a little getaway at a nice midway point for the two of us in Hocking Hills. We decided on it a little late for the October (fall leaf) rush, so I spent hours pouring over sites looking for a cabin we could stay in.
I finally found this little gem, which seemed like the ONLY (and I mean that literally) cabin available in Hocking Hills that weekend. The place is in Fiddlestix Village, a little village of 5 or so cottages in Hocking Hills. It’s literally within minutes drive of Ash Cave and the price was super reasonable.
We stayed in the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, which had the shakers lined up in the windows. It was adorable! It got very cold during our stay but there were heaters, thankfully. There was a little kitchen sans stove but it did have a microwave and mini fridge, plus a charming updated bathroom, and the bedroom had two beds so we didn’t have to squish together like our college sleepovers. Cause we’re adults now, right?
Okay the only bad part was the wifi was in and out. Apparently wifi at ALL was impressive, because there’s nothing throughout most of Hocking Hills. I should’ve printed some maps, but we managed with Emma’s proper GPS unit. We met on Friday night though at Ravenswood Castle for dinner though and that was a trek through some nothingness. I arrived about 40 minutes before Emma, and started to get seriously worried when she arrived!
Well I got this urge to go out and try to get a sunrise picture the next day. We were too late for that, even as early as we were up, but we did get to Ash Cave before anyone else arrived. We had about a half hour or more all to ourselves. I wish these pictures could fully convey how big it is!
The whole idea of our stay was to take photos, and it was so refreshing to be able to stop and shoot whenever the moment struck and not feel obligated to keep moving or get to the next thing. We stopped on this little side road for this shot.
After Ash Cave, we went to Old Man’s Cave. By this point, everyone else was awake and visiting as well, so it was a little crowded but still worth the visit. We gave the flexible tripod I have and the remote shutter a good workout. I was impressed it worked this far away!
From Old Man’s Cave, there’s some hiking trails that you can take to Cedar Falls (and further if you want). We didn’t quite realize what we were in for when we started. Lots of boulders, and a lot longer of a trail than we expected. We passed a mom with a stroller though and decided that if she could do it, we certainly could. I’m sure she didn’t realize what she was in for either though. She didn’t look super pleased.
The way back from Cedar Falls was more pleasant since we selected the other hiking route and as it happens it was much easier! We passed Rose Lake, which was beautiful. I think our visit was just a week or two shy of peak color, but since there was frost while we were there, lots of leaves were falling. I think we really came at a perfect time.
We ate Saturday night at the Inn at Cedar Falls, which was great, though the drink we had left us sleepy. It was ice cold outside, but I insisted on staying out to try to capture a night sky. I did, albeit it slightly out of focus (you can’t tell with this small size). Maybe next time I’m in the middle of nowhere it will be less cold, it was hard to manage the controls!
Sunday we had a nice breakfast and went to Cantwell Cliffs before heading home. Cantwell was beautiful in a different way again than either Ash Cave or Old Man’s Cave. It felt more out-of-the-way, which was nice.
I tried to capture the falling leaves, but it was almost impossible. I should’ve switched to manual focus but I’m not sure I would’ve been much better. I did get this one leaf mid-flight.
It was a great trip, a nice and fairly inexpensive photographic escape. I felt bad leaving the family in the middle of fall fun but it was worth the trip!