No matter how many places I visit in Ohio, I'm always drawn back to the stunning views in Hocking Hills. After three years of intense study in the area and well over 100 separate visits, there's always something interesting to find. For today's state nature preserve, I'm revisiting Boch Hollow...sort of. This portion of the SNP is permit-only, and is a one of the more controversial preserves in the state. Come along with me as I explore the short, yet sweet Robinson Falls.

Once leaving exiting State Route 33 near Logan, Ohio there are two main roads which lead South towards the major sites in Hocking Hills. Along 374, you'll find sites such as Rock House, Cedar Falls, and another fantastic SNP, Conkle's Hollow. The other main drag, 664 will take you past Old Man's Cave, and heading further North to Lake Logan and Boch Hollow. The main entrance for Boch Hollow is marked with an ODNR sign, but the Robinson Falls aka Corkscrew Falls portion only has a tiny marker at the side of 664 (at the time of writing). If you're not looking carefully, even with the proper coordinates it's very easy to miss. Fortunately, this is one of the more blogged-about SNP's, therefore hikers have solid directions.

The tricky thing about Robinson Falls is the property line the water divides. On one side of the water you've got State managed preserve property, and on the other side you've got private property. Over the years photographers and other waterfall chasers have been trekking through private land to get to the elusive Corkscrew Falls, which led ODNR to step in an help both parties. While not as easy as pulling into the paved parking lot at a state park, Robinson Falls can be accessed by applying for a free permit. 

An online search for "Corkscrew Falls Ohio" might give the impression that these are massive flows of water over a towering cliff, but the truth is it's tiny compared to others in Hocking Hills. Once the field of view gets beyond what you'd use for a tightly cropped head-shot, the context of the rest of the landscape takes over the frame. Since the overall hike was fairly short, I was able to bring a wide selection of lenses to play around with my compositions. In the above photograph, I used my Fuji 250mm f/6.7 (~35mm wide angle equivalent) with circular polarizing filter to eliminate some of the glare from the water on the rocks. Increasing my focal length to 600mm with the Nikkor triple convertible (600/800/1200), I was able to get a tight frame on the falls, and utilize the sweeping verticals of the surrounding rock to enhance the scene (see below). 

If you're an Ohio native, please consider checking out the rest of this series, getting out there yourself to explore, or even donating your time or money to preserve these lands for the future. And ff you'd like to check out any of these fantastic SNP's for yourself, remember most of them are free to visit, and usually only an email away from getting permission. 

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next time!