Location: Laurelville, Ohio
Favorite Family Friendly Features: Kid’s Nook | Play Fort | Bunk Room | Patio Swings | Hiking Trails | Hot Tub
Our Quick Take: Tucked in the woods surrounding Ohio’s geological gem Hocking Hills, sits this chic a-frame dubbed the Carpenter’s Cabin. From the outside, it’s simple appearance is deceptive. But once inside, guests are in for a treat. Thoughtfully designed, the first thing you’ll see is a sunken conversation pit. Towering staircases that lead to a hanging circular swing, hooked into the sky-high point of a ceiling.
Clever and cozy interiors will delight mom and dad, but touches throughout are meant for the little ones.
Getting Down to Details:
Bedrooms: Four bedrooms and seven beds sleep up to eight adults, with an open-area twin bed available, too. On the main floor, you’ll find two bedrooms – one outfitted with a queen bed, and another with a twin-over-full bunk set up. On the lower level walkout, another bedroom offers a twin-over-full bunk set up. And up top, on the third floor, a queen bed and private deck delight.
Bathrooms: The home has three full bathrooms, one on each level.
Kid-Friendly Amenities: Outside, a mini lookalike cabin makes the cutest fort for kids to clamber up into. Between this and the property’s 32 acres of wooded trails, all ages will find it hard to head inside. A bonfire pit and front porch rockers only add to the ambiance.
Inside, two bunk rooms are particularly kid friendly, with the lower level walkout offering a separate living / TV space for private older kid lounging. On the tip-top of the home, a hanging circular swing makes an inviting space to curl up with a good book. And two patios (one screened in) are convenient for little ones to enjoy, too. In the backyard, a hot tub is available.
What to do in Hocking Hills
A few of our favorite family-friendly Hocking Hills hikes:
Old Man’s Cave is the most popular trail for good reason. It’s an easy, gorgeous introduction to the park, which you can tackle in pieces or as one long hike. (Check out the upper and lower falls along this river. We packed a blanket and picnic lunch to lay out at the upper falls, which is just a few steps to the left of the parking lot.)
Cedar Falls is a wide, winding path under a canopy of trees, leading to a beautiful waterfall and stone pond among the forest.
Ash Cave is accessible via a paved, stroller-friendly trail. An option to hike a return trail back to the parking lot offers a bit of elevation. The scale of this gigantic, open cave is majestic and a plunging waterfall makes it ideal for photos.
Rock House is another quick trail that leads to the park’s only true cave. It’s easy to hike right past accidentally. Duck inside to make some noise – echo, echo! – and listen to a ton of purring pigeons.
Conckles Hollow is the steepest trail but is totally manageable at only two miles. It offers some pretty, cliffside views and some fairly scary ledges to peer over if you’re brave
Note: Don’t plan on dining at restaurants; there’s not much. Like, at all. Make a grocery run to Logan and stock up on all the snacks and grilling essentials you’ll need during your stay.
