We have plenty of them and I was thinking this would be a good place to ask since some here have travelled to many and have taken lots of pictures.

 

So which are your faves that are worthy destinations and why?

 

I haven't been to many since I head out to the state parks/nature reserves for hiking.

Yellow Springs is really the only place nearby that piqued my interest to bother exploring. 

 

Lancaster was pretty nice, but I didn't bother with Circleville and have driven though it a few times.

 

When I went through Zanesville it was all closed up since I was there a bit late, but I think it'd be much better during the day.

 

I haven't made it down past Hocking Hills to Athens, though that is one other small town I'd like to visit, Oberlin too, but they're both pretty far.

 

Oh yeah, Waldo has a place with good bologna sandwiches which are apparently good enough to have Al Roker come in for a visit. Just watch out for the gristle, whiich detracted from the experience a bit. I think that's all that's there though.

 

I've also visited  Put-In-Bay when I was younger on one of those islands but don't remember that much aside from all those certain type of bug that is everywhere in summer, some mediocre Italian food, and the view from that tall monument.

OK.... I'll get it started with a few of my favorites.

 

Granville..... looks like it was transported from upstate Vermont.... very quaint, home to Dension University and also home to the Aladdin Restaurant.... a great little "greasy spoon" of a place with one of the best breakfasts.

 

Galion.... very original looking "Main Street" (known as Harding Way)... and a classic old train station that's being restored.

 

 

^those are good ones. this is a good idea for a thread too. lets see...there are lot's of them. here are a few of my favs:

 

oberlin -- incredible architecture on campus, flw house, the museum

 

yellow springs -- great hippie college ambiance, nice place to hang out

 

charm -- anywhere in amish country is nice, but this is my fav

 

chagrin falls -- the ultimate "correct" suburban haven

 

lakeside -- very pretty old lake erie chataqua summer resort in marblehead, geneva-on-the-lake would be the lower rent version

 

grand rapids/waterville -- nice smalltown stops along a drive down the maumee west from toledo

 

vermilion -- great lakes ship captain retirement town, gl museum, nice little homes & harbor views, port clinton would be an alternate

^Oh, how could I forget Amish country? I had a good time there, but I only had time to visit a tiny bit. You really need a whole day for that area. Some pretty filling food over there.

Wooster is one of my favorite small towns.  Medina is also very nice, particularly the area around the Town Square.

I always dug Barberton, but I don't remember anything special about it - I got the tour with a native, and got to walk all over this great little small single-family neighborhood-feeling town...

^ah but there is something special: besides the town itself, barberton is home to one of ohio's own unique food treats, famous among fried chicken lovers, barberton style fried chicken. it's fried in lard & has its roots not in the south, but in in serbia. there are several outlets around town. a local turned me on to it too back in college. try some if you go near there -- it's good stuff.

 

http://www.attachemag.com/archives/03-03/passions/passions2.html

 

 

*Pomeroy (for true Appalachia, but still "vibrant")

*Oxford (for snobs and Miami University)

*Yellow Springs (already mentioned)

*Chillicothe (for history)

*Marietta (for history)

*Athens (best college town in Ohio)

*Vermilion (nice lakeshore town)

*Oberlin (nice college liberal town)

*Mt. Vernon (always loved that)

*Gambier (gotta see Kenyon)

*Granville (beautiful)

*Shawnee (for a true ghost town experience)

*Mingo Junction (to see SteelOhio)

 

Those are off the top of my head

Oh, there's also a lot of charm to Portsmouth.  There are murals on their flood walls, lots of older (though many empty) buildings, and Shawnee State Park and Resort is just down the road, with hiking and swimming and all that.  Makes a nice weekend...

I say people should visit Delaware... um, just because.  I don't know what one would do there, but I think it's a cute town.  Okay, bias speaking.

 

There is that Arts Festival in May, whatever it is; and that Little Brown Jug race.

^you go to BUNS of course!  :wink:

 

 

When on a reconnaissance mission from FL to OH prior to moving, we had some car trouble on the road. went into Caldwell (off 77) for assistance. Very cute little town with nice people, town square. very 1950's surreal. Everything was very inexpensive. I just tried looking it up on the web , it appears to be in Noble County, "Gateway to Appalachia"

Columbiana just outside of Youngstown has an interesting town square.

mansfield mansfield mansfield

Kilbourne & East Claridon.

^ah but there is something special: besides the town itself, barberton is home to one of ohio's own unique food treats, famous among fried chicken lovers, barberton style fried chicken. it's fried in lard & has its roots not in the south, but in in serbia. there are several outlets around town. a local turned me on to it too back in college. try some if you go near there -- it's good stuff.

 

http://www.attachemag.com/archives/03-03/passions/passions2.html

 

 

 

Wow, who knew?  Definitely sounds worth a field-trip.

 

Baberton is actually a nifty place- planned as a company town, I believe, and built around a great public park/square and pond.

^Do they still blow the factory whistle regularly?

Chagrin Falls is probably without a doubt the nicest small town in Ohio, although there are many I have not been to. It is quaint and historic, but fairly upscale and lots of impressive exclusive chain retailers as well as independent establishments and entertainment venues like a movie theater and performing arts center. It also has a lot of natural appeal with the waterful in the heart of the commercial district.

 

For college towns I'll go with mine; Oxford. Cheap bars, some nice restaurants, brick streets, a great budget hotel in the heart of the commercial district, late night food places, an old movie theater, etc. There is always something going on at the campus, and the campus has a number of museums and places of interest. The Oxford commercial district has urban amenities and qualities that are probably far superior to major Ohio urban centers. The screetscape enhancements are phenomenal with lots of park benches, fixed tables and bench seating on the sidewalks and uptown park, a great pavillion for concerts and small festivals.  Pedestrian activity uptown Oxford is practically twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Oxford even has its own public transit system with Miami University operating several community bus circulators throughout Oxford that are free to ride and run every ten minutes or so and very late into the early morning. Oxford is a terrific example of a practically self-sustainable and independant urban center. It is also a fairly densely populated urban center with probably 20,000+ people living within a square mile.

 

Vermillion is a great New England style whitewash harbor town on Lake Erie with a vintage soda fountain restaurant, a really cool coffee shop with live music called Huggy's, a marina, beach, and a great formal Czech restaurant.   

There's so many small towns in Ohio I can't imagine visiting even MOST of them without spending a total of thousands of dollars in gas.

To answer the question I recommend going to Circlevile for the annual pumkin show :) Lots of greasy food, mullets, giant produce on display, live country music...the whole state of Kentucky would rejoice.

> Ohio by far. The downtown area of Athens has more bars than any other city its size and we have two of the largest public block parties in the entire nation- Halloween and Palmerfest. All this is in a small city of just 20,000 in the middle of nowhere.

 

Allright, I was in Athens last weekend, and this is cut and pasted from an email I sent out to a few of my friends:

 

In other Athens news, sure enough, I was almost

arrested last night in what was another classic Athens

incident.  We were outside The Union at closing time,

minding our own business, when this girl came by with

whom she claimed was her brother, but who was actually

her boyfriend.  She goes:

 

"This is my LITTLE brother, and he's an asshole!"

 

And I go

 

"Do you want me to kick his ass for you?"

 

And she said no then walked across the street.  But

then they started making a bunch of noise over there

and I joked

 

"Hey, do you guys want to shut up so we can fight?"

 

as I walked out into traffic and raised my dukes like the

little Notre Dame elf.  Out of nowhere she BOLTS at me

screaming and I run back onto the sidewalk, but before

she can get to me this dude who I hadn't seen yet runs

out into the street and tackles her.  Within 5 seconds

there were 10 people all fighting in a big clump, with that chick

somewhere down in the bottom.  It was crazy, with guys

just randomly kicking people on the ground in the jaw.

The cops showed up instantly and started making random

arrests, arresting completely the wrong people, people just standing

there or who had just started fighting, not the chick

or the dude that tackled her.  I'm pretty sure the

reason they (and me) got away was simply because

they ran out of handcuffs.  You know, I could have

said "hey, you're arresting the wrong guys" but you

know the police don't seem to care about details like

that.

 

###

 

Also C, I saw that new bar.  I looked in from outside and it

didn't look like any closer inspection was necessary.  It looks

like the Panera Bread of bars.  It's like, every new bar that

shows up in Athens trying to be even a bit upscale always

goes under within two years.   I should point out that the

weekend was a blast, as it almost always was when I was

in school. 

 

 

>Athens is also the most pedestrian friendly city in Ohio based on everwhere I've been. Athens is not a car town, and I love that. I live on South Court Street and love the freedom of not being chained to a car!!

 

Yeah, it's annoying to park there.  You get tickets all the time. 

 

>Everyone owes it to themselves to see this moral shipwreck of a town.

 

It really is beyond belief.  This weekend I saw all kinds of crap, I had already forgotten how ridiculous it is in Athens all the time.  Girls feeling each other's boob in the bars, conspicuous drug use, creepy come-ons from the spooky girls who hang out at The Union, all that.  Supposedly somebody fell off the balcony next to O'Betty's hot dogs and fell through their awning on Friday night, I didn't see it.  And Holy Shit this year's Blackoutfest ruled, with a crushing closing performance Saturday night by This Moment in Black History.  Those guys freaking rule!     

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all of the recommendations! I'll try making it to some (probably a few) of the places listed. I'm planning on going boating in NW Ohio and aside from The Spot restaurant in Sidney is there anything else there?

I'm a big fan of Peninsula.  I like the fact that you can ride your bike to it, grab a bite, see some history along the canal, and ride home.

Thanks for all of the recommendations! I'll try making it to some (probably a few) of the places listed. I'm planning on going boating in NW Ohio and aside from The Spot restaurant in Sidney is there anything else there?

 

Sidney (Shelby) is more tied to Southwest Ohio than Northwest Ohio (I'd say Auglaize is the start of Northwest Ohio).  Bowling Green is alright, and Lima and Findlay are interesting for 100,000 metros.

Lebanon and Waynesville if you like over-priced antiques.

Piney Fork and Adena....

You know until I went to school in Oxford, I probably only saw small Ohio towns and their historic commercial districts a few times in my life. It didn't strike me until I actually drove through rural Ohio to get to campus from Cleveland how many great small towns there are. Not that I didn't travel growing up, but the few times my family traveled by car it was on the interstate. I think on my way to Cleveland from Oxford I may avoid the interstate all together and stick to state routes. I was thinking of taking rt.42 a good part of the way. 

I reluctantly suggest my hometown of Salem in Columbiana County. I say reluctantly because my experience growing up... well, it could have been more pleasant to say the least.

 

The downtown is compact, somewhat intact with some locally-owned shops (including a fantastic coffeeshop, Friends Roastery) a branch of Youngstown's art museum, and nice pre-war architecture. There's also a mile-long stretch of older homes that is a National Historic Register district south of downtown (South Lincoln Avenue). Check the urbanohio page devoted to Salem at http://www.urbanohio.com/Salem.htm

 

Don't get me wrong, it's hardly a cultural mecca and I'd doubt I'd move back at gunpoint, but it can make for a decent daytrip.

My personal favorites in no particular order (forgive me if I sound like a tour guide LOL):

 

Norwalk (Huron County): First and foremost, it's my hometown.  It can't really claim too much fame in the area's tourism industry (accept Norwalk Raceway Park, which draws people from all over the world), but you will be pleasantly surprised if you know where to go.  Norwalk is your typical New England town, accept it's in the Great Lakes!  Uptown (the central business district) is fairly active with most storefronts occupied.  You can start the day off with some coffee at Sheri's (complete with a sidewalk cafe) and then do some window shopping along Ohio 61 (Main Street).  Music, books, artwork, crafts, antiques, Amish furniture, 7 or 8 eateries, etc. I suggest visiting the Firelands Historical Society Research Library and Museum at the western most edge of Uptown, and then take the walking tour of the Historic West Main Street District (on the National Register of Historic Places).  One could also utilize the walking trails at Veteran's Memorial Lake Park, Hogan's Hill, or a portion of the North Coast Inland Trail (from North West Street to Monroeville)  As mentioned above, one can also visit Norwalk Raceway Park, which sometimes draws crowds of 40,000 for one event.  Another fun spot is Valley Beach swim park, as well as Eagle Creek or Sycamore Hills golf clubs.

 

Milan (Erie County):  less than one mile north of Norwalk, the big claim to fame is the Birthplace Home of Thomas Edison (the lightbulb guy) and the Milan Historical Society Museums.  Another interesting fact about Milan is that every single building on the town square is occupied with a business.

 

Wellington (Lorain County): Downtown is very attractive

 

Lodi (Medina County):  Great little town if you love the Amish, peace, tranquility, and hills

 

Marblehead (Ottawa County):  the Chautauqua on the Lake :)

 

Medina (Medina County):  the Town Square is a rarity, the community band is nice as well

 

Rock Creek (Ashtabula County):  not necessarily in the town, but Camp Beaumont is a favorite of mine

 

Ashland (Ashland County):  the homes along Sandusky Street (Route 96) are interesting

 

Findlay (Hancock County):  as someone mentioned, downtown is vibrant

 

Tiffin (Seneca County):  downtown and the universities have some nice buildings and architecture

 

 

Others worth mentioning:

Monroeville (Huron County), Lagrange (Lorain County), and Walnut Creek (Holmes County)

I really love Athens and Yellow Springs. Granville is very nice too. Everyone should also visit Chagrin Falls.

NE Ohians should definitely try to visit Downtown Canal Fulton in NW Stark County.  The reason is that one of the BEST vintage toy stores is there called Toys Time Forgot.  There is also a nice historic Downtown along the Erie Canal with some other interesting shops and you can ride a replica Canal Boat pulled by a mule.  Trust me, the toy store is worth the trip(voted best of Scene Magazine a few years ago)!  It's about an hour south of DT Cleveland and 25 minutes from Akron.

 

http://www.toystimeforgot.com/

 

http://www.cityofcanalfulton.org/

Medina (Medina County):  the Town Square is a rarity, the community band is nice as well

 

Actually, I'd say the community band is top-notch.  If they're doing the Sousa bit, Marcus Neiman dresses up like Sousa, directs like him, and the band really nails it.  Truly a great musical experience, right there in the town square.

I am kind of upset that i haven't seen Tiffin mentioned as much as it should be. Tiffin is 100% Ohio..Its in North West part of the state in Seneca County right on the Sandusky River. Its a quaint town of about 17,000 people, its out of the way its practically perfect to live and work and raise a family. I don't know about vacation spot but if you want to meet some down home people that aren't aggravated, frustrated, frazzled or even impolite then  Tiffin is the place for you. There is always a debate in Tiffin about its potential to become more then a sleepy college town off the beaten path. I see now that I'm a resident of the Cleveland metropolitan area that Tiffin doesn't need to grow, its isolation is bliss. Leave your doors unlocked at night. Walk through the worst part of town at 3am and feel 100% safe. Let your kids roam and discover the streets and neighborhoods as I did and as every generation has done before me. It truly feel that Tiffin is a great town to live. However Tiffin is not a place to be if you want to live in anonymity. The community is very active and you know your neighbor and their family and their extended family and their friends of their extended family. It truly is a great place to live. Tiffin is just not some Podunk  small town either. There is plenty of culture in the area. With Heidelberg College and Tiffin University providing an educated work force to the area along with the Ritz Theatre acting as a venue for some of the best traveling shows and celebrities a small town could possibly get. Tiffin is also smacked dab in the middle of an area that is hotly contested in general elections. The Toledo television market had more money spent on campaign ads in the 2004 general election then any other television market in the country with a focus on the small rural towns in north west Ohio and of those swing towns being Tiffin having a Democratic Mayor at the time but voting for bush in 2000. Tiffin has proven itself as its own community without being dependant on big roads, tourism, shopping, big Industry, or even Agriculture. It has a healthy mix in a central location with small town values that truly is the epitome of what it means to be an Ohioan by my definition.

ummm...OK and welcome, bananajoe  :wave: :wave:

Don´t worry, we´d never forget about Tiffin. You'd have to look far and wide to find a town in this state that has missed our eye.

Don´t worry, we´d never forget about Tiffin.

 

Agreed, I think our discussion concerning the Seneca County Courthouse demolition can speak to that fact.

 

You'd have to look far and wide to find a town in this state that has missed our eye.

 

Well, yes and no; there are a few cities that have slipped through, but I'm working to remedy that currently. That's one of Ohio's greatest traits; there is always more to discover--always a little treasure of a town left to find.

Wasn't that Ohio's marketing campaign at some point? Ohio: So Much To Discover...

I just miss Tiffin, as far as small towns go i dont think you could have a better one...of course im partial to the area.

I just miss Tiffin, as far as small towns go i dont think you could have a better one...of course im partial to the area.

 

Nothing wrong with you being proud of your area.  See my avator! he he he!

 

Milan (Erie County):  less than one mile north of Norwalk, the big claim to fame is the Birthplace Home of Thomas Edison (the lightbulb guy) and the Milan Historical Society Museums.  Another interesting fact about Milan is that every single building on the town square is occupied with a business.

 

 

I've always had a soft spot for Milan.  As a kid in the summertime my mom would drive my friend and I to the library there once a week or so.  Even though the Sandusky Library was bigger and closer we always preferred the trip to Milan.  Love the town square.  It's been a few years since I've been to Milan but I always remember it as having lots of trees in the center of town which always appealed to me.  Plus the Melon Festival and Edison Park (particularly for sledding in the winter)...good memories.  I have a family reunion to attend next month that I wasn't particularly looking forward to, but knowing that it will be in Milan makes me more willing to show up.

 

Another of my favorite small Erie County towns, and in this case very small, was Bay View.  For some unknown reason my friends and I in high school were fascinated by this place.  There are some nice places right on the water that I always viewed as the perfect summer homes.  But aside from that and the old Bay Bridge there isn't a whole lot going on yet we'd still drive out there anyway.  And stop at Terry's Tavern of course.

One could compile a nice bicycle tour itinerary using the information on this thread.  I have never toured on a bicycle, but I am thinking that it might be the ultimate low-impact vacation trip.  Ohio is delightful for cycling especially in the areas that are not too hilly and not too densely populated.  I grew up in a much smaller metropolitan area and did not have to ride far to get on a lightly traveled road where I could just listen to the blackbirds and watch the clouds and the corn swaying in the breeze.

This thread is making me homesick for places like Portsmouth, Wheelersburg, Ironton, Hanging Rock... I miss the river and the murals and the festivals, especially now that it's regatta season. But the thread's also given me great ideas for places to visit from Cleveland

I always liked Gallipolis best of the river cities, but all of the river towns have something to offer.  I also think Chillicothe is nice, with a sort of historic downtown. 

 

And while it's quite a bit bigger than most towns mentioned and part of the Cincinnati metro, Hamilton has a lot going for it--a real downtown, nice river, and a couple of neat historic districts (Rossville and Dayton Lane(?)) with great old houses. 

geneva-on-the-lake

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,16614.0.html

*Pomeroy (for true Appalachia, but still "vibrant")

*Oxford (for snobs and Miami University)

*Yellow Springs (already mentioned)

*Chillicothe (for history)

*Marietta (for history)

*Athens (best college town in Ohio)

*Vermilion (nice lakeshore town)

*Oberlin (nice college liberal town)

*Mt. Vernon (always loved that)

*Gambier (gotta see Kenyon)

*Granville (beautiful)

*Shawnee (for a true ghost town experience)

*Mingo Junction (to see SteelOhio)

 

Those are off the top of my head

 

This is a fantastic list; I'd just add a couple more:

 

McConnelsville

Nelsonville

Woodsfield (don't ask me why)

East Liverpool

Wellington

Milan

Wooster

Sidney

Troy

 

I'd argue that many more are worth visiting, but I can't imagine passing up the above.

Can't forget Chardon and the Maple Festival

Can't forget Chardon and the Maple Festival

 

Likewise the Circleville Pumpkin Show, the Geneva Grape Jamboree, and the Burton Apple Butter Festival 

 

 

             

For those who point out the small town festivals - did you grow up in a small town?

For those who point out the small town festivals - did you grow up in a small town?

 

Yes, but Painesville didn’t have any festivals—I guess there was nothing to celebrate. Maybe we could have had the Decaying Once-Bustling Small Town With the Diminishing Tax Base Whose Glory Days Ended in the 1950's Festival

i'd say any small town county fair, always fun that Coshocton County Fair.......

Really? :?