Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
  • 34waterfalls
  • 40historic sites
  • 33road trips

Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

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Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

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117 parks in 7 regions

Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites

Marion · Marion County · Central Ohio
The last front porch campaign, a home, a library and a marble memorial
National Historic LandmarkOhio History Connection
380 Mt Vernon Ave, Marion Directions →Official source →

The home, library and memorial in Marion where Warren Harding ran the last front porch campaign in 1920.

President
Warren G. Harding, born November 2, 1865 near Marion; the 29th president, 1921 to 1923
Campaign
The last front porch campaign, in 1920, with about 600,000 visitors over three months
Election
He won on November 2, 1920, his 55th birthday, carrying 37 of the 48 states against Ohio Governor James Cox
Home
Restored to its 1920 look, with more than 5,000 original items; guided tours on the hour
Museum
The Harding Presidential Library & Museum, opened in 2021
Memorial
A circular Georgia-marble memorial and gravesite at 898 Delaware Ave, free during daylight hours

The story

Warren Harding lived in Marion from 1891 until he went to Washington, worked as a newspaper publisher, and in 1920 became the Republican nominee, promising a 'return to normalcy' after World War I. Like James Garfield 40 years earlier, he ran from his front porch: for three months, more than 600,000 people came by train to Marion and walked about a mile to his house to hear scheduled speeches, past locals selling food and souvenirs. Seventeen reporters worked from a cottage on the lawn, called the Press House. It was the first presidential election in which women voted nationwide, and the site gives special attention to the role of women in the election and to the participation of Black and Native American voters and supporters. On his 55th birthday, November 2, 1920, Harding won in a landslide over James Cox, carrying 37 of 48 states.

He died on August 2, 1923, in a San Francisco hotel on a speaking tour of Alaska and the West, and the cause is given variously as a stroke, an embolism or a heart attack. There was no autopsy, and rumors of foul play lasted for decades. His administration is remembered for scandals that came to light around his death. In the Teapot Dome scandal, Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leased navy oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and Elk Hills, California, to private companies without open bidding, and received $300,000 in cash and bonds and a herd of cattle. The head of the Veterans' Bureau, Charles Forbes, embezzled funds, resigned, and after Harding's death was convicted and sentenced to two years in Leavenworth. The group of Harding's friends and allies in government was called the Ohio Gang, and while nothing proves Harding knew of the scandals in advance, historians think he likely knew of the misconduct of Forbes and Attorney General Harry Daugherty. Vice President Calvin Coolidge succeeded him. The house is restored to its 1920 appearance with original furnishings, including Italian marble sculpture the Hardings collected in Europe, and visitors tour it with a guide. The library and museum next door, opened in 2021, follow the lives of the president and first lady Florence Harding, and the memorial a mile away, a circular colonnade in Georgia marble, holds their graves. The Lincoln Highway's first Ohio route ran through Marion and was later called the Harding Highway.

Related sites

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Verified entrance or visitor center
Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites, 380 Mt Vernon Ave, Marion
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
Tickets or admission info

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

The Candidate Who Never Left Home

In the summer of 1920 the Republican nominee did not go anywhere. He stayed in Marion and let the country come to him: delegations of farmers, veterans, women voting for the first time, workers and salesmen walked up the drive and stood on the lawn while he spoke from the porch.

It was the last time anyone won the White House that way.

Behind the legend

The 1920 campaign, the numbers, the home and museum details and the site's emphasis on women and on Black and Native American participation are from the Ohio History Connection, Ohio Magazine and the Heritage Foundation's site review. Harding's death and the scandals are from the Miller Center, Lumen Learning, EBSCO research starters, History.com and American History Central. The causes of death are given differently by different sources, and the sources also differ on whether Harding knew of the scandals. 'Last front porch campaign' is the sites' own claim.

If you go

Take the home tour, see the Press House, walk the memorial and pair it with Garfield's Lawnfield, where the front porch campaign began.

Visiting

Status
Open; hours vary by season
Managed by
Ohio History Connection
Hours
March to November: Wednesday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with house tours from 10 a.m.; Sunday noon to 5 p.m., with tours from 1 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday. December to February: Thursday to Saturday. The memorial is open in daylight hours all year.
Admission
Adults $16, seniors 60 and over, veterans and college students $15, children 6 to 17 $8; younger children, members and active military free.
Phone
See the Ohio History Connection
Please note
House tours are guided and last 45 to 60 minutes.
Address
380 Mount Vernon Ave, Marion, OH 43302
Official information →DirectionsFind trails nearby on AllTrails →

Hours and prices change. Confirm with the site before you go.

Parks nearby

Delaware State Park
About 35 miles · A lake and fort-history park to the south.
Open
Alum Creek State Park
About 50 miles · A big lake park near Columbus.
Open

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

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