Ohio attractions

The WACO Air Museum and Learning Center in Troy, Ohio.

Vintage aircraft are a common sight in the sky above and along County Road 25A at the south edge of Troy in Miami County — especially during late September, when the WACO Air Museum and Learning Center hosts its annual fly-in.

“The fly-in gives us a chance to show off our facility,” Royer says. “It is here that people can walk through the history of Troy and Miami County, which were at the forefront of the aviation history.”

WACO (Weaver Aircraft Company) in Troy was the largest manufacturer of biplanes in the country during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Buck Weaver, a civilian who instructed military pilots in Texas during World War I, and friends Clayton Brukner, Sam Junkin, and Charlie Meyers founded the company in 1920. 

A vintage airplane flying in the sky.

Technically, the Vinton County Air Show has been around longer than the Vinton County Airport has been open. The first was in 1969, the year after the runway was built near McArthur as part of Gov.

The group of locals with a passion for aviation has managed and maintained the airport and its 3,750-long runway since 1992. The air show — now one of the longest-running non-military, free air shows in Ohio — is its largest source of funding (the air show itself is free; boosters raise money by asking for parking donations and serving one of the best chicken dinners around).

The third Sunday each September, the Vinton County Air Show draws spectators by the thousands in search of family fun, highlighted by daredevil stunts, high-flying aerobatics, and a skydiving Santa Claus. 

A statue of Meriweather Lewis and William Clark at Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana.

The Shawnees called it Spaylaywitheepi. When French traders and trappers arrived during the 18th century, they described it as the Iroquois had: La Belle Rivière — the beautiful river.

Seeing the Ohio today, it’s difficult to believe that, in its original state, the river was a naturally shallow stream, varying in depth from only about 3 to 20 feet. And during annual periods of low water, such as late summer and early fall, a person could literally walk across the Ohio River on the stream’s bottom at many spots. You’d certainly get wet, possibly up to your waist or so, but the feat could be accomplished.

White Star Quarry

Ohio might not be the first place that comes to mind for scuba diving, but with Lake Erie and numerous former quarries turned dive sites, the state has developed a solid reputation among enthusiasts. For Rich Synowiec, it’s become his life’s work.

“I was going through college and never finding exactly what I really wanted to do,” Synowiec says. “I was an early entrepreneurial spirit and I wanted to do something that I would love to do — not necessarily something I would make a million dollars doing, but I never wanted to hate my job.”

The Akron home of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Robert Smith, located in Akron, Ohio.

[Editor’s note: Ohio Cooperative Living honors the tradition in Alcoholics Anonymous in which members are 
granted a level of anonymity in the press.]

Launched in Akron in 1935, AA is a fellowship dedicated to overcoming alcohol addiction, extensively documented in its publications such as Alcoholics Anonymous (known as “The Big Book”), Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, and AA Grapevine.

A pontoon boat overlooking a beautiful sunset on Buckeye Lake.

Nestled in the heart of Ohio, Buckeye Lake and Grand Lake St. Marys each faced near-devastating challenges over the last decade or two that brought their once-thriving “lake life” — and all the recreational and economic benefits that come with it — to a standstill. 

Throughout the first half of the 1900s, Buckeye Lake reigned as the premier destination for leisurely outdoor activities in central Ohio. Its amusement park, complete with Ferris wheel and roller coasters, enticed younger visitors, while others boated, sunbathed, or just lounged around the lake. By the 1940s, as many as 50,000 people per day came calling, and show business superstars like Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra played shows in its huge dance halls. Buckeye Lake became the first of Ohio’s canal lakes to be named a state park in 1949.

Motorcyclists signaling to each other on the road.

Clevelander and motorcycle aficionado Dan Davis and his biker buddies tackled a 7,000-mile round-trip ride to the West Coast and back in 2022.

Ohio’s Windy 9, promoted by the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is a motorcycling destination that encompasses nine routes — nearly 800 miles of winding roads that twist through southeastern Ohio’s hilly Appalachian region. The abundance of curves and the elevation change along the roads make it a hugely popular draw for motorcyclists.

Writer Randy Edwards and his wife, Mary, toured Croatia’s Dalmatian Islands on e-bikes.

Anyone who recalls the thrill of getting a good push while learning to ride a bicycle can appreciate the growing popularity of electric bikes — bicycles outfitted with electric motors that lend extra oomph to your pedaling.

E-bike” sales are booming, adding ease to urban commutes and adventure to global travel.
About 30 of the 150 goats that live at Harrison Farm in Groveport are “Yoga Goats” that are free to roam among the students taking yoga classes there (photograph courtesy of Dana Bernstein).

On Katherine Harrison’s farm in Groveport, every animal has a job. The chickens offer eggs. The cats provide comfort. And the goats help teach yoga.

The idea for the program arose organically, says Harrison, owner and operator of Harrison Farm. (Her secondary title, she says, is “chief minion” to the goats.) She met yoga instructor Dana Bernstein in 2016 while she was planning Bernstein’s wedding, and the two hit it off.