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.
Like many moms whose children play sports in school, Kim Fulks of North Canton has formed close friendships with other moms just like her.
They embarked on a night out with Canton Food Tours, a service that local entrepreneur Barbara Abbott established a decade ago as a fun way to explore the city through its assorted eateries.
And as she lightly dips a spoon into a bowl of turtle soup at Bender’s Tavern, Fulks says she relished the opportunity to kick back without a game result, homeschooling chores, or the uncertainty of the pandemic to worry about.
There’s nothing quite like a waterfall, where a stream plunges over a precipice with a roar and a sense of seemingly eternal beauty that’s sought after by generation after generation.
75 Water Street, Clifton
Two waterfalls on the Little Miami River have powered Clifton Mill, which sits on the gorge, for more than 220 years. The mill is the largest of the 47 remaining gristmills in the nation. The best view of the mill and falls is from a covered bridge spanning the river. It’s an easy trek and a popular tourist attraction in addition to the restaurant and gift shop housed in the mill (see photo background in the above gallery).
State Nature Preserve
Show of hands: After months of COVID confinement, who wants to lie on a beach towel beside a long stretch of sun-kissed water? Build sandcastles? Paddle around? Go for a long swim? Simply laze away a summer afternoon?
Cedar Point began with its beach in 1870, and today, the amusement park delivers dual fun-in-the-sun experiences: world-class rides plus a mile of smooth, white sand — all enhanced by splendid lake views and refreshing breezes. Open only to Cedar Point guests, the beach offers amenities and activities that range from lounging in an umbrella chair and snapping photos on its grand boardwalk to renting WaveRunners and parasailing high above the sand.
In 2010, the first year that plug-in electric vehicles were commercially available, 300 were sold. The following year, that number climbed to almost 18,000, and by 2019, plug-in EV sales totaled 327,000 — about 2% of light-duty automobile sales that year.
Electric cooperatives across the nation are preparing for the increased EV market share — especially as automakers begin rolling out electric pickup trucks and medium SUV models that are more popular with rural drivers.
Several Ohio co-ops have installed chargers at their offices, some offer rebates on home charging equipment, and all include calculators on their websites that help their members determine the potential savings if they switch to EVs from their current combustion model.
Ready or not, we are quickly moving into a new era of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). EVs first hit the U.S. market in 2010; today there are more than 1.5 million of them on U.S. roads, and that number is expected to keep growing, with millions more plug-in vehicles put in service in the next five years. The attraction of EVs include clean, quiet, high-performance operation, coupled with lower operating costs. EVs also offer the potential for major reductions in emissions from autos and trucks over the coming decades.
Hotels and campgrounds are perfectly fine places to stay, but travelers looking beyond the usual accommodations have some unusual options these days, thanks to entrepreneurial imagination and emerging technology.
Want to wake up on a blueberry farm? There’s a fine spot near Lake Erie. How about a 1950s railroad caboose? Check Athens. Prefer a tiny home, treehouse, or yurt? Search “Ohio” and “unique stays” to find exactly what you want, from castles to barns.
Cleveland’s wide variety of kid-friendly attractions, plus its affordability and easy access, equals an outstanding package of experiences for all ages.
Stroke the leg lamp like Ralphie did or crawl under the kitchen sink like Randy — or mimic any number of scenes from the iconic movie at the house where it was made. “There’s even Lifebuoy soap in the bathroom,” says owner Brian Jones.
Editor’s note: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the beginning of Cedar Point’s 2020 season. As of mid-April, the park was tentatively scheduled to open for the season in mid-May. Please double-check before traveling.
Now, 150 years later, Cedar Point is Ohio’s largest tourist destination. It hosts some 3 million guests annually and boasts a record-setting 71 rides that meld tradition (a 1912 carousel, a gigantic Ferris wheel) with technology (the 93-mph Millennium Force, the 400-foot-tall Top Thrill Dragster).
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.
