# Road trips in Ohio > 5 road trips and 20 hand-picked places in Ohio, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/ohio/ 5 road trips and 20 hand-picked places in Ohio, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through Ohio - [Hocking Hills caves and Ohio’s Amish Country](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b10-hocking-hills-amish/): Sandstone gorges and waterfalls in southeastern Ohio, then a canal town and buggies in Holmes County. - [Lake Erie’s islands and lighthouses](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-lake-erie-islands/): Sandusky and the Marblehead lighthouse, glacial grooves on Kelleys Island and Perry’s monument at Put-in-Bay, with car ferries between them. - [Cuyahoga Valley National Park to Canton](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-cuyahoga-valley/): Waterfalls and sandstone ledges in Ohio’s national park, a Gilded Age mansion in Akron and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. - [Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks: Ohio’s ancient mounds](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-ohio-earthworks/): Visit the giant geometric earthworks of the Hopewell culture, a World Heritage Site, and the famous Serpent Mound on the way from Columbus to Cincinnati. - [Giant baskets and infinity rooms: a Midwest oddities run](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/midwest-oddities/): Novelty buildings, a fiberglass spaceman and a house that should not exist. ## Places worth the detour in Ohio - [Old Man’s Cave](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-old-mans-cave/): A gorge of waterfalls, stone bridges and a huge recess cave, the heart of Hocking Hills State Park. Very busy on fall weekends; come early. - [Marblehead Lighthouse](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-marblehead-lighthouse/): The oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes, from 1822, on limestone shore at the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula. Tower climbs in summer for a small fee. - [Brandywine Falls](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-brandywine-falls/): A 20 m waterfall over sandstone and shale in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, seen from a boardwalk a short walk from the parking lot. Arrive early on weekends. - [Mound City Group, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-mound-city/): Twenty-three burial mounds inside an earthen wall on the Scioto River, the best-known of the Hopewell sites and part of a World Heritage Site. Free visitor center and grounds. - [Serpent Mound](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-serpent-mound/): A 411 m effigy mound shaped like an uncoiling snake on a ridge above Brush Creek, set in an ancient impact crater. An observation tower gives a better view of the shape. - [Rock & Roll Hall of Fame](https://camping-spirit.com/places/rock-hall/): A glass pyramid on Lake Erie full of guitars, handwritten lyrics and stage outfits. - [The Big Basket Building](https://camping-spirit.com/places/basket-building/): A seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, handles included. It is a classic example of novelty architecture. Photos from the road only. - [Rock House](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-rock-house/): The only true cave in Hocking Hills, a corridor in a sandstone cliff with window-like openings, once used by bandits. - [Cedar Falls](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-cedar-falls-oh/): The highest-volume waterfall in Hocking Hills, reached from Old Man’s Cave by the Grandma Gatewood Trail or by car. - [Ash Cave](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-ash-cave/): A giant horseshoe-shaped recess cave with a thin waterfall, reached by a flat, wheelchair-accessible path. - [Historic Roscoe Village](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-roscoe-village/): A restored Ohio and Erie Canal town with brick shops and a horse-drawn canal boat ride nearby in summer. - [World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-cuckoo-clock/): A giant Swiss-style clock with dancing figures that perform on the half hour in the “Little Switzerland of Ohio”. - [Glacial Grooves State Memorial](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-glacial-grooves/): The largest easily accessible glacial grooves in the world, cut into limestone by the ice sheets, with a walkway around them. Kelleys Island is reached by car or passenger ferry from Marblehead. - [Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-perrys-victory/): A 107 m Doric column on South Bass Island commemorating the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie and lasting peace between the US, Britain and Canada. The observation deck is closed for repairs in 2026 and 2027; the grounds and visitor center open in season. - [Boston Mill Visitor Center](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-boston-mill/): The main visitor center of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, in the historic village of Boston, on the Towpath Trail along the Ohio & Erie Canal. Get maps and trail status here. - [Ritchie Ledges](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-ritchie-ledges/): Sandstone cliffs of Sharon Conglomerate with cracks and caves, circled by a 3 km trail. The Ledges Overlook faces west and is a popular spot for sunset. - [Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-stan-hywet/): The Tudor Revival mansion of Goodyear founder F. A. Seiberling, from 1915, with gardens by Warren Manning. In 1935 the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous first met in its gate lodge. - [Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-pro-football-hof/): The museum of American professional football in the city where the NFL was founded in 1920, with the bronze busts of every inductee. Right off I-77; allow two to three hours. - [Great Circle Earthworks](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-newark-great-circle/): A 365 m circular earthen enclosure built by the Hopewell culture about 2,000 years ago, part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks World Heritage Site. Free museum and park. - [Fort Ancient](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-fort-ancient/): Nearly 6 km of earthen walls on a bluff above the Little Miami River, built by the Hopewell culture, with a museum and overlooks. Part of the World Heritage Site. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in Ohio?** Popular routes include Hocking Hills caves and Ohio’s Amish Country, Lake Erie’s islands and lighthouses, Cuyahoga Valley National Park to Canton and Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks: Ohio’s ancient mounds. CampingSpirit has 5 trip guides that pass through Ohio, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in Ohio are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Old Man’s Cave, Marblehead Lighthouse, Brandywine Falls, Mound City Group, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and Serpent Mound.