I’ve been wanting to create a Hocking Hills blog for months. Should be a great way to let people know about all of the wonderful ways to enjoy this area. For example, last Friday my daughter Carolyn and I took our horses Dusty & Cash over to the state forest trails. It was my first time to ride there without an experienced trail guide. Carolyn is a wonderful rider but had never ridden on these very challenging (HILLS! MUD! CREEKS!) trails.

We got a little bit lost so ended up riding for about 3 1/2 hours. We had a pretty good map of the Hocking State Forest trails but missed a key turn that kept us riding about an hour longer than we had planned. Here’s our intended route:

1. Ride the Orange Trail out of the Horseman’s Camp on Keister Road.
2. At Point “J”, turn on to the Purple Trail.
3. Follow the Purple Trail all the way back to Keister Road (makes a nice loop ride), but don’t ride out onto the road (this was our error).
4. Just before the road, turn right on a very narrow trail. It is marked with a purple post, but there’s so much foliage it’s hard to see.
5. Continue on this trail for a short distance til you come back to Keister Road.
6. Cross the road, then turn right onto another very narrow trail to continue on the Purple Trail. You will make this turn right in front of the Point “G” sign.
7. Continue on the Purple Trail which eventually merges with the Red Trail to take you back to camp.

All of the main trails are marked with colored posts and big colored dots on trees. The side trails are marked with white posts and dots on trees. Carolyn had her GPS unit with her which helped guide us back to our starting point (but it was tough to get a good reading due to the dense foliage).

If you don’t have your own horses, there are lots of great stables in the Hocking Hills to choose from. Spotted Horse Ranch and Happy Trails are closest to Marsh Hollow (vacation log cabin). Contact me at mailto:marshhollow@hughes.net for more information about riding in the Hocking State Forest.