Red Rock Bluffs
Red Rock Bluffs is an undeveloped, entirely forested tract of land located one mile east of Old Man’s Cave and 1.25 miles south of Conkle’s Hollow. It is 40 acres in size and spans both sides of OH-664. Hocking State Forest surrounds the land on three sides. The land is high in elevation and drains into an impressive number of steep, v-shaped ravines that descend rapidly to their confluence with Queer Creek. For such a small tract of land, it is remarkably situated to not only protect significantly beautiful land features on the property, but also to protect the water quality of the four pristine streams that drain the property. Each ravine is bordered by beautiful sandstone rock features.
Unlike other Arc projects where trail installation has been part of the site’s master plan, Red Rock Bluffs will be kept undeveloped in order to fully preserve the sensitive terrain, botanical resources, and natural heritage of the property. The property is accessible through guided hikes sponsored by the Arc of Appalachia and by permit, upon request.
Photos by Tom Croce Photography.
This project was assisted with Clean Ohio grant funding.
Natural History. The entire Red Rock Hollow region is a premiere example of a relatively healthy, intact Appalachian forest ecosystem. Red Rock Bluffs itself has a number of intact ecosystems which collectively support a rich understory flora, including Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia), Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana), Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), Wake-Robin (Trillium erectum), Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Lily Leaved Twayblade Orchid (Liparis liliifolia), Downy Rattlesnake Orchid (Goodyera pubescens), Pink Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium acaule), and a large number of mushroom, fern and lichen species.
The four ravines at Red Rock Bluffs, as well as most of the hillsides on the northern half of the property are covered with nearly pure hemlock forests, bearing trees of respectable age and girth for the region spanning ages ranging from 40-100 years. Also represented on the tract are hemlock-hardwood forests, oak-hickory mixed forests, and a young succession forest (with sassafras, locusts, young oaks) showing remnants of open fields.
A breeding bird survey in 2018 confirmed the presence of Magnolia Warbler and Hermit thrush, two bird species listed as special interest in the Ohio Natural Heritage Database. Both bird species were commonly heard by song by other observers this spring in the hemlock-clad hillsides of Red Rock Bluffs. Being birds associated with the northern forests of North America, the presence of both species is closely associated, if not dependent upon, the hemlock-forests and hemlock-hardwood forests that prevail on this site.
Also significant in the early summer bird inventory was the confirmed presence four deep forest bird species at Red Rock Bluffs, all of which are associated with large unbroken tracts in the mid-latitude states of Eastern North America: the Black and White Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Ovenbird, and Worm-eating Warbler. These four species, along with Cerulean Warblers and Kentucky Warblers, are the signature species for the few large, healthy, unfragmented forests that still remain in the interior forests of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Having four out of the six deep forest species at Red Rock Bluffs demonstrates the fact that this tract is not an isolated impaired woodlands but is a very healthy forest contiguous with the large state-protected forests and parks of the region.
An important piece in the conservation puzzle. Red Rock Bluffs lies just 1.3 miles south of Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve and one mile west of Old Man’s Cave/Hocking Hills State Park. The 40 acre tract is surrounded on three sides by Hocking State Forest. Red Rock Bluffs is also located directly west of a remarkable geological feature, much of which is protected by Hocking State Forest known as Red Rock Hollow.
Red Rock Bluffs contributes substantial and additional protection to the conservation work accomplished by state and non-profit agencies on the Queer Creek tributary in the Salt Creek Watershed. Major conservation landholders in the Salt Creek Watershed include the 2300-acre Hocking Hills State Park, the 9600-acre Hocking State Forest, which is contiguous with the site, the 2524-acre Richland Furnace State Forest, the 700-acre Camp Oty’okwa, and significant acreage owned by Crane Hollow, a privately managed nature preserve.
Preserve history: Red Rock Bluffs is rich in cultural history, as well as natural history, capturing an era during which many biologists and geologists at OSU, as well as successful Columbus businessmen and their families, were creating their own private retreats – their personal Edens - in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio. Here they could explore nature with abandon, escape the city, and renew their souls. Clear Creek Metro Park is the modern legacy of two such private retreats. In the 1940’s, Red Rock Bluffs was purchased by Carl Venard, an entomologist professor at Ohio State University. In his later years, Carl donated the property’s historic log cabin to Camp Oty’Okwa where it still stands, now fully restored.