Hocking Hills is the perfect place to spend a girls weekend in Ohio. It is an unexpected gem located in Ohio, packed with mammoth rock formations, gorges, picturesque waterfalls, towering pines and over 30 miles of hiking trails. Hocking hills has something to offer year round and makes for an easy, fun and accessible girl-cation. Grab your best girlfriends, some wine and let’s get going. This is the ultimate weekend getaway guide to Hocking Hills, Ohio. Text your group chat… queue Shania Twain- “Lets go girls!”
About the Hocking Hills State park? General information
This state park in Ohio offers panoramic hiking trails, stunning rock formations, waterfalls, creeks and recess caves. It’s known as Southeastern Ohio’s scenic wonderland. Open year round its a favorite destination among outdoor enthusiasts, but there’s something for anyone around this area of Ohio. Not only does Hocking Hills have outdoor adventures like hiking, canoeing (or cabrewing if you prefer a little bit of alcohol with your floating), kayaking, zip lining and camping but it also has wineries, breweries, outdoor festivals and annual events as well. You can opt to do some adventurous stuff or just chill fireside at a cabin or a quaint airbnb and hang out in the hot tub drinking wine. Whatever you opt to do, you’re sure to have an amazing time with your best gals (or significant other, kids or even solo).
All Ohio State Parks have free admission and are great to explore year-round!
The area is close to food, entertainment, and outdoor activities. We had everything we needed within less than 20 minutes of where we stayed for our girls trip. A little getaway in Hocking Hills won’t break the bank either – its super budget friendly.
Getting there. Hocking Hills, Ohio.
The park is located almost dead center of Ohio in the United States. It’s the rural Hocking Hills region of the state. If you don’t live in Ohio or even the Midwest, you’ve probably never even heard of this area. The park is physically located in Logan, in Hocking County. Some areas of the park adjoin Hocking State forest.
If you’re local, this makes for an easy road trip destination close to home. Hocking Hills is just an hour southeast of Columbus – so for us, several of the girls going on the trip were actually Columbus area residents and this was extremely close to home for them.
When you start looking for a place to stay search for the Logan, Ohio and surrounding areas. Which brings me to my next topic. Keep reading…
Where to stay in Hocking Hills, Ohio?
The area is known for its cabins rather than cookie cutter hotels but lodging is extremely easy to find and you’ll have endless options whatever you prefer. There are campgrounds, cabins, cottages, hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts and also unique places like treehouses, tipis and yurts can be booked as well. Hocking County truly has something for everyone.
A unique stay in one of the treehouses or yurts would have been right up my alley, but we planned this about 1 month out so the options for the unique stays were limited. Book in advance for obvious reasons if you’re looking to score a more quirky accommodation.
For our girls weekend we booked a cozy cabin in Logan. The cabin was dog friendly, had plenty of space for all 6 of us, a hot tub, 2 full bathrooms, full kitchen and plenty of parking on premises. It was less than 10 minutes from several restaurant options, coffee shops, hiking trails and other outdoor activities. Yet, we still felt remote and loved the cabin vibe, it was PERFECT for our girls trip.
Where to eat in Hocking Hills, Ohio?
Surprisingly, there are many options for food in the area. Take your pick of anything from sandwich shop to steak and potato. here are a few of my recommendations. For our girls trip we visited Hocking Hills Coffee Emporium, Winery and Brewery.
- Millstone Souther Smoked BBQ
- Pearls Diner
- Hocking Hills Coffee Emporium
- JB’s Downtown Grill
- Handlebar & Grill
- Hocking Hills Winery
- Roosters
- O’Huids Gaelic Pub
- Brewery 33 Hocking Hills, LLC
- Maria’s Mexican Restuarant
- Hocking Hills Diner
- Ale House 1890
Things to do in Hocking Hills, Ohio.
This midwest slice of heaven offers so many activate options. I compiled a list of everything I could find when researching the area. We stuck to hiking and wineries but you can obviously expand into all sorts of activities, especially if you plan to stay longer than a day or so.
- Hike or bike the trails at the State Park
- Fish or Swim in Lake Logan
- Kayak or Canoe or boat at Hocking Hills Adventures
- Visit a winery or Brewery
- Zipline with Hocking Hills Canopy Tours
- Relax by the fire and roast marshmellows
- Stargaze at the new John Glen Astronomy Park
- Check out local festivals and events
- Ghost hunt at Ash Cave with a ghost story-telling naturalist
- Get a birds eye view of the trails, zippiness and tree tops with Hocking Hills Scenic Air tours.
- Leaf peep the fall foilage
- Learn how to rock climb with local guides that can cater to all levels of climbers.
- Moonshine Tasting
- Hocking Valley Scenic Railway offers train rides.
- Glass blowing
- Relax and enjoy nature
- Book a horseback riding adventure.
- Take a scenic drive down Hocking Hills Scenic Byway (small 26.4 mile byway but worth it)
Scenic Hiking Trails in Hocking Hills.
The ultimate weekend getaway guide to Hocking Hills, Ohio would not be complete without a list of the best hiking trails. The gorges, structures, waterfalls and caves along the trails of Hocking Hills will have you wanting to cross off all of the trails within the park.
Obtaining a map from the visitors center or downloading one before you go is a great idea. I saved a few on the Alltrails app but quickly realized we didn’t have much service when you actually enter the park so its a good idea to grab one or have it saved beforehand. Most of the trails are well marked but sometimes it can get a little confusing.
Here are a few of my favorites and most popular hiking trails within the park.
- Cedar Falls
- Conkle’s Hollow
- Ash Cave
- Old Man’s Cave
- Lake Hope Trail
- Whispering Cave
- Devil’s Bathtub
- Upper Falls
- Lower Falls
Girls weekend itinerary for Hocking Hills, Ohio.
My girlfriends and I love a good “girls only” trip at least once a year if we can make it happen (if not, more). Typically, someone is getting married so we have a bachelorette party to look forward to. Basically every summer since we graduated college (HAHHAHA), but this summer we didn’t have one planned. We decided that girls weekends are simply a necessity so we vowed a long time ago that once all of the weddings/celebrations were over we would still find a reason to come together for an annual trip (or three). A quick Spring trip was chosen for this year to Hocking Hills. Most of us are local to Ohio still and within a few hours of each other and one gal traveled in from Chicago so this was a great close-to-home destination for all of us.
We rented a cabin Friday through Sunday and it was just what the soul needed.
Friday:
Everyone made their way to Hocking Hills from wherever they were located. We brought frozen pizza from our favorite hometown pizza shop, Mary’s Pizza in Lisbon Ohio and then we also ordered some Chik-fil-A nuggets (because nuggs are life) and brought some random snacks, dips and sides for an easy Friday night cabin hang session.
Saturday:
We woke up and cooked a huge breakfast feast along with a Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar. After breakfast we headed to the state park to do some hiking. One of our gals is expecting so opted to stick to the most popular short hikes right near the visitors center. After hiking we headed for coffee at the Hocking Hills Coffee Emporium and then home to relax and whip up some tacos for a late lunch.
Saturday afternoon/evening:
Saturday afternoon we played cards, hung at the cabin and then slowly showered and got ready for Saturday dinner. The brewery near our Cabin, Brewery 33 was the perfect spot to grab a local craft beer at happy hour and then we headed to the nearby Hocking Hills Winery for dinner, delicious wine and a great live band.
Sunday:
Sunday morning was a lazy morning wake-up, coffee chats and then we cleaned up the cabin, packed up and headed out.
A quick getaway is honestly never enough time with my best gals but we cherish our little girls weekends and time together more than anything! Hocking Hills was such a perfect choice for this Springs annual girl-cation.
Packing list for visiting Hocking Hills, Ohio.
I have an insanely detailed packing list that I go off of, but to save you the craziness of that very overwhelming list here are a few essentials you should include for your ultimate weekend getaway guide to Hocking Hills, Ohio.
Packing Essentials
- Hiking gear – weather appropriate clothing and hiking shoes, backpack, water bottle, bug spray, sunglasses, camera + phone.
- swim suite for the hot tub if your accommodation has one
- loungewear/sleep clothes + slippers!
- Camp supplies if camping (folding chairs, cooler, smore’s stuff, drinks & snacks, firewood/starters)
- Electronics: phone, chargers, watches, portable chargers, GPS etc.
- Tumbler or can coozie
- blue tooth speaker
- toiletries
- headlamps (for caves)
- dry box for kayaking/boating
- towels if your lodging has a hottub and doesn’t include them
- first aid kit (bandaids, painkiller, hangover cures etc.)
- Aluminum foil, trash bags, lighter for fire, plastic baggies, paper towels, plastic cups/plates, utensils
Weekend Getaway Guide to Hocking Hills, Ohio. In conclusion..
Whether you take a day trip or a weekend getaway, Hocking Hills State Park is the perfect place to enjoy Ohio’s beautiful natural landscapes and spend some quality time in nature with your best gals (or family). This area is naturally stunning and unlike anywhere else, a true hidden gem in central Ohio. Visiting Hocking Hills is surely a midwest road trip to add to your bucket list.
As always, enjoy the views and laughs with friends/family and any time spent in nature or out living life. Keep nature wild, stay on the trail, pack it up and pack it out and stay on the dang trail.
Check out my blog posts for more close to home road trips for more weekend getaway inspiration. West Virginia is the perfect place to visit close to Ohio if your local. Read about it here.
Find me on instagram @adventure.with.jen. Pin this article for later so you can come back and read if you run short on time or want to reference it for the future.
