Highlands Nature Sanctuary

The Sanctuary offers a total of eighteen miles of hiking trails radiating out from 12 trailheads. Trails showcase outstanding natural scenery, many of which lead hikers into the magical rock-scapes of the Rocky Fork Gorge.

You are entering a highly protected nature preserve. Regulations exist to protect natural communities from the impact of public visitors. Please follow these regulations to leave the Highlands Nature Sanctuary as beautiful as you found it.  Remain on trails at all times and walk in single file to protect bulbs of native wildflowers bordering the trail. Do not disturb, pick, or collect flowers, plants, rocks, or wildlife. Hunting, caving, fishing, trail biking, rock climbing, wading, campfires, and swimming are prohibited. 

Highlands Nature Sanctuary Trails are open from sunrise to sunset besides the trails at the Appalachian Forest Museum. Please note parking lots are not winter-maintained and the trails are not safe to hike during periods of heavy rain, ice, and snow. Trails are closed during our annual Deer Management Hunt which takes place on the 1) Monday through Sunday following Thanksgiving, and 2)  Saturday and Sunday before Christmas.

Address: 7660 Cave Road, Bainbridge, OH 45612
The Appalachian Forest Museum in the Highlands Nature Sanctuary is located in south-central Ohio approximately 25 miles west of Chillicothe, 6 miles west of Bainbridge, and 16 miles east of Hillsboro. It lies one mile south of Highway 50 on Cave Road and is signed on both US-50 and Cave Road.

When to Visit. The Sanctuary is beautiful year-round. Spring flowers usually begin blooming in late March, beginning with snow trilliums. The first week of April brings a startling density of hepatica, which cover the steep hillsides with their bouquets. The peak display of wildflowers usually falls somewhere between April 10 and April 18 with the dazzling emergence of drifts of Large-flowered trillium – a spectacle not to be missed if you can help it. Although flowers are always blooming somewhere in the Sanctuary during the growing season, the last of spring’s major display ebbs after the third week in April when the columbine and shooting star burst into bloom in the Rocky Fork Gorge. A very popular Sanctuary event is the annual Wildflower Pilgrimage, a weekend of field trips leading to the region’s most splendid and memorable wildflower destinations, accompanied by evening programs and delicious meals. The best time to bird at the Sanctuary is late April through the second week of June. In late spring the dawn breeding bird chorus is rich and memorable. Fall color is hard to predict but usually peaks in the second or third week of October.

Once 7 Caves. Sixty acres of the 3000-acre Highlands Nature Sanctuary was once home to the 20th-century nature and children’s theme park known as 7 Caves. Opening in 1930, 7 Caves was a beloved family destination for generations, reaching the peak of its popularity in the 1960s and 1970s in the era that popularized family camping vacations. After the 70’s, attendance began a steep decline alongside children’s theme parks across America, reflecting a shift in our culture’s vacation preferences. The Arc of Appalachia purchased 47 of the 60-acre park known as 7 Caves in 1995 to help protect the land and to keep the Rocky Fork Gorge open to the public. In 2005 7 Caves officially closed and sold the remaining 13 acres of land and buildings to the Arc of Appalachia, becoming part of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary. Some of 7 Cave’s historic trails, with their beautiful rock work and stunning geologic vistas, still serve visitors today at the Sanctuary. The old 7 Caves gift shop has been transformed into what is known today as the Appalachian Forest Museum.

Restored cave habitat for rare bats. Five of the original seven caves are now restored – providing critical hibernation sites for Ohio’s cave bats. Several years ago cave bats across Eastern United States were hit with a deadly disease called White-nose syndrome that destroyed millions of bats in the middle of winter when they awoke to find themselves ill and starving. In Ohio, bats that wintered over in caves were nearly extirpated, other than big brown bats whose numbers plummeted but not quite as badly as its smaller kin. Thanks to the bat conservation work that had been earlier performed at the Sanctuary, the caves today are still sheltering big brown bats in safe numbers as well as a vulnerable number of Tri-colored bats. Cave bats perform valuable and possibly necessary ecological services – keeping in check our night sky insect populations.

Caves open for viewing. Two of the original seven caves, Marble Cave and McKimmie’s Cave can still be viewed at the Appalachian Forest Museum. These caves allow visitors to gain a deeper appreciation for and understanding of these sensitive native ecosystems with the help of interpretive signs.