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Hocking Hills offers visitors unique options

Photo Provided Ravenwood Castle merges a medieval castle with luxury bedding and furnishings.

LOGAN, Ohio — While Hocking Hills offers plenty of outdoor adventure for enthusiasts, it also has a unique touch to the area — quirky lodging.

Whether it is a cabin made out of shipping crates, a former caboose turned tiny home, a medieval castle or a yurt, there are plenty of options to choose from for travelers to rest in after their outdoor excursions.

Karen Raymore, executive director of the Hocking Hills Tourism Association said the nature of the area lends itself to creative lodging options. “Hocking Hills has only three national brand hotels. Everything else is unique lodging,” she said. “The recent move toward more creative lodging choices like shipping crates, yurts, tipis, treehouses, etc., is a result of travelers’ desire for unconventional lodging choices. Hocking Hills has more glamping experiences available than most destinations.”

For those travelers who might want luxury options, those are available too, complete with fine dining at Glenlaurel Inn and The Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls, she said. Ravenwood Castle is a medieval castle with luxury bedding and furnished rooms inside. “We also have very luxurious cabins and lodges and caterers who will come to your cabin/lodge and prepare and serve a gourmet dinner,” Raymore said.

The uniqueness of these lodging options can be a draw to the area itself, Raymore said. “I think travelers are looking for authentic and unique experiences and staying in a luxury yurt or shipping containers turned into a cabin or a treehouse is definitely a unique experience without sacrificing the comforts of traditional lodging.”

Photo Provided The Box Hop is made of shipping containers.

This spring, the Hocking Hills area will be ready for outdoor travelers. “Spring is spectacular,” Raymore said. “The waterfalls are extremely active, the forest floor is covered with wildflowers and the most visited parks and attractions are not quite as busy as summer.”

In addition to all that nature has to offer, May 2-4 will also be the second Annual UrbanAir Wake Up Downtown event in historic downtown Logan. “There will be more than 100 iconic Airstream campers lining Main Street with musical entertainment and Airstream tours,” she said.

Summer is the popular season for the area. “All the attractions are open, there are great festivals, the weather is usually fantastic depending on precipitation, the waterfalls are active and it’s a great time for families to vacation in a natural destination,” Raymore said.

The John Glenn Astronomy Park will mark its one-year anniversary of its opening on June 21, the summer solstice, and has special programs in the works. There will also be a special all-day and night program there on July 20 to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Raymore said it is recommended to obtain a free parking reservation for the programs at Astronomy Park, and can be made at jgap.org.

Photo Provided A treehouse is built on stilts in the trees with a bridge.

Photo Provided A Boulder Edge Tipi is shown, one of the many lodging options in Hocking Hills.

Photo Provided A Salt Creek Yurt is one of the unconventional lodging options in the Hocking Hills Area.

Photo Provided For large groups, the Majestic Oaks Lodge is a rental option.

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