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Clifton Gorge

Vintage Gorge

The hole in the cliff before you is not a true solution cave, but a slump-block cave.  Solution caves are formed by slightly acidic groundwater dissolving soluble rock from the sides of crevices as it passes and enlarging them into chambers.  Slump-block caves are formed when a large blocks of rocks are separated from the bedrock by either undermining or groundwater solution along intersecting crevices.  Instead of falling away from the cliff, they lean toward it, forming a passage.  The large block of rock to the left of the opening is slump-block that made this caves, as shown by the slight tilt of the layers of rock forming it.

This is the only cave in the preserve which is part of the trail system.

 

Please do not enter any other caves you may see.  They have been closed to public use in order to protect the bats, amphibians and other creatures which live in them.

In 1851 this view of the Little Miami River inspired a young Cincinnati artist named Robert Duncanson.  Born in New York in 1821 to an African-American mother and a Scotch - Canadian father, Duncanson spent his childhood in Canada.  By 1842 he was settled in Cincinnati where his paintings caught the attention of Nicholas Longworth, a prominent citizen whose commissions aided the young artist's success.

Duncanson traveled widely in the United States and Europe to find subjects for his paintings.  He died in Detroit in 1872.  The picture he painted of this spot is called "Blue Hole, Little Miami River," and is now in the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Improvements to John Bryan State Park's handicap accessible facilities have completed.  Improvements have been made to the Wingo Trail as it connects to the Rim Trail.    A 20 foot square overlook deck which  includes handicap accessible features and provides an impressive view of the great Clifton Gorge that has been carved by the scenic Little Miami River has been completed.  For safety reasons, the deck will be closed when the surface is covered with snow.  A grand opening and dedication ceremony took place on  October 15 2005. 

John Bryan also has one limited access trail, the Arboretum Trail.  This mile long multi-use loop trail provides access to the center of John Bryan State Park.  It also passes by the park's observatory which is maintained by the Miami Valley Astronomical Society.