For the 2019 Spring season we will feature a Wildflowers and Waterfalls tours starting in mid April through May at our sister property, Cool Rock Valley. Tours will still meet at High Rock and then you will drive a short distance, about 3.5 miles to Cool Rock Valley and park there for this new tour. Cool Rock Valley features 84 acres, half a dozen private waterfalls (nothing large most are around 25-35 feet high) and flow seasonally with their best flow in the Spring. Cool Rock also features some amazing woodland wildflowers like Bloodroot, Hepatica, lots of Trillium, Jack in the Pulpit, Spring Beauties, mountain laurel, wild rhododendron, dogwood, the state listed Flame Azalea, mayapple, redbud, blue cohosh, and more. We will include some edible and medicinal plant identification on this tour as well history of this unique property, its cliffs, beautiful rock features, and its multiple scenic streams. This tour will include a few challenges as well as getting up and down some steep hills will require using a rope in few locations (if a tour member is not physically able we do have alternative routes). Waterproof shoes or boots would be recommended on this tour as some stream crossings and hiking areas could get your feet pretty wet. The scenic views are amazing on this private property are totally worth your time. High Rock and Cool Rock are private and not open to public. All tours are guided and we practice “leave no trace” to ensure these properties are pristine and lightly used. We will have these tours listed to soon and ready to reserve. Experience Wildflowers and Waterfalls in Cool Rock Valley this Spring! Only available through Hocking Hills Ecotours and High Rock Adventures!
Have you ever thought about Rock Climbing or Rappelling, or Bouldering, or Spelunking? Want to try a little of everything, and do it in Ohio’s Hocking Hills? We’ve got the tour for you! Yes we offer full blown Rock Climbing and Rappelling and they are amazing, but this unique tour, our High Rock Challenge lets you try several of these on a smaller and very cool scale.
Larger groups and families love this tour because it moves quickly, there is not much down time at all. You are either hiking, doing a boulder style climb, going down a rope rappelling style, crawling through rock crevices, caves, and rock squeezes, climbing through cracks, and just having a ton of fun all while taking in some of the most spectacular scenery Ohio has to offer.
We practice “leave no trace” on all of tours so there are many rocks we just appreciate for their beauty. Several are covered in moss, ferns, lichen, and look ancient, because they are. The Rocks we do use for Climbing, Rappelling, and our Rock Challenges, are our harder sandstone and they have very little green on them, which makes them much easier to navigate.
During the Rock Challenge you will be up on top of few our cliffs with outstanding views and at other times you will be underground (not far) but definitely under and between rocks, massive ones. We also will point out a few plants and trees along the way because we like to include some nature education in all we do. This Rock Adventure includes a few timed challenges if your group or family wants to compete against each other for added fun.
What ages can participate? Kids 6-70+ Anyone can opt out of a challenge they feel pushes them too far beyond their comfort zone. There are at least 10 different challenges and your guide(s) will assist in all of them with pointers to make them easier or ways to increase the skill level on some should you wish. This tour is offered three times a day in the summer and is one of two we can typically do year-round. So if fun is what you are looking for, we’ve got your covered. Rock On!
At High Rock Adventures/Hocking Hills Ecotours besides making sure our guests have a fun and exciting tour, we really want our guests to learn a few things about the beautiful ecosystem around them. It’s not a boring lecture or just facts, we try to connect our guest with the surrounding nature. On most of our Eco-Adventures our guests may be exposed to about 5 or 6 plants, trees, rocks, minerals, etc. in addition to Rappelling, Rock Climbing, or taking a Rock Challenge. On our Ecotours such as the Natural High EcoTour or our New Edible and Medicinal Forest EcoTour the nature around you will be the focus of your tour. We will taste, smell, and/or observe dozens of plants and trees, discuss regional history, geology, local animals, insects, amphibians, and more.
All of our tours are guided and unless you come with a large family group or group that has to stay together, your group size will be small, typically 10 or less. Some tours we need to split into even smaller groups. The ecosystem at High Rock is pristine and fragile in some areas; where other areas, like on our climbing and rappelling rocks, it is well – solid and sturdy. As you tour, we will explain why some of areas of High Rock are just for pictures and viewing; while others are hands-on, and knees-on, and feet, and many other parts of your body if you are in a tight squeeze, for example.
In all we do, we practice leave no trace ethics. We sometimes alter trails around fallen trees so they can decompose naturally. We purposely choose to build trails on old deer trails because they are already there and used by our forest friends. Our trails are narrow and follow contours of the land so they don’t really stand out or cause much erosion. In pictures you hardly notice a trail is there. As a matter of a fact, adventurers to High Rock always want picture of the beautiful rock formations and surrounding forest, typically with them in it. We believe our forest should look as beautiful as it did when we first found it and it really does. As an ecotour company High Rock does many things behind the scenes to keep our forest ecosystem protected. Expect on every tour that we will share some of the things you can do on your tour to help us. When you take and Eco Adventure or Ecotour with us expect to learn new things, see some things from a different perspective, and of course have fun while doing it.
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We had a great workshop this spring. Everyone hiked, took notes, learned a lot, tasted several natural edibles in the woods, tried teas brewed from raspberry bush, sassafras and nettle, as well as Spice Bush chai tea. We also got to enjoy nettle and leek pesto and lemon nettle cupcakes. Everyone went home with a workbook, loads of information and a resource list so they can keep learning. We’re looking at dates for a second workshop as well as considering a follow-up workshop to this one. Stayed tuned for future classes and sign up early for the next one!
