Arc Exploration Days
Single Day Guided Hikes & Outings
Informal, Explorative Learning in Community
$1o/person to register
2026 Autumn Calendar
Spruce Hill Earthworks Cultural Hike & Mothing (optional):
Friday, August 21st, 2026
Join Arc Naturalist Elijah Crabtree for a 1.5-mile cultural history hike to the only known Hopewell ceremonial hilltop enclosure ever constructed within the Scioto River Watershed - a region that has become globally renowned for hosting the densest concentration and variety of ancient Hopewell ceremonial sites in all of North America. Spruce Hill may be the most enigmatic of all these sites, with its origins being intensely speculated for two centuries. Following the hike, registrants will have the option to join us for a fun night of mothing inside the hilltop enclosure! Please arrive at the Spruce Hill parking lot by 6:15 pm so we can promptly begin our hike at 6:30 pm. Mothing will officially start at 8:30 pm. This hike is rated as moderate to difficult with a long and continuous 300 ft ascent to the hilltop on a wide access lane.
Guided Winter Hike at Ash Cave Eastern Reserve
Saturday, November 21st, 2026
We are excited to offer our very first official guided hike through the Arc’s Ash Cave Eastern Reserve in Hocking County, a gorgeous property that buffers the eastern boundaries of the iconic Ash Cave within the Hocking Hills State Park. This site was acquired several years ago through an emergency donor campaign, and has been set aside under the perpetuity of Arc protections ever since. Due to limited funds focused strictly toward acquisition, public access has not been developed. Nevertheless, we are anxious to offer opportunities for people to experience Ash Cave Eastern Reserve. This1.5-mile guided hike will be entirely off-trail. For this reason, this hike is rated as difficult. Please arrive at the state park’s Ash Cave Main Parking Lot & Trailhead by 9:45 am so we can promptly begin our hike at 10:00 am. Photo by Kathryn Cubert
Autumn Kamama Prairie Hike
Saturday, September 12th, 2026
Have you ever experienced the ancient prairies of Adams County? This is a wonderful opportunity to witness the best remaining prairie relic under Arc protections, Kamama Prairie, a 192 acre preserve that stands out amongst the rest with its incomparable biodiversity, harboring more rare & endangered flora and fauna than any other Arc preserve across the state. Join us on this 2.5 mile hike through the preserve’s stunning prairie landscapes and surrounding woodlands. Please arrive at the Kamama Prairie Preserve’s main parking lot trailhead by 9:45 am so we can promptly begin our hike at 10:00 am. This hike is rated as moderate, with relatively gentle rolling landscapes, and very limited sections of rocky inclines/declines and a creek crossing that can present as a slip hazard. Photo by Jeff White.
Honeycomb Rocks Guided Winter Hike
Saturday, December 12th 2026
Come experience one of our most scenic areas in the heart of winter at Honeycomb Rocks Preserve - a 281-acre quintessential Hocking Hills landscape with towering rock features made of the famous Blackhand Sandstone. If this weren’t enough, the deep hollows within are sheltered under some of the most miraculous Hemlock-Birch-Oak forests, all of which are impressively advanced in their age. Join us on this 2-mile hike along the Honeycomb Rocks loop trail and spur to Paradise. This hike is rated as moderate to difficult. Please plan to arrive by 9:45 am so that we can promptly begin our hike at 10:00 am.
