Cave Canyon  & the Appalachian Forest Museum

Where the Forest tells its story
amidst cliffs, springs & grottos

Visitor Gateway to the
3,000 acre Arc of Appalachia 
preserve system

(previously 7 Caves)

The Cave Canyon preserve lies in the heart of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary,  largest  of the Arc's eleven total preserves. Cave Canyon is a wonderful destination for nature enthusiasts, hikers, and families wanting to immerse their children in the beauty of nature. We offer three spectacularly beautiful hiking trails. An Appalachian Forest Museum, featuring the cultural and natural history of our Eastern Forests, is under construction, but temporary exhibits and audiovisuals can still be enjoyed. Situated on the high bluffs of the Rocky Fork Gorge, Cave Canyon is a botanical hotspot for rare plants and lush wildflower displays, as well as a place of outstanding geologic scenery. Cave Canyon is open to the public for hiking during our open season of April through October during the days and hours listed below. Guided tours are also available on most weekends.

Serious Naturalists, for more information on the natural history of the Rocky Fork Gorge, please click here.

If you have previously visited 7 Caves, be sure to click here before planning your trip, as this destination is no longer a cave tourist park.

Click here for the History of 7 Caves and Cave Canyon.

Click here if you wish to stay overnight:   Lodging & Nature Retreats    Area Information for Visitors
    

For one general entrance fee, visitors may enjoy:

Ñ Three breathtakingly beautiful Self Guided Trails
Ñ Appalachian Nature Book Store
Ñ Access to the Cliff Deck, overlooking the Rocky Fork Gorge
Ñ Audiovisual trail orientation on the Eastern Forest

Other options for a small additional fee, June-August, see below for details

Ñ 1850 Frontier Naturalist Living History Hike
 

Trails at Cave Canyon lead into some of the the Eastern Forest's most stunning scenery -- sheer vertical walls of a limestone canyon, towering hemlocks and beech trees, strange and wonderful rock formations, and ancient cedar trees clinging to the rim of the gorge. The region is known for its small caves, 23 in all, which have been returned to darkness and are now being restored as  habitat for native bats and other cave dwellers. Although visitors will be able to walk past the entrance of their dark mouths, cave exploration is not included among our offerings.

The Three Self Guided Trails are as follows.

All trails are narrow, but are relatively level except for a few flights of stone stairs. Unless you have knee or hip problems, you should be able to navigate them. Sorry, pets are not allowed in the preserve.

 

Valley of the Ancients -- a rock-lined trail curves down to the Rocky Fork Creek, winding through the bottom of a 100 foot high vertical dolomite gorge. Walk beneath towering hemlocks and rare white cedar trees of great antiquity, viewing the art of breathtaking panoramas sculpted from the elements of rock and water. .25 mile loop 

Etawah Woods Loop Trail -- This trail offers a breathtaking trek along the rim of the Rocky Fork Gorge, with beautiful views of the canyon floor.  Mid-way is a spur that takes you down a long flight of stairs into the canyon, below giant hemlocks, and eventually right up to the water, where one can enjoy the famous geologic feature known as the three sisters – three giant slumpblocks mid-stream. .33 mile loop

Big Beech Loop Trail -- See the forest through the eyes of a frontier naturalist while walking through an authentic old-growth Beech Forest.  Walk by ancient towering Tulip Poplars and massive Beech trees –  such a rare experience in modern Ohio! This is not just a forest of old trees, but an intact ecosystem and forest community. .25 mile loop

 

 

ALSO AVAILABLE:

A Living History Tour circa 1850 into Cave Canyon,  led  by William Sullivant, Frontier Naturalist,  son of the Founder of Columbus, and discover of Sullivantia sullivantia, one of Cave Canyon's rarest flowers.  The theatre engages the imagination of children while the environmental message of the script is a moving and  thoughtful experience for adults. Highly recommended tour.

Eco-Theatrical Hike is offered Saturday and Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends at 11:30 am and 2:00 pm. and on autumn weekends as demand and staff allow. Take a walk with Ohio frontier naturalist, William Sullivant, as together you explore and record the rich natural history of lush Cave Canyon.  Travel to the mid-1800's when the memory of the unbroken Eastern wilderness was still alive, and fragments of the ancient forest remained. The hike leads you on the Cave Canyon Trail, available only with a guide, featuring springs, sinkholes, cave entrances in a verdant steep-walled canyon -- a fairy-land of geologic beauty and rare botanicals.   Because caves are one of Ohio’s rarest and most disturbed of all of its native ecosystems, participants will  not actively explore the caves. Hikers will, however, walk by their cool, dark entrances, and walk partway into one of them so that visitors can experience the feeling of darkness, mystery, and coolness, as well as learn about their potential as refugiums for new bat populations.  The trail is about 1/4 mile long, and guided hikes generally take about an hour.

More on William Sullivant’s Ecotheatre Hike. A living history 19^th Century  Ohio botanist William Sullivant, takes you on the Cave Canyon trail  to share with you an exciting honor he has recently received. The year is 1853. The famous and prestigious international botanist, Asa Gray, and his botanical colleagues in New York State, have just named William’s newest plant discovery --  found right here in Cave Canyon  -- after William’s surname. The wildflower, now called Sullivantia sullivantia, is a very  rare saxifrage that has previously been unknown to science, and is found in only a few places in the world. William, son of the founder of Columbus, is a wealthy banker and capitalist who has devoted his study to natural history. His father was the surveyor of Columbus as well as much of Kentucky and Ohio’s land base. William’s dialogue on this hike is a compelling treatise from a highly educated man who is skilled in natural lore and finds in his heart the beginning seeds of American conservation. His father once walked among old-growth trees and the Native Americans. Now, William Sullivant must place a foot in two worlds – a rapidly diminishing wilderness and the domesticated world that financially supports his outdoor studies. You will find this  program thought provoking and compelling, as you are drawn into the theatre yourself as one of William’s circle of invited friends and supporters. This theatre of this program is loved by children, and the content is stimulating and provocative for adults.

directions

General Entry Fee
Includes Museum facilities, orientation slide presentation, and three trails available for hiking on one's own
$10.00 adults, $5.00 for children 15 and under (3 and under FREE)
Parents Please Note: Trails are too uneven for strollers. Please bring carriers.
Sorry, pets are not permitted.
 

Optional Additional Guided Hike  --Frontier Naturalist Eco-theatre Tour
$5.00 adults, $3.00 youth

100% OF YOUR ENTRANCE FEE SUPPORTS THE EDUCATION AND LAND PRESERVATION EFFORTS OF OUR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. For more information on the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, please click here.

Children and private groups of 12 or over, please contact us for special arrangements by calling 937-365-1935.
Because Cave Canyon is a protected ecosystem with dangerous cliffs and heights, children must be accompanied by parents or guardians.

Please see schedule below for hours.
Help us protect this delicate natural area by not visiting other than during published times.

Days of Operation, 2008

Summer: Open every day but Wednesday June 1st through August 31st
see hours below

Holidays: Open Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day

Spring & Fall: Open Saturday and Sunday from April 5th to October 26th

Doors open to arrivals 10:30am - 4:00 pm, facility closes at 5:00 pm.

There are no food concessions--please bring water and packed lunches.
Picnic tables available to guests, please pack out all trash and separate out recyclables
Please inquire about compost for food scraps.

For more information, please call our general information line at 937-365-1935 or click on the links below.