Visiting Big Cola Wetlands

Big Cola Wetlands is located in Rockbridge in Hocking Hills and offers a landscape from ... Accessing the trail at Big Cola Wetlands is by permit only. This system limits the number of people accessing the preserve each day so that the preserve’s unique landscape can be preserved.

How the Permit System Works: A link to the permit application can be found at the bottom of this webpage. If the vehicle limit has not yet been reached on your requested date and you don’t exceed one application per month, your permit will be approved. The emailed permit package will include a two-page hiking guide with preserve regulations, natural history, trail map, directions, and a passcode to the entrance gate. Please note that the gate will be locked upon your arrival. After you open the lock with the password, be sure to shut and lock the gate behind you - both when you enter and when you depart. Please read the following orientation material before applying for a permit. Permit holders violating Arc regulations will be denied future permits and they risk getting their car towed.

Permit Maximum: A maximum of five people are permitted per vehicle, and a total of ten cars are permitted each day. Permits for multiple cars are not permitted, and each applicant may only submit one permit request in any one month. This policy will allow more visitors to witness the preserve’s outstanding beauty, which is our highest goal. Big Cola’s trailhead can only hold six vehicles if cars are parked in an organized manner. Please follow the parking directions provided in your permit packet to ensure that all guests with permits can find a parking space when they arrive. If you wish to bring an organized group too large to apply through this system, please inquire with our office staff on how to proceed. Call 937-365-1935 or write to arcpreserveinfo@gmail.com.

Why does Big Cola Wetlands have limited access? Unfortunately, most of the public lands in Hocking Hills have been heavily damaged by the large numbers of visitors who are attracted to the region’s compelling scenery. It only takes a small percentage of visitors straying off-trail and climbing on the rocks to destroy ferns and mosses that grow quite slowly in such dry, infertile, and harsh conditions. We ask that all visitors respectfully follow the trail regulations provided with your permit. It only takes one person to destroy an ecosystem, so we must work together to preserve Ohio’s natural beauty for future generations.

How far in advance can I apply for a permit? Permit applications run in monthly cycles, and each cycle begins anew on the first of the month. You can only apply for a permit in the current calendar month. If interested in applying for a permit for a future month, please wait for your desired month to arrive to submit your application.

How long do I have to wait to receive my emailed permit? So long as your application is for a date that is still available, and so long as you haven’t exceeded one application in that month, you will receive your permit in just minutes.

Is there a fee for a permit? No, permits are free. However, stewarding our preserves and maintaining 80 miles of public trails is an expensive proposition for our nonprofit, the Arc of Appalachia. Because the Arc is not tax-supported, we are entirely dependent on donations to keep Honeycomb Rocks and our other preserves open to the public. We would greatly appreciate your gift of support.

Arc regulations can be summarized as follows: Remain on trails at all times and walk in single file to protect the bulbs of native wildflowers bordering the trail - bulbs that are very vulnerable to soil compaction. Do not disturb, pick, or collect flowers, plants, rocks, or wildlife. hunting, caving, fishing, trail biking, rock climbing, wading, campfires, and swimming are prohibited. Sorry, dogs are not permitted in this delicate landscape.

Hiking Trail Difficulty – Beaverbrook Trail … is moderately difficult due to the following factors: the landscape’s uneven terrain, a few unimproved creek crossings, the narrow width of the trail, and the landscape’s many short but steep ascents. Honeycomb Trail has been attentively improved with steps, and, whenever the trail traverses the side of a steep hillside, it has been cut against the slope to present a mostly level trail surface to hikers. It is important to stay strictly on the trail. Be sure to keep children carefully supervised and close at hand. Hike at your own risk.

Big Cola Wetlands trail Description: Beaverbrook trail is a one mile loop.

Natural history: Big Cola… is completely forested except for the flat ridgetop, which was previously a farm field and now provides meadow habitat. The preserve is renowned for its showy spring wildflowers which include three species of trilliums, celandine wood poppy, dwarf larkspur, and large colonies of wild leeks. It also boasts a high count of native plant species. The extremely steep banks of the hillside overlooking Paint Creek shelter small stands of hemlocks. On the ridgetop is a shallow pond that some speculate was once a deep reservoir for water constructed by people of the Hopewell Culture. If so, it is now mostly filled with organic debris and shaded by buttonbush, pin oak, and swamp white oak. This little wetlands island is an important spring breeding site for spring peepers, spotted salamanders, and wood frogs.

Preserve history: