Ash Cave Gorge

Where: Hocking Hills, Ohio
Trail: Ash Cave Gorge
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1/2 mile round trip
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

The Gorge Trail is easy, much of it being paved and wheelchair accessible. There is a small, but tall waterfall that makes for interesting pictures. Ash Cave also has a Rim Trail, but we didn't hike it.

Highbanks Trail to Iargo Springs

Where: Huron National Forest, Oscoda, Michigan
Trail: Highbanks Trail (Canoer's Memorial to Iargo Springs)
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 3.5 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

The Highbanks Trail is 7 miles long (one way). Because I was hiking with an 8-year-old and a small dog, I chose not to hike the entire length. Instead, we hiked from the Canoer's Memorial to Iargo Springs, which is about 1.75 miles one way. Iargo Springs was a good place to stop, rest, and have a snack, before hiking back to the car.

The hike is pretty easy, mostly flat dirt paths. We did wander off the path in a few places to check out the sand dunes.

The most strenuous part of the hike was when we took the 294 steps down to the river at Iargo Springs (and then had to climb back up them). After that, we still had to hike almost 2 miles back to the car at Canoer's Memorial.

Taughannock Falls State Park

Where: Taughannock Falls State Park, New York
Trail: Gorge Trail
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1.5 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

The trail is wide and well-groomed. Because of the short distance to the falls, there were a lot of tourists. The water was low and we ended up walking in the creek-bed--hopping rocks and wading in the water until we got closer to the falls, which made the "hike" a lot more fun than if we'd just stayed on the trail.

Generally, I am all about getting as close to the waterfalls as possible [which is probably why I almost fell off a waterfall once], but in this case, I heeded the warnings and stayed on the right side of the barrier. Rocks are constantly breaking and falling into the pool at the base of the waterfall (sometimes injuring or even killing tourists who decide to get too close). This is one place that I would highly recommend following the rules on.

Robert H Treman State Park

Where: Robert H Treman State Park, New York
Trail: Gorge Trail and Rim Trail
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Distance: 6 miles
Adventure Rating: 4 stars
Pets: Not allowed on Gorge Trail

The hike begins in the forest and there are several places with steep hills. Throughout the hike, there were many times that we had to take breaks due to the steep steps--especially on the Cliff Staircase. There were many opportunities to get close to Enfield Creek and the many small falls. There were also tight squeezes and some rock scrambling.

Lucifer Falls

Enfield Falls