Recently, I was invited along on a food/travel writers retreat to The Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls. The overnight stay included a full tour of their facilities, as well as samplings of their restaurant, some of their favorite vendors, and trips into the local countryside.
You’ll find the Inn & Spa down State Route 374 in Hocking Hills, a few minutes south of Logan, Ohio.
We were warmly welcomed by innkeepers Ellen and Terry, who generously shared their story and their passion for the business.
The Inn itself is made up of a series of buildings. The main building that houses the restaurant, meeting space, and common areas (as well as a nice open porch), consists of a series of cabins and rooms connected together. The main cabins were built in the 1840’s and transplanted here. (Quick note: all throughout our stay, I marveled at Terry’s handiwork. He shrugs it off like it’s nothing, but the amount of work he’s put into the buildings and grounds is simply amazing, especially moving the series of old cabins.)
The lodgings include a single building of smaller guest rooms (didn’t get a good picture of those), plus a series of cabins (pictured above). This is where we stayed. These are single rooms with sleeping and relaxation arrangements, a lovely little deck, a full bathroom, plus a hot tub in the room.
They also have a few cottages, which can hold more than one family…
…and include full kitchens.
The cottages have multi-level decks, with beautiful views of the dogwood trees.
After the facilities tour, Terry and Ellen took us to one of their favorite morel-hunting spots. I must confess, I knew very little about morels and their preparation before the trip. Shortly into our hunt, I realized that I didn’t even know – for sure – what a morel looked like.
Fortunately, we did find some. One healthy, and a couple past their prime.
Can you spot the morel in this picture?
After our morel hunting, we made the short trek over to Cedar Falls itself, quite literally just down the road. Every time I visit the falls and caves of Hocking Hills, I’m delighted by how beautiful they are, and amazed that these features exist in Ohio. The Inn is fortunate to be so close!
Those are the pictures for now; stay tuned for Part 2!
