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5 Reasons You’ll Fall In Love With Northeast Ohio

This post was updated on March 15th, 2024

Fall is just around the corner, and that means it’s time to take advantage of these last few weeks of the camping season. However, those who have traveled most of the areas surrounding their home may be feeling tired of the same old camping destinations. After all, camping is about adventure, and it’s hardly an adventure if you’ve done it half a dozen times already this year.

If you’re feeling antsy and want something new to see, I encourage you to look a little further from home. This is the perfect time of year to take a road trip, and with the weather cooling down, you may even get to enjoy some pretty colorful scenery along the way.

So where should you go? My suggestion—if you haven’t visited already—is Northeast Ohio. This may seem a bit odd. After all, how often do you hear people talk about this little corner of the world? However, my family and I recently had the pleasure of seeing the area, and we were actually quite impressed.

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Here are the things we suggest seeing while there.

1. Lake Erie

If you’ve never seen the Great Lakes, this is a must-do. Seriously, the vastness of this lake is incredible, and the water is so clear you’ll forget you’re in a lake. When the wind blows, the water often becomes wavy and very reminiscent of the ocean, but with none of the salt and much less blinding sunlight.

Ashtabula Lakeshore Park
Image source: Wonder Wherever We Wander

Besides all of that, it’s great fun to watch boats out on the water. We went into the small town of Ashtabula and got to see a full-on harbor complete with a drawbridge. This may not seem like much to many people, but my six-year-old thought it was the coolest thing ever, and being from Oklahoma where large bodies of water are practically non-existent, I have to say I totally agreed.

2. Adorable towns

In almost any part of the country, once you get past the big metropolitan areas you’ll be surrounded by nothing but farmlands dotted with tiny towns. Sometimes these towns are a bit sad and run-down, but other times they’re vibrant, well kept, and adorable. The towns in this part of Ohio are definitely the latter.

From cute coffee shops and delicious local eateries to lovely parks and beautiful beaches, every single small town we visited was full of wonderful things to see and do. For this reason, I definitely recommend going on adventures to see what you can see in the little towns surrounding your campground. You never know what you may find!

3. Covered bridges

For some reason in this area of the country, covered bridges are a huge thing. My best guess is that the bridges need to be covered to keep as much snow as possible from accumulating on them, but I could be wrong. In any case, covered bridges are everywhere. In fact, Ashtabula County is apparently the Covered Bridge Capital.

Bridge in Ohio
Image source: Unsplash

Small covered bridges, super long covered bridges, and bridges of all colors can be found in this county, and all of them are super cool to see. If you want to see as many as possible and learn a bit about their stories, consider downloading the tour map and bridge facts pages from this site and going on a self-guided driving tour of the area’s bridges.

Want even more covered bridge fun? I highly recommend eating dinner at Covered Bridge Pizza. Both the Ashtabula and Kingsville locations are pieces of actual covered bridges that have been converted to restaurants, meaning you can eat in true Northeast Ohio style.

4. Super fun festivals

With small towns come awesome festivals. Wine festivals, medieval fairs, and yes, even an annual Covered Bridge Festival fill the warmer months with tons of fun for Ohio residents and visitors alike.

If you enjoy a good festival, you might take a quick peek at this list to see when an event that interests you is taking place, and be sure to visit during that time frame. With a combination of small-town charm and precise organization, these celebrations are not likely to disappoint.

5. Cleveland-area museums

Of course, there’s always something to be said for the bigger cities as well. Cities are usually where the best attractions are found, and in this particular case, the nearby city is Cleveland.

Chameleon at Cleveland Gardens
Image source: Unsplash

Honestly, Cleveland was not the most impressive city in my humble opinion. That said, we did have a fabulous day there at the attractions near the university. The Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Natural History Museum, Cleveland History Center, and the Cleveland Art Museum are all located very near one another.

This means you can park and hop from one place to the other, making a day of it—which is exactly what we did. We saved a lot of money doing this by using our reciprocal memberships.

Other things that are worth seeing in Cleveland include:

  • The Christmas Story House (the actual house in the film, A Christmas Story)
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  • The Great Lakes Museum

As you can tell, my family and I quite enjoyed northeastern Ohio and all it had to offer. Does this sound like a place you’d enjoy visiting in your RV? Why not give it a try and see for yourself? I think you’ll be glad you did!




3 thoughts on “5 Reasons You’ll Fall In Love With Northeast Ohio”

  1. Having lived in 5 different states, and now as a permanent resident of Ohio (Cleveland Suburb,) I think the article hits the nail on the head. She left out Oktoberfest, though – it’s the largest outdoor festival in Ohio! I’m looking forward to the gorgeous fall leaves in few weeks, and after that, snowboarding.

    Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the most-visited National Park, and is 10 minutes from my house. It’s part of the Emerald Necklace, which is a great system of parks that semi-surrounds Cleveland.

    Not sure what the other poster meant about “pea soup.” Algal blooms occasionally happen near Detroit.

    If you’re traveling near Columbus or middle Ohio, I recommend a day or two at Hocking Hills. It looks like a different country; just jaw-dropping.
    Traveling through northwest Ohio? Stop by Put-in-Bay; weekdays are nice & relaxing, while weekends are NOT family-friendly. 😉 For a great day trip, rent a golf cart to see the island – ferries are expensive for RVs.

  2. Four reasons you will NOT like Eastern Ohio

    1.) Lake Erie Toxic Algae Blooms. Every summer the western half of the lake turns green like pea soup. It’s smelly, toxic, and ugly. Do not touch it. Stay far, far away.

    2.) Every town has the same stupid “festival”. Beer tent, elephant ears, deep fried whatever. and a dilapidated carnival run by, well, you get the point.. No wonder the state leads the way in obesity.

    3.) Nonexistent Scenery. Flat, flat, and beyond that, more flat. It can seem like days driving through Ohio. And if traveling I-75 – Forget it. There has been major construction projects with multiple lanes closed since 1810. Wherever you go, it seems like you’re going downhill.

    4:) An Economy wholly supported by theme parks. The worst being Cedar Point on a little peninsula jutting into the green slime of lake Eerie. One stands in line for a ratio of 1 minute for every second of “ride-time”. Wait 45 minutes for a 45 second ride and paying through the nose for the pleasure of it. No shade, hot concrete, and the smell of dead fish.

    The only thing that could be worse, is western Ohio, where there’s a lot of, well, corn. A LOT of corn. I could say more, but I don’t want to seem like I’m being negative and picking on Ohio. It is what it is: Ohio.

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