Author: poeaxtry_

Some hikes are not about mileage… they are about stepping into a frozen moment.

On a cold winter morning at Hemlock Falls between Malabar Farms and Mohican we found the perfect frozen moment. Luna and I explored a lesser-known waterfall tucked into sandstone ledges and forest. What All trails and trail signs claimed was a quick 0.3-mile trail turned into 1.4 miles (2.25 km). A waterfall stop transformed into a long walk along creekside trails. Quiet winter corridors where snow recorded every footprint before ours.

What to Expect

The terrain follows the familiar Ohio ledges and gorge formations, where layered sandstone cliffs frame narrow streams and waterfalls. Trails are well-marked, with bridges, boardwalk segments, and conservation signage asking hikers to stay on trail to protect native plants.

Today, winter changed everything.

Both waterfalls were frozen into towering sheets of ice. The stream still audibly flowing beneath the surface of the second fall as we stood at its base. The first cascade dropped over the ledge beside a small viewing bridge, forming thick icicles along the rock face. Standing near a frozen waterfall that you can hear moving underneath you is something photographs will never fully capture.

We encountered no other hikers, only the quiet of snow, rock walls, and the steady sound of water moving under ice.

Trail Notes

• Distance explored: ~1.4 miles (2.25 km) plus
• Marked waterfall trail listed at ~0.3 miles (0.48 km)
• Terrain: rocky gorge trails, bridges, short boardwalk sections, creek crossings
• Accessibility: Not ADA accessible
• Difficulty: Easy in dry conditions, moderate in snow or ice
• Facilities: No restrooms, no trash cans
• Parking: Small gravel lot, limited winter maintenance
• Conservation: Stay-on-trail enforcement to protect plant habitats

Ohio’s sandstone gorge regions formed through long-term erosion of sedimentary rock layers, creating the ledges, small caves, and waterfalls. These features are common throughout central and eastern parts of the state.

Why Some Locations Stay Quiet

Certain natural areas remain intentionally low-profile, especially smaller preserves without infrastructure, staffing, or waste services. Keeping traffic manageable helps prevent erosion damage, plant loss, and litter buildup in fragile gorge ecosystems. If you’re looking for the exact location, feel free to ask privately. Always follow Leave No Trace practices when visiting.

This year we’re working toward visiting every Ohio state park and preserve. As well as art sites, and outdoor landmarks, and hidden gems. I’ll be documenting the journey one trail at a time. Some places are well known. Others are small, quiet, and almost secret.

Sometimes those are the ones that stay with you the longest.

This location features multiple waterfalls. The preserve sits along sandstone cliff formations carved by ancient glacial runoff, a landscape that has shaped the Mohican River valley for thousands of years.

The area is quiet and lightly trafficked, making it ideal for those seeking solitude rather than crowded scenic stops.

Bonus Stop on This Route

If you continue the drive back toward Licking County, Honey Run Falls in Knox County makes an easy additional stop. The roadside waterfall drops roughly 25 feet beside a short walking path, making it one of Ohio’s quickest waterfall visits.

Why This Stop Is Worth It

Ohio hides countless micro-adventures, places that do not require a full-day hike but still deliver dramatic scenery. This waterfall stop is one of those locations where towering cliffs, groves, and rushing water converge within a short walking distance from the trailhead.

It is an ideal quick scenic stop when exploring the Mohican and Malabar Farm region, especially for photographers, waterfall collectors, and travelers documenting Ohio’s natural hidden gems.

Accessibility Notes

This trail is not ADA accessible due to uneven terrain, rock crossings, and elevation changes near the gorge. Winter ice can significantly increase difficulty.

A Solo Winter Morning at Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve

In the morning on January 22nd, I left around 10am to hike Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve in Licking County, Ohio. I returned home after 4pm after a full day of cliffs, ledges, history, and unexpected ice underfoot. This preserve is a roughly 957-acre park in Ohio dedicated to protecting the Black Hand sandstone gorge carved by the Licking River. The gorge is rich in geological narrative and human history. 

Blackhand Trail and Quarry Rim Loop: Ice, Ledges, and Views

I began on the Blackhand Trail, the main paved corridor in the preserve. This trail follows old rail grades and river views. Beloved for its more than 4 miles of paved path through narrow gorge walls and rock outcrops that showcase Black Hand sandstone.

The morning winter air was crisp, but the issue came in the form of an unsalted blacktop. The paved trail was covered in black ice, invisible in patches and treacherous underfoot. I moved slowly, croc junipers skidding, awareness high. The river whispering beside me as cliffs loomed straight up from the trail. Visibility was bright, but traction was minimal, a reminder that winter hikes require respect even on flat, paved miles.

The Quarry Rim Loop connected to this route, passing overlooks above old sandstone quarry sites. Here stone was once mined for local industry and left behind as scattered cliffside pockets. These ledges and cliff views are part of what Ohio brags about in natural aspects at least. These dramatic rock faces that make winter light and shadow feel cinematic as the sun sits low in January. 

Together the Blackhand Trail and Quarry Rim Loop carved a narrative of stone and river that felt good under winter skies. Even if each step on the paved trail required calculation and care.

Historical Echoes on Canal Lock Trail

After the main loop, I finished the day on the Canal Lock Trail. A short off-shoot that brings you to Lock No. 16 from the Ohio & Erie Canal era. This remnant of 19th-century engineering stands as a block of weathered sandstone surrounded by leafless woods. A quiet monument to the time when canal boats and towpaths linked Ohio’s growing towns. 

Beyond the lock, the trail skirts through an old train tunnel. A rock-blasted passage used in the early 1900s by interurban railcars and linked to Newark and Granville rail service. The tunnel sits still and cool. Its stone walls shaped by industry, reminding you that this preserve holds as much human history as natural history. 

These features, canal lock remains and an abandoned tunnel, give the trail a multi-layered story. Pulling you between river, rock, and the passage of time.

Winter’s Challenges and Worthwhile Views

Walking solo in winter has its hazards and its rewards. The Blackhand Trail’s paved corridor was closed in parts for construction through 2025.

The Black Hand sandstone cliffs named for a prehistoric petroglyph lost to canal blasting in the 1800s, rise steep and unyielding above the Licking River. Today you can still read the layers of stone and river action in every ledge and bend. In winter, without leaves, the gorge’s angles and depths stand out in sharp relief. 

Canal history, interurban tunnel remnants, old quarry outcrops, and riverside views all layer together into a preserve that feels alive with stories. These stories can be heard when the trail is quiet and the light is cold.

Why Blackhand Gorge Deserves Winter Days Like This

Blackhand Gorge is both geological wonder and historical capsule. Its narrow east-west gorge, carved over millennia by the Licking River. It was a Native American corridor, named for a hand-shaped rock carving noticed by early settlers. Later transformed by canal and railroad builders. 

Today, amid mixed hardwoods and spring wildflowers in warmer months, the gorge attracts hikers, bikers, and history lovers alike. In winter, it becomes a quiet classroom of stone and cold air.

Trail Tips for Winter Explorers

Prepare for black ice on paved paths in winter. Winter boots or traction devices can save your otherwise ruined day trip. Stay aware of trail closures or construction updates before heading out. Bring layers. Gorges can hold cold air long after the low sun rises. Plan time, winter light fades early, and even short sections take longer on icy ground.

Blackhand Gorge was a solo day, a morning out that turned into a full afternoon return. I met the ice, river, stone, and the whispers of history in old canal locks and tunnels. There’s a rawness in winter hiking that feels honest. A preserve like this, carved by time and human hands both, deserves days spent learning its angles.

Share this with someone you want to explore Black Hand Gorge with. Tell me in the comments your favorite Black Hand Gorge trail or the feature you enjoy the most when visiting.

All Poeaxtry Links Piatt Gorge

My Afternoon at Morris Woods State Nature Preserve

In the afternoon of January 23, after returning from my Hocking Hills winter hikes, I made my way to Morris Woods State Nature Preserve in Licking County, Ohio. This was just perfect for a short solitary walk. This preserve, about 107 acres of mature beech‑maple forest, wetlands, and a small lake, was a perfect slow‑paced follow‑up to big gorge trails. A nice breath of quiet nature before heading home. 

The area is managed by the Licking Park District and owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Morris Woods is marked by easy natural surface trails weaving through forest, wetland, and along stands of trees that feel almost ancient in winter stillness. 

Homestead to Albert’s Pond Trail: Short, Serene, and Snow‑Laced

I chose the Homestead to Albert’s Pond Trail, a little over half a mile loop that stitches together forest paths, small ponds, bridge walkways, and plenty of quiet space to notice nature up close. While the trail is short, it’s rich in moments: wide, easy‑going terrain, boardwalk sections crossing wetter ground, and the little water of Albert’s Pond frozen and surrounded by leaf‑bare branches. 

The snow underfoot held prints from deer, squirrel, and smaller creatures, turning the woods into a living page of tracks and tales. Here and there, snow‑covered trees dipped low, the bare boughs forming tunnels of quiet shade and soft echoes. The trail itself loops gently back toward the trailhead, making this a perfect winter afternoon walk when shorter daylight and cool air demand restful pace. 

What Makes Morris Woods Unique in Licking County

Morris Woods feels different from big trailed preserves. Its boardwalk sections over wetland areas, pockets of open water, and surrounding beech‑maple forest create habitats for birds and wildlife throughout the seasons. Ducks, frogs in warmer months, squirrels, and various songbirds are regulars and in winter, their tracks and calls make every moment feel like a lesson in attentive observation. 

Because this is a State Nature Preserve, rules are clear: visitors stay on marked trail, no pets are allowed, and the focus is on passive recreation, nature observation, and quiet respect for habitat. 

Trail Conditions, Scenery, and Winter Reflection

On this winter day, the light was gentle and low, shading the forest floor with long shadows. The snow offered a blanket of quiet, muting distant sounds and letting every crack of a twig or footstep feel more intimate. The pond, frozen, reflected winter sky like a small mirror, and the wooden bridges crossing wetter sections made me think of how careful design and nature can coexist without disturbance. 

Wildflowers and bird species make this preserve worthy of return in spring and summer, but January gave its own rewards. Animal prints in snow, bright cold air, and a walk that felt like a soft invitation to pay attention. 

Trail Tips for Morris Woods Visitors

Easy to moderate terrain makes this perfect for short winter walks or quick morning excursions.  Boardwalks and natural surface trails can be slippery in wet or snowy conditions so traction matters. Again pets aren’t permitted within this nature preserve, plan accordingly. 

The Last Licking County Preserve

Morris Woods wasn’t about waterfalls or cliff edges. It was about stillness and winter whispers, about snow tracks that tell stories and ponds that hold cold light like a secret. It was a short trail, but it was enough. Granting me a breath in the woods. A quiet reminder of the simple power of nature close to where we live.

Let me know your favorite nature preserve in the comments. What do you like about it? Share with someone you enjoy going to nature preserves with!

Discover all Poeaxtry Links. Glenford Preserve Fossil Park

A Late Afternoon Walk Around Buckeye Lake with Luna

After a day of winter hikes on January 23, I picked up Luna and headed to the Buckeye Lake Dam Bike Trail. This is a scenic paved loop beside Buckeye Lake in central Ohio. The trail follows the top of the Buckeye Lake Dam and shoreline path. It offers panoramic views of the reservoir and winter skies on a quiet Friday stroll. 

Buckeye Lake, was created in the early 19th century as the Licking Summit Reservoir. Built to support the Ohio and Erie Canal. It sits in Fairfield, Licking, and Perry counties. Today it is known as both a historic waterway and a recreational lake.

The Buckeye Lake Dam Bike Trail Experience

The Buckeye Lake Dam Bike Trail is about 4.1 miles long, paved, and designed for both walkers and cyclists. On this winter afternoon, Luna and I walked about 1/4th of it. I spent my time here appreciating the cold, crisp air and the skyline view of the lake.

You can glimpse water stretching wide, bordered by lakeside homes and wetlands that draw local wildlife, even in winter’s quiet. 

Winter Ice, Open Water, and Why That Matters

On this January walk we saw large stretches of unfrozen water near the shoreline and docks. Many lakes in Ohio, including Buckeye Lake, have yearly reports of unsafe ice conditions leading to rescue calls and hypothermia risk. At times when ice isn’t fully formed people or pets have fallen through thin ice. 

Local authorities monitor ice thickness for ice fishing and boating safety. Though, conditions can change quickly, always check current ice thickness advisories before venturing out. 

Trail Vibe with Luna: Quiet Water, Wind, and Tracks

Walking the trail with Luna was peaceful. The wind on the lake’s surface moved cold ripples rather than creating it’s normal waves. The paved path beneath our feet was cleared of snow and ice. However, the low winter sun cast long shadows over the trail’s curves and lake edges. Open water makes for dramatic sky reflections and unexpected wildlife sightings. Winter brings its own kind of life to cold days. 

Luna pulled at the occasional scent, alert to waterfowl. a distant train whistle echoed along the shorelines near Buckeye Lake Village. This mix of trail, water, open space, and quiet winter light made for a satisfying end‑of‑day walk.

Why Winter Safety Matters at the Lake

While reservoirs are beautiful in winter, they demand caution.

Ice conditions vary with depth, flow, and temperature. Thin ice can’t support weight and can collapse suddenly.  Hypothermia risk is high when cold water hits exposed skin. Knowing ice and lake safety matters to the risks you take when navigating nature in the winter.

Even on trails, winds from open water can turn cold quickly, making layered clothing, good boots, and awareness essential.

The Buckeye Lake Dam Bike Trail walk with Luna wasn’t about distance, it was about stillness and attention. The open water in the cold and the quiet knowledge that winter beauty must always be met with respect. Buckeye Lake holds history in its water and shoreline, and in winter it reminds you that water can be both mirror and mystery.

Have you been to Buckeye Lake in the winter? What local lake do you often visit in the winter? What do you enjoy most about winter lake walks? Tell me all about your winter wonders in the comments and share with someone else who loves winter walking.

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