This year marked my 30th birthday and I refused to let COVID prevent me from celebrating in some way. Even so, my original plans to travel somewhere tropical did not seem feasible given the climate of the pandemic. The ball started rolling in terms of finding an alternate plan. Hocking Hills was always popping up on my Facebook and looked beautiful. It was somewhere I was curious about and it did not require a plane ride for most of my friends.
Lodging:
Our cabin was an Airbnb rental that cost a little over $300 for each of eight girls, including my mom for 3 nights. It was absolutely beautiful— a legitimate cabin decked in wooden fixtures. More spacious than expected, there was enough room for everyone to have their own bed. It had a grill, hot tub, fire pit, and 3 fireplaces. Honestly, it was the best part of the trip. We bought groceries at Sam’s Club before entering Logan—so outside of a few planned activities, there was no need to leave. And I was okay with it. It was nice to get away with a group of people I love and to be disconnected from everything else.
Activities:
I was very surprised at how few of my party wanted to participate in the extracurriculars we planned. On the first day after arriving, three of us went horseback riding at The Equestrian Ridge Farm. We took the Four Seasons Trail Ride, which is about an hour long and suggested for beginners. Jackie, the quirky owner, and her employees welcomed us with open arms. To be honest, I was a little surprised by how nice they were (we’ll talk about that later). It took a little time to get acclimated to gesturing for the horse to go or stop. It was my second time riding, but I remembered it being much easier the first. Overall, it was a good experience. My friends had an even better time than I did.
The following day was a bit rainy, but not too much to discourage a little exploration. Our group was definitely a lot less active than most who visit Hocking Hills, so again only three of us set out to hike a single trail to see Old Man’s Cave. This took more work than expected, but the views and exercise were worth it.
On the last day, after packing up our very lived in cabin, there was time for one more activity. My mom went off on her own to get her first ever massage at Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls (which she loved), while the remaining three of us went ziplining at The Original Hocking Hills Canopy Tours. As someone who is actually afraid of heights, this was nerve wracking and exhilarating. I eventually got over my nerves and had A LOT of fun!
Lasting Impression:
I had a great weekend. Good home-cooked food, friends, and fun. BUT and however, there was a huge caveat concerning my experience in Hocking Hills. It was extremely apparent we were Trump country—some areas looked like a scene from the horror movie The Hills Have Eyes and there were Trump signs in almost every yard. This made me very uneasy, despite how nice our interactions with the locals were. I’m light-skinned (as you may have noticed from the images above), but I was traveling with a group of beautiful brown girls. I truly wasn’t sure how our group would be received. Overall, I had a great time, but for this reason, I am very unlikely to go back. I’ll set my sights on similar adventures but in more inclusive feeling areas.