search powered by Google
Ohio Travel

Before 1800, Ohio was a rugged frontier, the gateway to the Northwest Territory and the scene of ferocious battles between white men and Indians. Over the years it evolved into a land of farms, where life centered on the Bible and the plow. Later, smokestacks became as familiar as silos with the growth of sprawling cities such as Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Cincinnati.

Today the character of Ohio is perhaps best reflected in the state’s “40 towns” — small cities with populations of 10,000 to 25,000, usually including a Main Street, a brick courthouse, and a town square with a band shell for summer concerts. White Victorian houses, their wide wooden porches furnished with gliders and wicker chairs, line tree-shaded streets named Elm or Maple. This familiar and cherished part of America is often called, affectionately, the Heartland.

Ohio's Ashtabula County Covered Bridges

The Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Festival in Jefferson, Ohio is a great October event. It not only shows off our county's 16 beautiful covered bridges, but includes parades, arts and crafts demonstrations, antique car and engine displays, draft-horse pulls, delicious homemade food and a bustling farmers market.

Ohio's Hunger Paynes Restaurant

Intrigued by the sign, my husband, John, and I had to stop at Hunger Paynes Restaurant in Crestline while traveling through north-central Ohio recently. This down-home restaurant and its friendly staff quickly stopped our hunger pangs with its family-style cooking, including soups that are famous throughout the area. I highly recommend the outstanding croissant sandwiches and fried Lake Erie perch. You can also order breakfast anytime.

Circleville Pumkin Show, Ohio

If you love pumpkins, carve out some time this October to visit the Circleville Pumpkin Show in south-central Ohio.

No matter how you cut it, this free 4-day festival is as much fun as the big, brightly colored vegetables it celebrates. First held in 1903, the event sprouted from a tiny jack-o'-lantern exhibit at the home of former Mayor George R. Haswell. Today it's Ohio's oldest and largest festival.

National Road-Zane Grey Museum, Ohio

The National Road-Zane Grey Museum in Norwich is well worth a stop if you're in east-central Ohio.

In the early 1800s, the 600-mile National Road (now U.S. Highway 40) was the granddaddy of federal highways; it stretched between Cumberland, Maryland and Vandalia, Illinois and was the only thoroughfare that linked the eastern United States to the western frontier.