Welcome to the Park of the Month newsletter for June 2025. This month we’re featuring a state park that is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ohio.
Hocking Hills State Park
Location
Southeastern Ohio, United States
Claim to fame
Renowned for its plentiful recreational opportunities and stunning scenery, Hocking Hills State Park attracts over 4 million visitors a year. Nestled in Hocking Hills State Forest and close to other nature preserves and sites, the park feels like a secluded natural oasis, all while being a day’s drive from some of the region’s large population centers. The park regularly makes lists for favorite places to visit in the state and region.
Reason to visit
Hocking Hills State Park contains seven hiking areas and 25 miles (40 km) of trails that navigate hemlock forests and culminate in waterfalls, rock formations, and caves. Water has carved the local Black Hand Sandstone for millennia, creating natural wonders like gorges, cliffs, and caves.
In addition to hiking, the park offers a host of other recreational activities, like canoeing, fishing, archery, hunting, astronomy, mountain biking, and more. The park’s campground and lodge are also popular.
Wild Fact
The name Hocking was derived from the native words for “bottle river.” The Hockhocking River, which flows through the park and is responsible for many of its waterfalls and sandstone formations, bottlenecks above one of its larger waterfalls, giving it its bottle name.
Evidence shows that the Adena Tribe inhabited what is today the state park as much as 7,000 years ago. More recently, the state park was home to the Wyandot, Delaware, and Shawnee peoples, until the Greenville Treaty of 1795 pushed them from their ancestral lands.
Thanks for reading. Each month, we send out an image and description of a unique natural or cultural treasure like the one above. Learn new things, explore special places, and find your inspiration: sign up for the free newsletter today.