Hocking Hills is about four to five hours from most of Metro Detroit via I-75 south through Toledo and US-33 east toward Logan. If you’re looking for a long weekend with kids that doesn’t involve airports or a full-day drive, this is the one. Four cabins at Notestone Reserve sleep six, share a game room, and sit about 4 miles from Rock House and 11 miles from Old Man’s Cave. Here’s what to actually expect.
From Detroit or Dearborn, you’re looking at about 4 hours 15 minutes – 270 miles down I-75 through Toledo, then east on US-33 toward Logan. From Ann Arbor it’s closer to 3 hours 45 minutes. Troy and Auburn Hills add another 15–20 minutes depending on where you start.
The Toledo stretch is the only real pinch point. A Thursday evening departure or an early Friday morning departure both work well for avoiding it. There’s a Findlay, Ohio exit about halfway that has gas, fast food, and a Walmart if you need to stock up. Check-in at Notestone is 4pm – most Detroit families who leave by 9am are checked in before dinner.
This is the one everyone does first, and for good reason. The main loop is 1.5 miles and takes most families about 90 minutes – a recess cave, two waterfalls, sandstone gorge walls, and a natural bridge. Kids who normally resist hiking tend to move through this one fast because there’s always something new around the next bend.
Go in the morning before 10am if you can. Parking fills quickly on weekends between May and October. The trail is well-maintained but has some uneven rock steps near the lower gorge – stroller-unfriendly below that point, fine above it. Free to enter. No reservation required.
Ash Cave is the biggest sandstone recess cave in Ohio – about 700 feet wide and 100 feet deep – and the trail to reach it is a flat, paved half-mile from the parking lot. It’s the hike that works for every age in the group, including grandparents and toddlers who aren’t ready for gorge trails yet.
It’s about 30 minutes from Notestone. Worth pairing with Old Man’s Cave on the same day – do Old Man’s in the morning, eat lunch in Logan, Ash Cave in the early afternoon. That schedule works well for younger kids without pushing into nap-time meltdown territory.
Cedar Falls is the highest-volume waterfall in Hocking Hills and one of the most satisfying short hikes in the park. The trail is about 2.4 miles round trip with a modest elevation change – manageable for most kids 5 and up. The falls drop into a horseshoe-shaped pool and are best after a rain when the flow is up.
Cedar Falls and Old Man’s Cave are on the same road and close enough to combine in a half-day. If you’re only doing two trailheads, these two cover the most ground for the least driving.
Rock House is the only true cave in Ohio’s state park system – a natural tunnel carved into a sandstone cliff about 150 feet above the valley floor. The hike is 0.6 miles round trip. It’s short, genuinely impressive, and easy to squeeze in before checkout on your last morning.
Most families skip it because it feels like an add-on – it’s only 7 minutes from Notestone, so it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be skipped. Kids who’ve been to Old Man’s Cave and Ash Cave usually say Rock House is the one they remember.
Notestone has a shared game room open to all guests on the property. Pool table, shuffleboard, foosball, darts, and a bar setup. It’s the place families end up after dinner when the trails are done and the fire pit has burned down. No reservation needed — it’s included with your stay.
If you’re traveling with another family and booking two cabins, the game room is where the groups merge. The kids find it immediately. You’ll probably be there longer than you planned.
Four cabins at Notestone sleep up to six guests: Austen, Hemingway, Stowe, and Sherwood. All four have a full kitchen, private hot tub, and fire pit, and all four are dog-friendly. Hemingway, Sherwood, and Stowe have a loft. Stowe has a bigger wraparound porch.
All four are on the same 14-acre property, which matters if you’re traveling with another family – book two cabins and the kids can move between them while the adults have separate space. Check-in is 4pm, check-out is 11am. Logan, the nearest town with a Kroger and a Walmart, is ~20 minutes away. Stock the kitchen before you arrive.