Technically it's Vinton County. Twenty minutes south. Half the crowds, three times the wilderness, and one of the only legitimately haunted places in Ohio.
Everyone visits Old Man's Cave on their first Hocking Hills trip. Many visit Ash Cave and Cedar Falls by the second. A smaller share find their way to Cantwell Cliffs and Rock House. Almost no one, on a first or second trip, makes it 20 minutes south into Vinton County to Lake Hope and the surrounding Zaleski State Forest.
That's the mistake. Lake Hope is arguably the single best natural area in the broader Hocking region, and it's the most likely corner of the trip to deliver the experience most travelers came looking for — uncrowded trails, genuine wilderness, and the kind of deep-forest quiet that Old Man's Cave on a Saturday will never provide.
This is the case for building a trip around Lake Hope instead of around the main state park.
Three reasons. First, it's technically in Vinton County, not Hocking — so every "Hocking Hills guide" skips it or treats it as an afterthought. Second, it doesn't have a famous waterfall or a 90-foot cave — the draws are more subtle. Third, it's harder to get to. Twenty extra minutes doesn't sound like much, but for first-time visitors who've driven 90 minutes from Columbus to reach Old Man's Cave, the extra leg feels excessive.
For repeat visitors, those same three factors are features. Less famous means less crowded. Subtle landscape means more rewarding to explore. Extra distance means the only people who made the effort actually wanted to be there.
Lake Hope State Park covers 2,983 acres entirely within the 28,000-acre Zaleski State Forest — meaning the park is functionally surrounded by ten times its own area in protected forest. The landscape is steep, heavily wooded, and dominated by mature hardwoods (oak and hickory, with mixed beech and maple). Elevation ranges up to about 1,100 feet — higher than most of Hocking County.
At the park's center is Lake Hope itself: a 120-acre impoundment on Big Sandy Run, named for the 19th-century mining village of Hope that sat on the same site before being flooded out. Hope is still down there — when the reservoir was created in the 1930s, the village was abandoned and flooded up to a cliff face that now serves as the swimming beach.
Lake Hope's human history is unusually rich for an Ohio state park, and it shapes the entire experience of being there.
In the mid-19th century, this area was one of Ohio's major iron-producing regions. The surrounding hills contained iron ore in their sandstone bedrock, and the density of hardwood forest provided charcoal to fuel smelting. At the peak of production, Ohio was one of the nation's leading iron producers, and the Hope Furnace at Lake Hope was one of the operations driving that output.
The Hope Furnace still stands in the park, interpreted with signage. Charcoal was fed into the top of the stone furnace, iron ore was added, and the smelted iron was drawn off the bottom. The process ran 24 hours a day for months at a time, requiring enormous quantities of wood — one of the reasons the surrounding forest was completely clearcut during this era. The forest you see today is entirely second-growth, recovered after the iron industry collapsed in the late 1800s.
Notable detail: iron from the Hope Furnace was used to produce ammunition and cannon for the Union Army during the Civil War. The region's industrial output directly contributed to the Union war effort.
Hope, the village that Lake Hope buried, was a company town housing the workers who fed the furnace and mined the surrounding hills. The original Hope one-room schoolhouse still stands in the state forest (not underwater — it was above the reservoir's flood line) and has been renovated for use as a community meeting space.
Part of the Zaleski Mound Group, a collection of prehistoric Adena-culture ceremonial mounds, is located within the state forest. The Adena flourished in what is now southern Ohio roughly 2,500 years ago. Mounds are marked but not dramatically publicized — part of the park's subtle character.
A few miles from Lake Hope, along the Moonville Rail-Trail, sits the Moonville Tunnel — a 19th-century railroad tunnel that's widely considered one of the most genuinely haunted places in Ohio. The ghost stories are legitimate Appalachian folklore, predating modern ghost tourism, and the tunnel itself is atmospheric enough that skeptics often leave rattled.
The tunnel was part of the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad line that served the iron industry. Moonville was another company town, long abandoned. The trail to the tunnel is free, publicly accessible, and doglit at dusk becomes one of the more legitimately eerie walks in Ohio. Hit it at sunset.
Hiking. Eight official hiking trails within the state park itself, plus the 21-mile backpack loop through the surrounding state forest. The trails are more rugged than most Hocking Hills State Park trails — steeper, less maintained, fewer trail markers. If you want genuine backcountry feel without leaving Ohio, this is where it exists.
Boating. Electric-motor-only on the 120-acre lake. Boat rentals in season — pontoons, canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards. The lack of gasoline motors keeps the lake quiet in a way Lake Logan and larger Ohio reservoirs aren't.
Fishing. Largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie. A valid Ohio fishing license is required. Hunting is permitted in the adjacent state forest (with Ohio Division of Wildlife rules) but not in the park.
Mountain biking. Eight mountain biking trails within the park. The Zaleski trail system is widely regarded as one of the better intermediate mountain bike destinations in Ohio.
Horseback riding. 31+ miles of bridle trails through the state forest. Bring your own horse — no rentals.
Swimming. 600-foot swimming beach near the dam in summer months.
Dogs welcome on trails. Lake Hope is pet-friendly — the entire park and state forest system allows leashed dogs.
Two main options:
Lake Hope State Park's own cabins. 25 Standard Cabins sleeping five, 21 Iron Furnace Legacy Cabins sleeping four (with wood-burning fireplaces), and 20 Forest Legacy Cabins sleeping four to eight. All include air conditioning, heat, full kitchens, bathrooms, and living rooms. A few of each type are pet-friendly. Book directly through the Ohio State Parks reservation system.
Private rentals in the surrounding area. Smaller cluster than in the main Hocking Hills park, but growing. Tend toward smaller cabins and off-grid properties rather than the dome-and-treehouse boom that's taken hold around South Bloomingville. Browse the Lake Hope area page for current inventory.
Day trip from main Hocking Hills. If you're staying in South Bloomingville or Laurelville, Lake Hope is a legitimate day-trip destination. 20-30 minute drive south. Plan to spend 4-6 hours. Hit the Hope Furnace, the Moonville Tunnel at dusk, and at least one significant hike.
Second trip / multi-day base. For repeat Hocking Hills visitors who've exhausted the main state park, basing a three-to-four-night trip at Lake Hope is a legitimate standalone vacation. Less intensely scenic than the Hocking Hills gorges but more varied and more genuinely wild.
Quiet-weekend base. If your travel companion or you specifically want to avoid crowds, Lake Hope is the move. Even on a summer Saturday, the trails are a fraction of what Old Man's Cave sees.
Lake Hope will not deliver the drama of Old Man's Cave's gorges or Ash Cave's scale. Nothing here is as photographically iconic as Hocking Hills' flagship trails. If it's your first visit to the region, start with the main park.
But for travelers who've been there, or for travelers who care more about the feeling of being somewhere remote than about bagging the iconic photos, Lake Hope delivers something the main park can't. Cell service fails. Trails feel genuinely unmaintained. The forest closes in. The ghost stories feel real. You're 90 minutes from Columbus and you might as well be two hours further away.
It's the best corner of the region. Go.