Trails & Ales Redux! Mohican State Park / Boxer's Lounge

History

The scenic beauty and natural features of 1,110-acre Mohican State Park can be attributed to events that occurred more than 14,000 years ago during the ice age in Ohio. The last glaciers to enter Ohio ended their advance in the Mohican region, leaving behind an array of glacial deposits such as end and ground moraines, linear ridges of soil and rock, and till deposited along the edge of the ice sheet.

The erosional forces of glacial meltwaters hastened the carving of the narrow Clear Fork Gorge. This gorge cuts into sandstone bedrock, creating steep cliff walls and bedrock outcroppings. The gorge is more than 1,000 feet wide at the top and more than 300 feet deep. The gorge’s towering hemlocks and stands of old-growth white pine, are of national significance. The National Park Service has dedicated the area as a Registered National Natural Landmark.

The Park was originally called Clear Fork State Park when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources was created in 1949 and the park was created from Ohio Division of Forestry lands. In 1966, the name of the park was changed to Mohican to alleviate confusion between Clear Fork Reservoir in Mansfield and the state park.

Summary

Here is a map of the Park.

For this event, we will hike the Hog Hollow Trail from the Covered Bridge to the Fire Tower and back. Depending on which map or sign you believe, this trail is either 2.1 or 2.3 miles one way, meaning this hike will be somewhere between 4.2 and 4.6 miles.

Afterward, we will head from the Covered Bridge to the Mohican Lodge, which is about 10 minutes away, where we will have drinks and food at Boxer's Lounge. Here's their lunch menu, and you can also get pizza. The Lodge also has a really nice view of Pleasant Hill Lake.

The Strenuousness of This Hike?

Mohican is one of the most incredible parks in Ohio. It's my second-favorite state park, after Deer Creek. Everyone goes to Hocking Hills, and that's good, because I don't want them figuring out that Mohican is actually a prettier and better park than Hocking Hills!

Having said that, a problem with Mohican for newer hikers can be that the trails tend to be more challenging. The Grist Mill Trail is extremely challenging, and one leg of the Gorge Overlook Trail is even more difficult (it literally has a ladder you must traverse at one point).

The Hog Hollow Trail, which again is what we're doing for this event, is not as challenging as either of those. However, it is still not an easy trail. It has long stretches where you will be ascending; the grade's not terribly steep, but it will still test your cardio.

My events are never fast hikes; we will go at a leisurely pace. But if you're an absolute beginner or badly out of shape, this might not be the hike you want to start on. Also, some parts of this trail can be wet. I would recommend good waterproof hiking shoes and a change of socks for after the hike.

Can I Climb the Fire Tower?

Yes you can! The Tower is 80 feet high, so you're going up 7 or 8 stories worth of steep stairs to get to the top. You can't actually go in the Fire Tower at the top, though. But the view is still incredible.

That having been said, if you do it, your quads may be very sore once you come down! One time I did it and my legs were ridiculously sore once I got down, and I still had to hike 2 miles back to my car!

Ouch! 🙃

How To Get to Mohican

Your GPS will get you to the Park just fine. You may not always have cell service on the trails (why are you taking your phone with you hiking anyway??), but you'll probably always have a little service in any of the parking lots.

I would, however, like to mention some of the eccentricities of your GPS with regard to this Park. Your phone will likely have you get off of I-71N at Exit 165 for State Route 97. So far, so good. I love State Route 97.

Then, however, your phone will lose its mind and have you drive a confusing series of back roads to take you to Possum Run Road, which you will drive most of the rest of the way to the Park.

Now, Possum Run Road is actually a good quality road, and this route is legitimately a couple minutes faster (like, literally 2 minutes) than staying on State Route 97 most of the way. But SR 97 takes you through downtown Bellville, which is so charming, and by the V & M Family Restaurant, which is such a nice little hole in the wall.

If I could just figure out a way to take a meetup to V & M...

Where We'll Park

There are, like, 15 or 16 parking spaces just south of the Covered Bridge. The Hog Hollow trailhead is on this (southern) side of the Bridge as well.

On the northern side (and just to the east) of the Bridge are another two dozen or so parking spaces (as well as the latrines, which I'll say more about below). These spots are maybe a 1-2 minute walk away from the Hog Hollow trailhead.

The map pin I've set for this event should take you to the correct spot. However, sometimes iPhone users have trouble with Meetup map pins. So either directly google Historic Mohican Covered Bridge, or set your GPS to the coordinates 40°36'48.4"N 82°19'00.1"W.

There's only one covered bridge at Mohican, so theoretically that should make all this quite a bit easier.

Restrooms and Water

Until we get to the Lodge, there are no water fountains or any kind of running water anywhere. I strongly recommend bringing some water of your own, at least for after the hike.

As I alluded to above, the Covered Bridge parking area just to the northeast of the Bridge has a couple latrines in close proximity to one another. They're a minute-or-two walk away from the southern parking area of the Bridge.

There are no other restroom facilities anywhere on this hike (again, obviously, until we get to the Lodge). There's no latrine at the Fire Tower.

Carpooling?

If there's interest, we can meet in the parking lot of the Polaris Target. The actual address of this store is 1485 Polaris Pkwy, 43240. I won't ride with you, nor will I let you ride with me. However, you can follow me up if you're worried about getting lost.

If you want to snag a ride with someone or just follow me, post a comment below with enough advance notice for others to see and respond to it. If I don't hear from anyone, I'll just assume we're all meeting at the Covered Bridge, and I'll head there directly myself.