Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.
Try:
The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop around Ohio, with all 26 sections.
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Mounds & Earthworks43 ancient sites, including the Great Serpent Mound and the Newark Earthworks.
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Historic Sites39 places, from Fort Steuben and Zoar to Camp Chase and the Rankin House, from the frontier to the Civil War.
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Road Trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail.
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Lake Erie Beaches20 public beaches from Conneaut to Toledo and the islands, with a map.
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Oddities & Roadside Attractions19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops, plus a Mothman just over the line.
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Caves & Caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters, with a map.
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Waterfalls34 falls from the Cuyahoga Valley to the Hocking Hills, with trail notes and a map.
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Explore Ohio

One map for every park, mound, historic site, beach, cave, waterfall and oddity in the app.

Lake ErieWest Virginia27 places277 places77 places73 places35 places519 places1913 places1319 places1916 places168 places810 places1010 places109 places98 places820 places204 places43 places3Barkcamp State Park4 places47 places77 places76 places69 places917 places173 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places2Forked Run State Park3 places32 places26 places610 places103 places32 places2

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117 parks in 7 regions

Amish Country Byway

East-central Ohio (Holmes County and neighbors)
Scenic byway · Holmes County to Holmes County
164miles
1 to 2 daysto drive
4stops

A 164-mile loop of state highways linking the Amish communities of Holmes County.

Length
164 miles
Designated
March 1998
Route
Many state highways in Holmes County, connecting Amish communities
Feeder byways
Gateway to Amish Country (30 miles on US 62 and SR 514 in Knox County) and the Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway
Best for
Horse-drawn buggies, cheese, furniture and farm stands
Designation
An America's Byway; start with SR 39 and US 62. One guide gives 160 miles

The story

Holmes County has one of the largest Amish settlements in the world, and the byway loops through its farm country, villages and shops. The county's Amish story goes back to the early 1800s: the village of Sugarcreek was first settled in 1814 by Amish families, and Swiss immigrants who came from the 1830s joined them in making cheese, which is why Sugarcreek calls itself the Little Switzerland of Ohio.

The Amish are a living community rather than a museum, and the byway passes working farms, buggy-shod roads and one-room schools. Photographing people can offend, and many Amish prefer not to be photographed, so ask first. Buggies share the road, and drivers should slow down and give them room.

Stops along the way

1 Sugarcreek
The Little Switzerland of Ohio, with the World's Largest Cuckoo Clock and the free Alpine Hills Museum. See the Sugarcreek entry.
Open
2 Berlin, Millersburg and Walnut Creek
The main Amish shopping and dining villages of Holmes County. See the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center entry.
Open
3 Zoar Village
A German separatist village a short drive east. See the Zoar Village entry.
Open
4 Mohican State Park
A gorge and canoe river to the northwest. Mohican State Park is about 25 miles away.
Open

Take the stops with you

Load the 4 stops into your maps app to drive between them.

Google Maps: stops 1 to 4

The file holds 4 waypoints and a stop-by-stop route line. Locations are approximate, often a town center, so use the stop notes to find the exact spot. Your maps app chooses the roads between stops, usually the fastest, so follow the byway signs where they differ. The GPX arrives in a zip file; unzip it and open the .gpx in a GPS or hiking app. The CSV imports into Google My Maps.

Where to camp nearby

Mohican State Park
A gorge, covered bridge and campground near Loudonville.
Open
Malabar Farm State Park
A farm park about 35 miles to the north.
Open
Leesville Lake
A muskie lake with marina camping to the east.
Open

Tips

  • Do not photograph people without asking, and give buggies room.
  • Most Amish businesses are closed on Sundays.
  • Go on a weekday, since weekends and fall foliage weeks are crowded.

Distances are the route lengths given by the sources. Confirm road conditions, closures and seasonal hours before you go.

Ohio scenic byways list →

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