Best Road Trip Routes in Ohio

Ohio's road trips span the Lake Erie shoreline, the Hocking Hills sandstone canyon country, the Amish heartland, and the presidential heritage trail.

Lake Erie Coastal Loop (North Coast Heritage Trail)
From Toledo east through the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (premier shorebird and waterfowl migration area), Marblehead Peninsula (limestone sea caves, Marblehead Lighthouse — the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes), Sandusky (Cedar Point), the Erie Islands (South Bass, ferry to Put-in-Bay), Kelleys Island (glacial grooves), Lorain, Cleveland, and Mentor (James Garfield's Lawnfield estate). Allow 3–4 days; the western basin fishing and the eastern basin's cultural density are distinctive.

Hocking Hills and Amish Country
From Columbus south on US-33 to Hocking Hills (Old Man's Cave, Ash Cave, Cedar Falls), then northeast through Logan and Nelsonville to the Amish communities of Holmes County (Millersburg, Berlin, Sugarcreek, Walnut Creek). The contrast between the dramatic canyon scenery and the placid Amish farm landscape is striking. The Amish country has exceptional craft shops, cheese makers (Guggisberg Swiss — creators of Baby Swiss cheese), and bakeries.

Ohio Presidential Trail
Ohio produced 8 US presidents — the presidential sites cluster in central and northeast Ohio. From Cincinnati north to Fremont (Rutherford B. Hayes's Spiegel Grove), to Canton (William McKinley National Memorial and Museum), to Youngstown area (Garfield's Lawnfield), to Mentor, to Marion (Warren G. Harding's home), and to Galena/Columbus (Grant's birthplace in Point Pleasant). A 3–4 day drive through Ohio's 19th-century political history.

Ohio River Scenic Byway
Following the Ohio River from the Indiana border to the West Virginia border — through Cincinnati, Ripley (Underground Railroad history), Marietta (Ohio's oldest city, 1788), and Gallipolis. The river scenery and the Appalachian foothills character intensify toward the eastern end.