The Hunter's Moon Over Hocking Hills: Sunday, October 25, 2026

The Hunter's Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon, and in 2026 it arrives on the last Sunday night of peak foliage season — a supermoon, rising over the hills as the sun goes down, with the Orionid meteors still trickling through the sky behind it. If you're going to plan one night in Hocking Hills around the sky this fall, this is the one.

The facts

The moon reaches full phase at 12:12 a.m. Eastern on Monday, October 26, 2026 — which means the show is Sunday evening, October 25. It's a supermoon this year (the moon is near its closest point to Earth, so it appears slightly larger and brighter than an average full moon). Sunset in Logan that evening is 6:36 p.m., and a full moon rises at roughly the same time the sun sets, so the moon will clear the eastern ridges within a few minutes of the sun dropping behind the western ones.

The Hunter's Moon shares the Harvest Moon's trick: through the autumn weeks the moon's path crosses the horizon at a shallow angle, so it rises only a little later each night. For several evenings around the 25th you get a big, low, orange moon coming up in early evening. Saturday the 24th and Monday the 26th are nearly as good if Sunday is cloudy.

Why it's the Hunter's Moon

The name is older than the calendar we use. After the Harvest Moon lit the last of the crop-gathering, the next full moon lit the hunt — fields were bare, animals had fattened for winter, and the early-rising moon gave hunters light past dusk. The Old Farmer's Almanac lists other traditional names for October's moon too, including the Falling Leaves Moon, which is the one that fits Hocking Hills in the last week of the month.

Where to watch it rise

You want an east-facing view with a low horizon. The park's gorge trails are the wrong place — they face inward and downward, and they close at dusk, which is exactly when the moon comes up. Better options:

• A ridge-top cabin deck. The easiest answer. Cabins on the high ground east of Logan or along the ridges off SR 374 get the moonrise over the next ridge with no driving and no closing time. Cabins with the best sky views lists the ones that face the right way.
• John Glenn Astronomy Park. A mile from the Old Man's Cave visitor center, free, with public programs on Friday and Saturday nights through November. A full moon is the enemy of deep-sky viewing, so the park's Saturday program on the 24th won't be about faint galaxies — but the moon itself through a big telescope is spectacular, and the park's open horizon is ideal for the rise. Check the JGAP guide for parking-pass registration.
• Lake Logan. Open water gives you the reflection. The shoreline along the state park side is a classic moonrise spot; confirm day-use hours before you plan on staying past dark.
• Any high, open field edge on the drive between Logan and Laurelville. Pull fully off the road.

The Orionids are still going

The Orionid meteor shower peaks around October 21 and tails off through the end of the month. On the 25th the moon will wash out most of them — but if you're up before dawn on the 21st or 22nd, the moon sets in the small hours and leaves the pre-dawn sky dark. The meteor shower calendar has the details. Different night, same cabin.

Photographing it

The big-orange-moon-over-the-ridge shot depends on a long lens and a foreground: a tree line, a barn, a cabin roof. Phones make the moon a tiny white dot unless you use the telephoto lens and expose for the moon, not the sky. The classic timing is the first ten minutes after moonrise, while it's low and the atmosphere makes it orange and oversized. The photography guide covers the gear side.

Why this weekend is the one to book

October 23–25 stacks the gorge peak at Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls, the Circleville Pumpkin Show (Wednesday through Saturday that week), and the Hunter's Moon on Sunday night. If you can extend to Monday and drive home after a Monday morning fog hike, you get the best night of the month with the Sunday-night crowd already gone.