Honeycomb Rocks

Visiting Honeycomb Rocks

Honeycomb Rocks lies near Clear Creek Metro Park in Hocking Hills and offers a landscape that is virtually unchanged from primeval times. Accessing the trails at Honeycomb Rocks is by permit only. This system limits the number of people accessing the preserve each day so that the preserve’s rock formations and its rare botanicals can be protected into the far-flung future.

How the Permit System Works. A link to the permit application can be found at the bottom of this webpage. If the vehicle limit has not yet been reached on your requested date and you don’t exceed one application per month, your permit will be approved. The emailed permit package will include a two-page hiking guide with preserve regulations, natural history, trail map, directions, and a passcode to the entrance gate. Please note that the gate will be locked upon your arrival. After you open the lock with the password, be sure to shut and lock the gate behind you - both when you enter and when you depart. Please read the following orientation material before applying for a permit. Permit holders violating Arc regulations will be denied future permits and they risk getting their car towed.

Permit Maximum. A maximum of five people are permitted per vehicle, and a total of six cars are permitted each day. Permits for multiple cars are not permitted, and each applicant may only submit one permit request in any one month. This policy will allow more visitors to witness the preserve’s outstanding beauty, which is our highest goal. Honeycomb’s trailhead can only hold six vehicles if cars are parked in an organized manner. Please follow the parking directions provided in your permit packet to ensure that all guests with permits can find a parking space when they arrive. If you wish to bring an organized group too large to apply through this system, please inquire with our office staff on how to proceed. Call 937-365-1935 or write to arcpreserveinfo@gmail.com.

Why does Honeycomb Rock have limited access? Unfortunately, most of the public lands in Hocking Hills have been heavily damaged by the large numbers of visitors who are attracted to the region’s compelling scenery. It only takes a small percentage of visitors straying off-trail and climbing on the rocks to destroy ferns and mosses that grow quite slowly in such dry, infertile, and harsh conditions. We ask that all visitors respectfully follow the trail regulations provided with your permit. It only takes one person to destroy an ecosystem, so we must work together to preserve Ohio’s natural beauty for future generations.

How far in advance can I apply for a permit? Permit applications run in monthly cycles, and each cycle begins anew on the first of the month. You can only apply for a permit in the current calendar month. If interested in applying for a permit for a future month, please wait for your desired month to arrive to submit your application.

How long do I have to wait to receive my emailed permit? So long as your application is for a date that is still available, and so long as you haven’t exceeded one application in that month, you will receive your permit in just minutes.

Is there a fee for a permit? No, permits are free. However, stewarding our preserves and maintaining 80 miles of public trails is an expensive proposition for our nonprofit, the Arc of Appalachia. Because the Arc is not tax-supported, we are entirely dependent on donations to keep Honeycomb Rocks and our other preserves open to the public. We would greatly appreciate your gift of support.

Arc regulations can be summarized as follows: Remain on trails at all times and walk in single file to protect the bulbs of native wildflowers bordering the trail - bulbs that are very vulnerable to soil compaction. Do not disturb, pick, or collect flowers, plants, rocks, or wildlife. Hunting, caving, fishing, trail biking, rock climbing, wading, campfires, and swimming are prohibited. Sorry, dogs are not permitted in this delicate landscape.

Hiking Trail Difficulty – Honeycomb Rocks Trail is moderately difficult due to the following factors: the landscape’s uneven terrain, a few unimproved creek crossings, the narrow width of the trail, and the landscape’s many short but steep ascents. Honeycomb Trail has been attentively improved with steps, and, whenever the trail traverses the side of a steep hillside, it has been cut against the slope to present a mostly level trail surface to hikers. Warning: Hikers at Honeycomb Rocks will encounter dangerous, potentially life-threatening cliffs near the trail route. It is important to stay strictly on the trail. Be sure to keep children carefully supervised and close at hand. Hike at your own risk.

Honeycomb Rocks Trail Description. The Honeycomb Rocks Trail is a picturesque 2-mile loop that winds among large sandstone outcroppings and through a slot canyon. Much of the trail lies under the bower of a towering old-growth forest dominated by oaks and hemlocks. Honeycomb Rocks Trail includes a spur leading to a rock formation on the northern boundary of the preserve known as Paradise. The spur’s distance out and back is included in the total mileage. Please do not venture beyond the trail’s end at Paradise to avoid trespassing into Camp Wyandot, a privately operated children’s summer camp. For the safety and privacy of the children attending the camp, only guests with an appointment through Camp Wyandot are permitted on the grounds, and they must do so through the camp’s primary entrance.

Natural History. Honeycomb Rocks is a treasure of biodiversity, featuring an array of habitats that support a rich variety of plant and animal life. Its ancient hickories, oaks, hemlocks, and poplars support the framework for thousands of smaller life forms, including three native orchids, black-throated green warblers, the rare primrose leaved violets, and elusive hermit thrushes. The preserve’s stunning rock formations offer breathtaking beauty - some of the best scenery that Hocking Hills has to offer - including vertical cliff walls, towering rock pinnacles, and immense rock shelters.  Spring wildflowers peak in mid to late April and include rue anemone, foamflower, sharp-lobed hepatica, Canada mayflower, downy yellow violet, yellow corydalis, bluets, wild ginger, miterwort, toad-shade trillium, spring beauty, and stonecrop.

Preserve history: In 2021 the Arc of Appalachia was alerted by Camp Wyandot, a children’s summer camp, that the parcel of land adjoining them, Cline Farm, was for sale. For decades Camp Wyandot had been permitted to use Cline Farm as the setting for their outdoor education programs and the Camp’s leadership didn’t want to lose access to such a superb outdoor classroom. After nearly a year of work, the Arc successfully acquired the land through an awarded Clean Ohio grant. After the purchase of Cline Farm, however, it was discovered that many of the remarkable rock features once thought to be on Cline Farm in actuality lay on the other side of the boundary line on private land. Fortunately, the Arc’s new neighbor graciously offered to sell 31 acres to enable the Arc to preserve the area’s most magnificent rock formations, as well as an additional grove of old-growth oak and hemlock trees. Today the preserve consists of both acquisitions. The name Honeycomb Rocks refers to the honeycomb-like surfaces of the preserve’s exposed sandstone rocks, sculpted by rainfall and erosion over millions of years. In recent years, the Arc designed and installed trails for the use of both Camp Wyandot and the general public