Ohio activities

For centuries, moonshine has loomed large in the American imagination — the illegally produced liquor was a key part of the underground economy of many states in the South and in Appalachia. During Prohibition, backwoods moonshiners helped supply speakeasies across the country. NASCAR has its roots in the souped-up cars used by moonshine runners to transport booze. Moonshiners have been the subject of dozens of movies, hundreds of songs, and numerous TV shows, from The Dukes of Hazzard to Moonshiners, a reality show on the Discovery Channel.

Ohio has a delightful abundance of lakes and rivers to explore, and a kayak is the perfect way to do it. A happy thing about lakes: There are no worries about paddling upstream or needing an extra car and a pickup place downstream. Just relax and enjoy the view, or make it aerobic and paddle hard.

If fishing is your fancy, wet a line and see what’s biting. Like birding or nature watching? Take binoculars and a camera. From your kayak, you can spot that elusive bird flitting in the treetops, get close to the turtles sunning on rocks, and watch the fish swimming beneath you.

A Vietnam veteran was exploring the then newly opened National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM) when he saw another man, a veteran of World War II, and stopped him in his tracks with a “Thank you for your service.”

“It was a very moving moment,” says Shelley Hoffman, associate director of external affairs, who witnessed the scene. The poignant episode epitomizes NVMM’s unique mission: saluting every veteran from every branch of the U.S. military in every period of war and peace.

Do I believe in the existence of Bigfoot, a hair-covered, 8-foot-tall mysterious monster that smells bad and has been rumored to live in remote Ohio woodlands since the mid-1700s? No. No, I don’t.

But many people do. So many, in fact, that the Buckeye State has no less than three annual conferences dedicated to Bigfoot believers. Much of the activity takes place in and around Ohio’s largest state park, Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County near Cambridge.

What’s Cow Patty ice cream? According to Dan Young, CEO and chief ice cream scooper at Young’s Jersey Dairy, that’s customers’ most common question. Folks need only glance at the pasture where Young’s Jersey cows graze to figure out what inspired Cow Patty’s name, but Young considers the question an opportunity to interact with guests.

Ohio is privileged to have a national park within its borders: Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Lying between Cleveland and Akron, CVNP sprawls over 33,000 acres and is considered an urban/suburban national park — and unlike many national parks, there is no entrance fee.

Ohio Renaissance Festival
Harveysburg

Beginning Labor Day weekend, the woods at Renaissance Park become enchanted as the clock turns back to 16th-century England. Step into the village of Willy Nilly-on-the-Wash, where history blends with fantasy in a joyous mix as strolling minstrels, swashbuckling pirates, fair maidens, kilt-clad gents, and more beckon, “Come play.”

Ohio is generally a dog-friendly state — more than a third (36.6 percent) of the state’s households include a canine resident — and research tells us that nearly two-thirds of dog owners consider their pup to be a member of the family. So when summer travel beckons, it’s nice to know where your tail-wagging pal can come along for the ride.

Manufacturers throughout the state open their doors to the public, offering tours to demonstrate how they produce everything from modern vehicles to old-school items and providing prime examples of the Buckeye work ethic.

Plan ahead: Since production schedules can affect factory tour availability, always call to confirm dates and times.

You descend from a long line of walkers. Walking was a way of life for virtually all of your ancestors. Other forms of conveyance, from bicycles to jet propulsion, are, in the scheme of things, quite new to us.

This primal form of getting from one place to another is an elixir: it burns some calories, improves your heart’s health — and takes the wrinkle out of your brow.