Continuing my current road trip after passing through western Maryland and West Virginia, I went back to Ohio (apologies to Chrissie Hynde) to check out an area through which I had passed last summer. During that trip, I stopped to see the Moonville Tunnel, which is on a then-under-construction rail trail. A few miles east, along the same trail, is the King's Hollow Tunnel. I first tried to see if I could reach this tunnel from Mineral, a small town at the intended east end of the Moonville Rail Trail, but I could only reach a creek that had no bridge. If the old railroad had a bridge, it's now long gone. Eventually I found a back road that took me west of the tunnel, from which I could walk several hundred yards to reach it. It's a bit longer than the Moonville Tunnel, and has a different cross section. This is the west end of the King's Hollow Tunnel. I didn't try going all the way through, because it looked pretty wet.
While driving on Ohio Highway 56 last year, I passed by Ash Cave, but didn't bother to stop. This time, I intended to visit the place, along with some other nearby attractions. The walk from the parking lot was very east, about two tenths of mile. My first pictures, sadly, weren't well focused. The first one is of a large section of the cave, including a tree.
The second pic shows a waterfall in front of another part of the cave.
Here's the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. I think I got a better focus with this one.
This shot looks outward from inside the cave. The stream goes around a large rock.
Here's a shot into the cave from an overlook. The man sitting on the rock gives you some idea of its size. Looks like the woman to the right is taking his picture.
Ash cave is located about a mile from the intersection of Ohio Routes 56 and 374. Going north from that intersection along OH 374 brings you to Cedar Falls. This one took a bit of downward hiking, including some stone stairs. Here are Cedar Falls and its rocky environs.
Here is a close-up of the falls.
This is a close-up of the alcove to the left of the falls.
For more on King's Hollow Tunnel, go to TrekOhio(dot)com, Ohio Exploration Society and Bridgehunter.
For more on Ash Cave, go to HockingHills(dot)com, Hocking Hills Travel Guide and Ohio History Central.
For more on Cedar Falls, go to Great Lakes Waterfalls and Hocking Hills State Park Travel Guide.
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