Things to do

Hocking Hills Comfort Food Cruise 2023

Mary
Family at Mams Rusted Skillet

Introduction

Although the Hocking Hills Comfort Food Cruise is now in its 8th year, this was the first year we drove it.  It was a lot of fun and we had many delicious eats along the way. The cruise will be available next weekend (March 11 and 12, 2023), so it’s not too late to join in the dining adventure. There are twelve stops in total. The cost is $20 and you have two full weekends to visit any of the 12 stops. For complete information, including links to the stops, please go to the Hocking Hills Tourism Association’s Comfort Food Cruise web page. I’m only going to write about the seven stops we were able to squeeze into our afternoon of driving and dining.

What you might want to know

But first, some tips/advice:

  • We left at least a $1 per person tip everywhere we visited.
  • Opening and closing times vary among stops, so plan your tour carefully.
  • Some stops run out of what they planned to serve.
  • Nature sometimes interferes with the best laid plans. The Hocking Hills experienced a pretty big storm on March 3 and power was out in the rural/park areas until mid Saturday morning. That meant the Inn at Cedar Falls sent their triple berry cobbler way over to the Urban Grill to serve, and the Rock House Restaurant was not available at all. I assume that on Sunday, everything was back to normal.
  • You can enjoy your comfort food at each stop or get it “to go.”

The beginning

Our first stop was at the Hocking Hills Tourism Association‘s Welcome Center in Logan. We purchased our Comfort Food Cruise cards, got our souvenir ice cream scoops and map. We had already planned our route so immediately left the Welcome Center and headed to Jack’s Steakhouse.

Our route

Jack’s is an institution in the Hocking Hills but we haven’t been there for a while. We were seated upon arrival and it wasn’t long before our beef noodles and gravy over mashed potatoes arrived in a styrofoam cup with a plastic spoon. Actually, disposables were common on this cruise. We also asked for water which arrived promptly. While there wasn’t much actual beef in the dish it was still delicious, I suspect the potatoes were not homemade. Might be wrong about that.

The next stop was at the Urban Grill, which is actually at the Hocking Hills Golf Course club house. It is a very nice facility. We had quite a wait for our ultimate grilled cheese but it was served on a real plate, with metal utensils. It wasn’t quite what we were expecting but it was still very, very good. There were two types of cheese (only one was melted), bacon, tomato, lettuce, pickle. This was a full size sandwich. Unfortunately, they had run out of the Inn at Cedar Fall’s triple berry cobbler, but we will go for that next weekend.

After much discussion, we decided that we did have time to stop at Hocking Hills Frozen Yogurt. We were all glad we did. Friendly service, lots of yogurt and a multitude of toppings.

The Home Tavern was a must stop for all of us: pulled pork sliders and white mac & cheese. Oh my goodness – the ultimate comfort food! Both were tasty even beyond our expectations. Very friendly and good service as well.

We had planned to stop at Tacie’s Sweet Treats, but they had run out of goodies an hour and half before they were supposed to close. I think this might be their first year participating in the Comfort Food Cruise. We’ll try them again next weekend. That broccoli cheddar soup just sounds too appealing to skip.

We were all getting pretty full by then but no one wanted to miss Treehouse Treats & Treasurers, which served a generous junior scoop of ice cream, in a cup or cone. I got the salted caramel. It was so good I had to eat it all of it. My companions did the same. Are you counting? We have now already had two good sized desserts and we were headed to Laurelville for our final two stops.

In Laurelville, we arrived at The Ridge Inn just in time for their meatloaf and mashed potatoes. We’ve had their meatloaf many times over the years so most of us ordered ours “to go.” We needed to save room for the final stop at Mam’s. Service at the Ridge Inn was wonderful as usual.

The final stop: Mam’s Rusted Skillet for their hamburger slider and fries. They serve local beef which is what makes their burgers so delicious. Crispy, hot fries – yum! Again, excellent service. The photo at the top of this post was taken at Mam’s. I don’t think we could have squeezed in any more food on this tour. There was napping when we returned home and no one needed dinner.

That leaves five more stops for us next weekend: Rock House Restaurant for evergreen garlic fries, Hocking Hills Coffee Emporium for Danish and coffee, Hocking Hills Diner for banana bread French toast, the Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls for triple berry cobbler and Tacie’s Sweet Treats for broccoli cheese soup.

In closing

For complete details on all of the locations mentioned in this post, please go to the Comfort Food Cruise web site.

The Tourism Association is now planning a September Comfort Food Trail, so stay tuned for more delicious food in the Hocking Hills.

Mary at Marsh Hollow

Along the Buckeye Trail – Table Rock

Mary
photo of Table Rock

Last Saturday (or lasterday as granddaughter Molly would say), Dave and I hiked a small portion Old Man’s Cave section of the Buckeye Trail that runs between the rappelling area parking lot on Big Pine Rd. and Unger Rd. If you continue on, you reach Old Man’s Cave. We stopped at Unger Rd. and turned around to go back. In total we hiked 5 miles.

The weather was beautiful with a very unseasonable 60 degree temperature. We saw only two other people on the trail. Except for rappellers, we rarely run into much “traffic” in this area. In this section, the Buckeye Trail is also a bridle trail for most of the distance. We saw no horses or even evidence of horses yesterday.

To start, park at the rappelling area parking lot on Big Pine Road. It’s just a short distance past the entrance to Conkles Hollow. Cross the road, and look for the Buckeye Trail blue blazes on trees. Cross the bridge over the creek, then turn left at the registration stand to start the trail. Just follow the blue blazes up the hill, past and through some really cool rock formations.  When you see a 3 sided horse tie, you’re at the top.

Walk a little toward the horse tie, then turn around to look back and to the right. You should be able to see the Table Rock formation. Walk back a little toward where you exited the rocks, then turn left to continue on Buckeye Trail and along the top of the rappelling area. The trail needs some better marking because it is not clear where you should walk. By the way, this is not an area to bring little kids. In some places, the trail is close to the edge of the cliff.

Just keep going. Eventually the bridle trail splits off but you will rejoin it in a little while. After the trail turns away from the cliffs, it travels through a logged area that has been replanted with baby trees. Keep to the left and do not follow the logging road on the right. Although you will end up on Unger Road, it is not the Buckeye Trail. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we did! That logged area was disorienting. [we need to revisit this area because it probably has been better marked by now.]

As I mentioned, following this trail out and back is about 5 miles. There is a lot of uphill at the beginning but it is not a truly strenuous trail. It has some beautiful rock formations and a lovely hemlock forest. and it is seldom seen by most visitors to the Hocking Hills.

Mary at Marsh Hollow

Laurelville Fruit Farm’s “Apple House”

Mary
Laurelville Fruit Farm cider

I had fun yesterday helping the Laurelville Elementary pre-school class visit the Apple House, run by the Laurelville Fruit Farm, which is just a short walk away from the school. I guess it’s an annual treat for the littlest students to take a tour and get an apple cider slushie. After enjoying the sweet treat, we visited the cold room, which lives up to its name, to see stacks upon stacks of apple containers. Then we got to see the apple sorter, which kicks out apples considered too small for sale and these are the ones that get crushed into cider. We saw the machinery for that process but it wasn’t running while we were there so the little people were not that impressed.

The Laurelville Fruit Farm is a family owned and run operation – for over 100 years. Some of their trees are not far from Marsh Hollow, atop the next ridge over. The Apple House is open 8 am to 5 pm 7 days a week. closed in the winter and is located on State Route 56 in Laurelville.  Great peaches in the summer.

I’ve visited the Apple House several times this September but did not pick up nearly enough Honey Crisp apples. Now they are out of these absolutely delicious sweet, crsip apples. However, they have plenty of other tasty varieties so be sure to stop by while you are in the Hocking Hills. And don’t forget to pick up some cider too!

Finally, here is the Hocking Hills Tourism Association’s WEEKEND UPDATE just in time to plan your Hocking Hills adventures for this week and beyond.

Mary at Marsh Hollow

Treats at the Apple House & Thornybrook Farms

Mary

UPDATE 2016: while the Apple House is still offering great apples, slushies, etc., Thorneybrook Farms closed several years ago. They were open for a few weeks this spring to sell flower and vegetable plants but we are not sure if they will do that again next year.

The Apple House in Laurelville, on Route 56 in the village, has great apples, but is also offering apple slushies and parched corn. We haven’t tried them yet, but recent guests told us they are quite tasty.

About 4 miles east of Laurelville on Route 56, Thornybrook Farms has pumpkins, gourds, mums & other plants, delicious homemade cinnamon buns, apple dumplings and bread. They aren’t open every day, but usually Friday-Sunday.