Every January for the past 56 years, Hocking Hills State Park has hosted their annual Winter Hike. Hikers come from all over to enjoy this 6-mile hiking event; it has even, in past years, been treated as the halfway point to bean soup and cornbread from Kiwanis.
“Last January, some 5,600 hikers were treated to the awesome beauty of the sun sparkling on icy waterfalls, and sandstone rock formations covered with newly fallen snow,” according to hockinghills.com.
Unfortunately, this year, many visitors were disappointed to hear that the upcoming 2021 Winter Hike, which would’ve been the 57th annual, had been canceled.
Heather McGee has enjoyed taking on the long trek for years with her family. Though she resides in Springfield, Ohio, she has been coming down to Hocking Hills to participate in the hike for 8 years.
“We really missed the Winter Hike this year,” McGee said in a message. “It has been something I have always looked forward to.”
As Hocking Hills is still open to the public, COVID-19 has not stopped these hikers from getting out and enjoying the beautiful winter scene.
“We actually booked a cabin a few weekends back near Old Man's Cave and did a few short hikes on the property,” McGee said in a message.
McGee and her family have always been big hikers. Since her son was born, she has made it a point to include him in any hiking trips that she can.
“Last year was my son's first winter hike at 5 months,” McGee said in a message. “We want to instill a sense of exploration and curiosity in nature for our young son.”
Living only two hours northwest of Athens, McGee has explored many beautiful trails in the not-too-far distance.
“Some of my favorite goto areas for hiking locally is a Waterfall Trailhead in Cedarville, OH,” McGee said in a message. “Another great place is George Rogers Clark Park in Springfield, OH.”
Having such a passion for hiking, McGee has explored many different locations. With that, she has many recommendations to share.
“Great hiking in Kentucky I would recommend would be The Red River Gorge, Natural Bridge, and Carter Caves State Park,” McGee said in a message. “I must also mention Wayne National Forest that is very close to Athens.”
Dom Santoleri is no stranger to hiking and adventure either. He is also no stranger to the Hocking Hills Winter Hike.
“We started going to the Winter Hike 5 years ago,” Santoleri said in a message.
While not being able to enjoy the Winter Hike, Santoleri has definitely not allowed that to put a damper on his hiking experience this season. He recently spent the day hiking the Cedar Cliff Falls area and Yellow Springs with his family.
“We hike quite a bit, mostly in the Cincinnati area,” Santoleri said in a message. “We spend a lot of time at Caesar’s Creek in Warren County and also at the Cincinnati Nature Center.”
Besides hiking in Ohio, Santoleri enjoys adventuring to other destinations.
“We often go to Red River Gorge in KY, and plan on doing a section of the Appalachian Trail in WV and MD later this summer,” Santoleri said in a message.
Ruby Comer is a third-year student at Ohio University, studying early childhood education. Though she has not participated in the Hocking Hills Winter Hike, she recently enjoyed a trip there with her mother. They first visited the Rock House at Hocking Hills.
“It’s this huge cave,” Comer said. “You can walk inside, it's super open and you can see all the layers in the rock.”
Rock House is one of the many unique regions Hocking Hills has to offer. Forming a beautiful, tunnel-like cave, hikers can walk through this distinctive rock formation.
“I totally didn’t expect it to look like that,” Comer said.
Comer and her mother also visited Old Man's Cave, popular to Hocking Hills.
“It’s pretty known around here,” Comer said. “It was really cool.”
Since Comer is only residential to the area as a student, she has not had the opportunity to explore all of the hiking areas in and around Athens and Hocking county.
She is very pleased with the trip she took to Hocking Hills, and finds it important to have experienced that.
“It’s important to know the environment that you’re around,” Comer said. “If I had never gone, I wouldn’t have known that it was there.”
Comer has enjoyed hiking over the years because it offers a release and helps to clear your mind. Though she is kept busy with school, Comer still finds it important to simply get out and relax in nature.
“It’s actually proven to lower stress levels,” Comer said.
Though things may look a bit different for some hikers this year with events being canceled, there are still many trails open and waiting to be explored.
