hocking hills

Spring wildflowers in the Hocking Hills

Mary
log cabin with violets in foreground

Introduction

Hocking Hills is a beautiful place to visit any time of year, but spring is especially special. The wildflowers are in bloom, the waterfalls are flowing, and the birds are singing. Here are some of the best places to see spring wildflowers in Hocking Hills:

Where to see spring wildflowers

  • Ash Cave: Ash Cave is a large recess cave that is home to a variety of wildflowers, including Virginia bluebells, columbines, and wild geraniums.
  • Old Man’s Cave: Old Man’s Cave is another popular spot for wildflower viewing. Here, you can find wildflowers such as trillium, trout lily, and spring beauty.
  • Cedar Falls: Cedar Falls is a beautiful waterfall that is surrounded by wildflowers, including purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and blazing star.
  • Conkle’s Hollow: Conkle’s Hollow is a deep gorge that is home to a variety of wildflowers, including Dutchman’s breeches, jack-in-the-pulpit, and mayapple.
  • Rock House: Rock House is a natural rock formation that is home to a variety of wildflowers, including columbine, Virginia bluebells, and wild geraniums.

In addition to these popular spots, there are many other places to see spring wildflowers in Hocking Hills. Just be sure to keep your eyes peeled and you’re sure to find some beautiful blooms. In fact, Marsh Hollow Cabins is hosting a variety of flowers today (April 26): spring beauties, mayapple (not blooming yet but foliage is abundant), wild geranium, hepatica, violets, both purple and white, large trillium, bluets and more!

For more information about where to go and what to see, visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Wildflowers web site.

How to enjoy

Here are some tips for enjoying the spring wildflowers in Hocking Hills:

  • Visit in the spring (April-May). This is when the wildflowers are in bloom. But the Fall also has some gorgeous color, especially asters and goldenrod.
  • Don’t forget that trees also have flowers in the spring. Tulip poplars have large yellow/orange blooms. The pawpaw tree has dark, inconspicuous flowers that are easy to overlook.
  • Wear comfortable shoes. You’ll be doing some hiking!
  • Bring a camera. You’ll want to capture all of the beauty.
  • Be respectful of the wildflowers.
  • Don’t pick them or trample on them.

Writing this post gave me the opportunity to look back at a wildflower post I wrote in 2007. My goodness time flies.

Enjoy the beauty of nature!

Mary

Mary at Marsh Hollow

Keurig brewers at all cabins!

Mary

We frequently are asked if we have a Keurig brewer in our cabins. All cabins have always had standard drip coffee makers. Our Florida vacation rental had BOTH kinds of coffee makers. We thought that was very smart and accommodating to guests who have differing brewer preferences.

Therefore starting today, our guests will find both a Keurig mini brewer and a standard drip brewer in all three of our cabins. A word about the mini brewer: you add the water for a 6-12 oz. cup, then brew. You will need to wait for the water to heat each time you want to make a cup of coffee. So if you are staying in a cabin with more than 2 coffee drinking guests, you will probably want to use the standard pot because the mini brewer does take awhile to heat up each single serving. That 6th guest at Shadyside, for example, might be waiting quite a while for his/her coffee!

Some Hocking Hills State Park sites to open Feb 11

Mary

Update from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources: “Areas of the park (Hocking Hills State Park) will open intermittently beginning February 11th. Hocking Hills Visitor Center and Camp Store will reopen February 11th. State Route 374 is currently closed to the public, as are Cedar Falls and Ash Cave.” (02-09-2022).

We are now open with power restored and our cabins are warm and cozy. It’s still pretty icy in the Hills even with these warmer days.

If you have any questions, please contact John by email at john@marsh-hollow.com or by phone/text at 614-499-8205.

Mary at Marsh Hollow

Last minute specials

Mary

We already have low rates during weekdays, but my goodness – we have some great last minute specials for next week that will blow your socks off.

Just go to www.marsh-hollow.com and you will see them under our main photo.

Don’t blow the budget for your vacation rental. Seriously, check out our last minute specials! It’s a winter wonderland. 

Mary at Marsh Hollow

COVID-19 Update May 5, 2020

Mary

in this together ohio sign with manager and kids

#inthistogetherohio

We have developed Marsh Hollow Guidelines for COVID-19 which describe how we plan to keep our guests, staff and community safe during this outbreak. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about our plans.

It’s been a  busy week getting ready to re-open our cabins, which we did on May 4. One “keep safe” strategy we are using through May is to leave 30 hours between guests checking out and new guests checking in. We think it’s a good thing to do but it does wreak havoc on the schedule, especially when working with existing reservations. It will be nice to get to a new normal, hopefully in June.

The Hocking Hills State Park and Forest remains closed. As mentioned in an earlier post, the Hocking Hills Tourism Association has developed a helpful COVID-19 Info page which isn’t about the disease but rather all the great stuff there is still to do around the Hocking Hills even with the Park closed. It also includes a list of various restaurants which provide food service, either carry-out, drive-through or delivery. FYI, most delivery services are based in Logan and do not delivery to Marsh Hollow. Restaurants in Laurelville, our closest village, do not deliver. The nice folks at Hockinghills.com (thank you, Finn), our listing service and reservation system, developed a print-friendly version of the restaurant list.

Almost every day, we read about other Hocking Hills services and activities that are making plans to open up. Today, we learned that the Hocking Hills Canoe Livery hopes to open May 29!

Stay safe and wash your hands!

Mary at Marsh Hollow

 

COVID-19 Update: we are reopening on May 4

Mary
perfoliate bellwort
The Hocking County Health Commissioner has approved the reopening of rental cabins beginning May 4, 2020. We are accepting reservations! The Health Department is going to provide COVID-19 prevention guidelines. However, we already have a good start on how we plan to keep our guests, our family and our community safe. One way to manage our extra sanitation procedures is to allow at least 24 hrs between reservations. Today, our Operations Manager John worked with our guests to move reservations around a bit to make this possible. Their cooperation was immensely helpful. We are hopeful that we will only have to do this in May, but are prepared to continue on if needed.
 
We do not yet know when the Hocking Hills State Park and Forest will reopen. ODNR is not ready to say anything official yet. However, guests will receive a list of nearby parks, forests and nature preserves that are open. Plus we have our own hiking trail for the private use of our guests.
Stay safe, keep your distance and wash your hands. Stay tuned!

Guest journal entry at Pinewood Cabin

Mary
hot tub guest journal

While we remain closed through May 1 per Ohio’s and Hocking County’s stay at home orders, I’ve had time to look through our guest journals. Now that John is our operations manager, I don’t stop by the cabins often. I was going to write a blog post, pulling out some of my favorites, but this one from March 22, right before we closed, thoroughly enchanted me. And I think our guests were under a bit of a spell as well:

3/22/20

We had a most lovely weekend here at the cabin.

A sasquatch tried to get into the hot tub with us but we were able to scare it away with the help of some enchanted dice that we acquired from a minotaur that we met while exploring Old Man’s Cave.

Will definitely be back! 5 stars !!!

Z & R

I think Z & R truly enjoyed Pinewood Cabin, its hot tub pictured above, and all that the Hocking Hills offers. I truly enjoyed this guest journal entry!

Hoping you will visit soon and leave an equally entertaining entry,

Mary at Marsh Hollow

Last minute specials even on Valentines Day

Mary
A blank list titled this year I will

Did your New Year’s resolutions include enjoying nature more? Here’s a great opportunity to visit the Hocking Hills at a lower cost. Throughout the entire year, we offer last minute specials. Right now, if you have a little flexibility, you can book Thursday, February 13 and Friday, February 14 at a 20% discount at The Cottage!

Please call 740-499-8205 to book your last minute reservation.

Mary at Marsh Hollow

Video tours of our cabins!

Mary

We belong to HockingHills.com which provides a great listing service for us, as well as our reservation system. Recently, the new owners offered to record cabin video tours. We signed on to that opportunity! They also have provided us with a large number of still photographs which we are in the process of reviewing to see which we want to add to our web site. The tours include some outside views and more of these will be added in the spring.

The tours start with a dollhouse view. That’s where you can click on icons to see outside views before or after entering the cabin. The video walkthroughs can be accessed with mouse clicks or with touchscreen. We found it easier to manipulate on our laptops, maybe because the screen is so much bigger than a phone screen. We haven’t tested them yet on a tablet. In the meantime, enjoy these three video tours. They will give you a great idea of what to expect when you visit us on your Hocking Hills vacation.

The Cottage

Pinewood Cabin

Shadyside Cabin

Come visit us! Great winter rates available through February 29!

Mary at Marsh Hollow