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Ohio – Travel Off the Beaten Path #Travel

Ohio is a wonderful state. We all know Cleveland and its sports teams. We also know that Ohio has the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cedar Point. But what else is out there off the beaten path? If you’re travelling to Ohio, why not get out there and bring a story of your off the beaten path adventure back home?

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6 Places Off the Beaten Path in Ohio

Ohio has a lot of well known attractions, but there are several lesser known attractions that you can find if you go off the beaten path just a bit.

Purple People Bridge

Connecting downtown Cincinnati and Newport on the Levee, the shopping area of Covington, Kentucky, the Purple People Bridge is a lesser known attraction that is quite amazing. You can take in the view of the river, cities, and skylines as you walk across the bridge, or you can pay a small fee and climb the bridge.

Celina Lake Festival

The Celina Lake Festival is most likely far off the beaten path for many travelers. This festival features a collector car show, the world’s largest car and boat poker run, a huge craft show, a 5K run, and more. It even includes a kids fishing derby, pontoon rides, and a kiddie tractor pull. All of this is just a fraction of what the Celina Lake Festival has to offer a traveler.

The House of Nightmares

Travelling Ohio in the fall? Why not take in one of the best haunted houses in the entire state? What was once the Knox County Poorhouse in the tiny town of Bangs is now The House of Nightmares, a truly terrifying haunted house. While the attractions within the house are fantastic, the creeptastic building is what really makes it.

See the World’s Most Infamous Soap Box Derby Car

If you happen to be travelling near Akron, Ohio, take a detour off the beaten path and see the Soap Box derby car that single handedly destroyed the derby’s reputation as good clean fun. In 1973, 14 year old James Gronen built a Soap Box derby car designed to win – and unfortunately, mar the name of Soap Box derby. The car had an electromagnet hidden in its nose that flung the car forward when the metal starting gate fell.

You can see it at the All-American Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame and Museum at Derby Downs. Still a work in progress, the museum hopes to one day display ever Soap Box Derby nation champion car dating back to its inception in 1934.

[tweetthis]Off the beaten path OHIO travel ideas #TTOT #travel [/tweetthis]

Glendale, Ohio: The Black Squirrel Town

If you’ve ever seen black squirrels, you know they look pretty cool. Glendale, Ohio thinks so, too. In fact, they’ve devoted their entire town to the little guys. The story goes that in the 1940s a Glendale business man brought four black squirrels home with him form Michigan and let them go in town. Although one was shot within weeks, the other three survived and were the foundation for a booming black squirrel population in Glendale.

Now Glendale has black firetrucks, fibreglass squirrel statues, and a stuffed black squirrel at the Village Office. If you’re looking for a truly unique, off the beaten path experience, Glendale, Ohio is the place for you.

The Troll Hole

If you’re travelling near Alliance, Ohio, and you love troll dolls, check out the Troll Hole, the world’s largest collection of troll dolls. Sherry Groom, the owner of Troll Hole, has over 3,000 different troll dolls, and a seemingly endless amount of accessories for the dolls, and her collection is certified by Guinness as the world’s largest collection. If you’re lucky, you might even find her dressed up as a troll doll for her tours.

[tweetthis]Have you considered travelling off the beaten path in Ohio? #travel[/tweetthis]

Ohio is More Fun Than You Think

Sure, there are great nature parks, amusement parks, big cities to explore, and shopping aplenty in Ohio. However, if you take a side trip off the beaten path, you’ll discover some amazing places.

It’s Travel Tuesday which means it’s time to link up your favourite travel posts here. This is my perpetual travel linkup so return and share your new travel posts regularly and don’t forget to comment on posts that catch your eye.

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