Photographing Ohio’s Waterfalls

Photographs

Jun 20

I have a really bad habit of discounting some of the natural beauty that can be found throughout Ohio. Despite having spent the majority of my early life in the state and still living quite close, I rarely ever venture up that way for photography.

So far this year, however, I have spent several weekends shooting some of the waterfalls throughout the Buckeye state. Here’s just a small sampling of what I’ve seen so far.

Ash Cave

This was my first visit to Ash Cave (and Hocking Hills, for that matter) and boy was the conditions perfect! Bill Fultz and Chris Morris. and I headed up as the remnants from tropical storm Gordon was moving through the area. The constant rains had all of the falls absolutely gushing!

Rock Bridge

This was shot the same day as the Ash Cave shot above.

I must admit, when the others said that we were going to an arch in Ohio I was quite skeptical and didn’t expect much. I was beyond pleasantly surprised though!

At the time I hadn’t realized just how lucky we were. I’ve since seen plenty of pictures where this waterfall is barely even a trickle. As it turns out, it’s not super common for it to have the kind of flow it had for us. I guess it’s a good thing we visited during an absolute deluge!

Robinson Falls

This one is a unique waterfall that is flowing into a small slot canyon. It’s located in a nature preserve near Hocking Hills State Park but requires a permit to visit. My absolute favorite part of this falls is the color of the water in the splash pool. That turquoise color was not added after the fact!

Rock Mill

Rock Mills has a long history. The original mill was built in 1799 and stood until it fell into the gorge in 1820. Two years later, in 1822, a new mill was constructed. This mill, however, fell victim to flooding and was destroyed. That brings us to the third mill, which was built in 1824. This is the mill you still see today.

In the early 2000s, the mill was falling into a state of disrepair, but the Fairfield Park System restored it in 2003. Typically you are not allowed at the bottom of the mill, as you see pictured in my image. An administrator was kind enough to meet us out in the pouring rain to grant us access, however. A huge thank you to this nice lady!

Upper Falls

This brings us to a string of waterfalls located along the trail to Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills. The first of which is the Upper Falls.

This is a lovely little waterfall with an interesting footbridge passing right over the top of it. My only complaint is that it’s rather difficult to get a shot without any people in it. Luckily, patience and perseverance pay off!

Devil’s Bathtub

Heading farther down the trail towards Old Man’s Cave you reach a spot known as the Devil’s Bathtub. This formation is named for the bathtub-like feature at the top of the falls, but that particular spot isn’t nearly as photogenic, in my opinion, as the waterfall flowing from it.

This is another location where it can be hard to avoid getting people in your shot!

Lower Falls

This finally brings us to the Lower Falls on the trail to Old Man’s Cave. Conditions were excellent the day we visited this falls. As such, I actually have a whole slew of images of this falls that I really like. You’ll probably be seeing more of it from me in the future.

More to come

This is just a small sampling of the Ohio waterfalls that I’ve had a chance to visit so far. As I’m writing this I’ve actually just returned from another photography trip to some of the Buckeye state’s waterfalls. The images from that trip aren’t ready just yet, but you can bet there will be some coming out soon 😉