Must-see attractions in Ohio

  • Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio.

    Cedar Point Amusement Park

    Ohio

    Cedar Point is one of the world's top amusement parks, known for its 18 adrenaline-pumping roller coasters. Stomach-droppers include the Top Thrill…

  • The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

    Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum

    Cleveland

    Cleveland's top attraction is like an overstuffed attic bursting with groovy finds: Jimi Hendrix's Stratocaster, Keith Moon's platform shoes, John Lennon…

  • Interior of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

    Cleveland Museum of Art

    Cleveland

    Cleveland's whopping art museum houses an excellent collection of European paintings, as well as African, Asian and American art. Head to the 2nd floor…

  • Aircraft at the National Museum of the Unites States Air Force.

    National Museum of the US Air Force

    Ohio

    Located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 6 miles northeast of Dayton, this huuuuge museum has everything from a Wright Brothers 1909 Flyer to a Sopwith…

  • Baby goat at Young’s Jersey Dairy.

    Young's Jersey Dairy

    Ohio

    Young's is a working dairy farm with a famous ice-cream shop, the Dairy Store, which many say whips up Ohio's best milkshakes. There are also lots of fun…

  • COSI

    Ohio

    The acronym stands for Center of Science and Industry, and it ranks high in the pantheon of children’s museums around the country. Of the 300-plus hands…

  • Cincinnati Museum Center

    Cincinnati

    This museum complex occupies the 1933 Union Terminal, an art deco jewel still used by Amtrak. The interior has fantastic murals made of local Rookwood…

  • Rockefeller Park Greenhouse is a city public park named in honor of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller Sr., located in Cleveland, Ohio. The greenhouse and its gardens occupy a four acres and opened in 1905.

    Rockefeller Park Greenhouse

    Cleveland

    The 1905 hothouse bursts with cacti, orchids, ferns and irises. On cold days the sultry rooms provide a sweet refuge, and you’ll likely have the place to…

  • The American Sign Museum hosted a sneak preview on Saturday. It opens to the public on June 23. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II.American Sign Metro Saturday June 2, 2012: People tour and take pictures  of sign exhibits during the Sneak Preview Grand Opening at the American Sign Museum Saturday June 2, 2012 in Camp Washington. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

    American Sign Museum

    Cincinnati

    This museum stocks an awesome cache of flashing, lightbulb-studded beacons in an old parachute factory. You’ll burn your retinas staring at vintage neon…

  • A landscape view of Cincinnati's Smale Riverfront Park and the Roebling Suspension Bridge that crosses over the Ohio River and connects Cincinnati, Ohio to Covington, Kentucky.

    Roebling Suspension Bridge

    Cincinnati

    The elegant 1867 spanner was a forerunner of John Roebling's famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York. The Romanesque arches and draped cables have made it an…

  • Cincinnati Art Museum

    Cincinnati

    The collection spans 6000 years, with an emphasis on ancient Middle Eastern art and European old masters, plus a wing devoted to local works. While…

  • Fountain Square

    Cincinnati

    Fountain Sq is the city's centerpiece, a public space with a seasonal ice rink, free wi-fi, concerts (7pm Wednesday to Saturday in summer), a farmers…

  • John Glenn Astronomy Park

    Ohio

    The Hocking Hills claim some of the country’s darkest skies, which is why this astronomy park provides an amazing opportunity for earthlings obsessed with…

  • Whiskey Island

    Cleveland

    Whiskey Island floats at the edge of downtown, where the Cuyahoga River empties into Lake Erie. The area consists of a boat-filled marina, a raucous bar…

  • National Veterans Memorial and Museum

    Ohio

    Poignant and powerful, Columbus’ newest museum tells the stories of US service members over the past 250-plus years. The focus is on individual people,…

  • Hocking Hills State Park

    Ohio

    Ohio's most popular park is splendid to explore in any season, but it's especially lovely in autumn. Thirty miles of hiking trails meander through the…

  • Serpent Mound

    Ohio

    Serpent Mound is perhaps the most captivating of all of the native mounds that dot southeastern Ohio. The giant, uncoiling snake stretches over a quarter…

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame

    Ohio

    This shrine for gridiron-obsessed fans has great interactive exhibits and artifacts. See the football Peyton Manning threw for his record-breaking 509th…

  • Heini's Cheese Chalet

    Ohio

    Heini's whips up more than 50 cheeses. Learn how Amish farmers hand-milk their cows and spring-cool (versus machine-refrigerate) the output before…

  • Edgewater Park Beach

    Cleveland

    This wide swath of shore is a local hot spot. It has lifeguards, cabana rentals (per day $20), paddleboard rentals (per hour $20), pick-up volleyball…

  • Pizzuti Collection

    Ohio

    Curators show off the amazing collection of contemporary paintings, sculpture, film, photography and prints via exhibitions that change every three months…

  • The Flats

    Cleveland

    The Flats, an old industrial zone turned nightlife hub on the Cuyahoga River, has had a checkered life. After years of neglect, it's on the upswing once…

  • Columbus Museum of Art

    Ohio

    It’s not the biggest or flashiest museum around, but it has a fine collection, with strong suits in early modern American and European art. Highlights…

  • Scioto Mile

    Ohio

    This network of green spaces stretches along both sides of the Scioto River as it twists through downtown. Paths prime for strolling edge the water and…

  • Contemporary Arts Center

    Cincinnati

    The center displays modern art in an avant-garde building designed by star architect Zaha Hadid. The free exhibitions – say, a retrospective of fanciful…

  • Lake View Cemetery

    Cleveland

    Beyond University Circle to the east, don't forget this eclectic 'outdoor museum' where President James Garfield rests in an eye-poppingly enormous tower …

  • Wright Cycle Company

    Ohio

    Browse exhibits in the original building where Wilbur and Orville developed bikes and aviation ideas.

  • Merry-Go-Round Museum

    Ohio

    So many painted ponies! And painted tigers, ostriches, elephants, wolves and more. Ride the vintage carousel that is the museum’s centerpiece, but also…

  • Edison Birthplace Museum

    Ohio

    The small brick home where Thomas Edison was born in 1847 has been restored and is now a small museum demonstrating his inventions, such as the light bulb…

  • Brandywine Falls

    Ohio

    Long considered one of the main attractions within the park, this pretty spill of ice-cold water sits nestled in a wooden idyll, and can be accessed via a…

  • The Ledges

    Ohio

    This overlook, which offers a sweeping view of the Cuyahoga, is probably the most photographed place in the park, with an unobstructed vista looking west…

  • Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum

    Ohio

    It’s worth popping in to the 2nd-floor galleries to check out the exhibitions on cartoon art. They change a few times per year, but you might see a show…

  • Transformer Station

    Cleveland

    This provocative gallery partners with the Cleveland Museum of Art to showcase avant-garde paintings, photography and new media inside a repurposed…

  • Glacial Grooves

    Ohio

    The deep scars in the limestone here – which a glacier rubbed in some 18,000 years ago – are the largest and most easily accessible grooves in the world…

  • Carillon Historical Park

    Ohio

    Highlights in this open-air heritage park include the Wright Brothers National Museum, where you'll see the 1905 Wright Flyer III biplane and a replica of…

  • Kelleys Islands State Park

    Ohio

    The park features a popular campground with 126 tent and RV sites ($17 to $39), 6 miles of hiking trails with birds flitting by and a secluded, sandy…

  • South Bass Island State Park

    Ohio

    Set on top of white cliffs on the island's southwest side, the park moseys down to a fishing pier, small rocky beach and a vendor offering jet-ski and…

  • Wexner Center for the Arts

    Ohio

    The campus arts center offers cutting-edge art exhibits, films and performances. Admission is free on Thursdays after 4pm and on the first Sunday of each…

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