Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve
Hocking County, Ohio · 3.5 trail miles in ODNR's guide
Our take written by Nature Awed
Conkles Hollow is a gorge in the Hocking Hills region with Black Hand sandstone cliffs rising nearly 200 feet, a floor 100 feet wide in places, and waterfalls over the rock.
Two trails total 3 miles: a 2-mile loop around the rim and the Gorge Trail, partly paved, which runs about 1 mile round trip to the falls. The guide marks part of the trail system accessible.
Our plain-language reading of the ODNR text quoted on this page. It adds no facts of its own.
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page for this preserve and ODNR's permit page before relying on this summary.
What ODNR says about it
Conkles Hollow is one of the most spectacular features within the Hocking Hills region. Its sheer cliffs of Black Hand sandstone rise nearly 200 feet above the valley floor. The deep, cool gorge, which is only 100 feet wide in places and is considered by some to be the deepest in Ohio, has numerous waterfalls cascading over its sandstone cliffs. The cliff tops with their magnificent overlooks and the quiet gorge beneath offer visitors an opportunity to explore different habitats, each with its own unique plant and animal communities.
About 350 million years ago, this portion of Ohio lay under the waters of a vast inland ocean. Rivers flowing into this ancient sea carried coarse and fine grained sands, depositing them in large wide deltas much like the present day delta at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Over millions of years, these sand deltas were buried by finer textured silt and clay sediments. Eventually these sedimentary deposits were compressed to form a thick hard layer of sandy textured rock, now referred to as Black Hand sandstone. Great forces of energy within the earth caused the land surface to gradually rise, eventually forming the present Appalachian Mountains. As the ocean waters drained away, the new land surface dried out and became subject to the erosional processes of surface water and climatic extremes. The newly exposed sediments were weathered away, layer by layer, and washed onto some distant river delta. Today Black Hand sandstone layers are the uppermost of these past sediments and they in turn are being acted upon by erosional forces.
Conkles Hollow was purchased in 1925 by the state of Ohio in order to preserve its scenic beauty. In 1977, the site was dedicated as a state nature preserve.
Visiting
Open 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset
Stay on designated trails at all times
Pets are not permitted.
See all rules
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page before relying on these hours.
Trails
Conkles Hollow has two trails totaling 3 miles, one is a 2-mile loop trail that travels around the gorge. The other trail, the Gorge Trail, is partly paved and travels through the gorge up to the falls. Round trip to and back is about 1 mile.
In ODNR's preserve guide
| Address | 24858 Big Pine Rd, Rockbridge, 43149 |
|---|---|
| Trails (miles) | 3.5 (marked ~: A portion of the trail system is accessible.) |
| Visitor information | Near Hocking Hills State Park |
Conkles Hollow Hocking 24858 Big Pine Rd Rockbridge, 43149 3.5~ Near Hocking Hills State Park
Access permit
Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve is not on ODNR's list of preserves that require an access permit, and its ODNR page as quoted here doesn't call for one. ODNR also says: An access permit is required to leave trails within a state nature preserve.
(ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit).
The land on ODNR's map
| LANDS_NAME | COUNTY | PROP_TYPE | SUM_CALC_ACRES | MANAGING_AGENCY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve | HOCKING | Dedicated Nature Preserve | 87.02 | Division of Natural Areas and Preserves |
| Mapped acres | 87.02 (our sum of the parcels ODNR's GIS layer maps under this name) |
|---|---|
| Access permit | No whole-preserve permit requirement identified in the sources we check; named-area or activity permits may still apply |
| Centre of mapped land | 39.4569, -82.5759 (our calculation; not an entrance or parking lot) |
Statewide rules
Ohio Administrative Code chapter 1501:17 sets rules for nature preserves and natural areas under ODNR's supervision or its designated custodian, on pets, drones, picnics, collecting and more. Can I…? quotes them rule by rule, with their exceptions.
Pets are prohibited at all state nature preserves, except Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve where leashed pets are only allowed on the multipurpose paved trail.
Check before you go. Verify current hours, access and trail information on ODNR: Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve and ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit; our checker last found the quoted words there on October 14.
Nearest other preserves
Straight-line miles between the centres of mapped land (our calculation), not driving distance.
- Crane Hollow State Nature Preserve · Hocking County · about 1.5 miles · permit
- Saltpetre Cave State Nature Preserve · Hocking County · about 1.7 miles · permit
- Sheick Hollow State Nature Preserve · Hocking County · about 1.8 miles · permit
- Little Rocky Hollow State Nature Preserve · Hocking County · about 2.5 miles · permit
- Bison Hollow State Nature Preserve · Hocking and Vinton counties · about 6.1 miles · permit