The Look: The closest thing to a real cave in the park system, Rock House's cavern seems to go deep into the rock. The trail is packed with awesome cliff faces that, in summer, look like a South American  jungle, rock steps and plenty of breathe-taking views.

From reviews: Rock House is one of the farther-out park areas, but another must-see. As all the Hocking Hills park areas, hikers make note that many of the steps are difficult to traverse and the trail maps, many missing or vandalized, are difficult to understand.

Dogs are welcome on this trail as long as they are on a 6-foot leash, well-behaved, and under the owner's control. There are cliff dropoffs.

A 1/4 mile trail leads to an opening in a cliff face with gothic-like windows and awesome views. Rockhouse was even once said to be a hide-out for bandits and thieves in 1800's.

Interesting things to look for:

-look for small recesses in the back wall of Rock House that were used as baking ovens for Native Americans staying in the cave.

-square troughs in the floor are believed to be used to catch water.

 -at the picnic shelter, there was once a 16-room hotel compete with a ballroom, livery stable and a U.S. Post Office. 

Length: Trail is 1 mile loop trail. Hikers enter from the upper or lower parking lot, but both trails will come together and will exit at the shelter house (at the very top).

Rock House Map