24 Best Sights in Ohio, USA

The I. M. Pei–designed building has everything from the ridiculous (Jim Morrison's Cub Scout uniform) to the sublime (John Lennon's hand-written lyrics for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). Stage costumes that once belonged to Chuck Berry and Iggy Pop, handwritten lyrics by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin's Porsche, and a re-creation of Memphis's Sun Studios—where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison made their first records—are among the museum's holdings. Interactive kiosks provide video and sound explorations of performers' contributions to the rock genre. The museum continually rotates in temporary exhibits to highlight essential performers and recognize more recent contributions to rock 'n' roll. Past temporary exhibits have showcased U2, the Clash, and the Vans Warped Tour.

A well-traveled Native American trail through hardwood forests, meadows, and ravines is now part of the 650-acre Blendon Woods Metro Park. Just one of the parks in the system, it offers four-season fun with cross-country skiing, disk golf, hiking trails, and a nature center. In the waterfowl refuge, you might see 500 or more black ducks on the 11-acre lake on a winter's day.

Affiliated with the school's department of horticulture, the Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Garden is an outdoor laboratory of local and regional trees and plants including wildflowers, prairie plants, and perennials. The calming labyrinth garden, set in a ring of arborvitae evergreens, is modeled after one at Chartres Cathedral in France.

One of the best examples of art deco architecture in the country, Union Terminal simplified a muddled infrastructure of five train stations and seven lines when it was built in 1933. Now the West End's best-known landmark houses three museums, an OMNIMAX Theater, and Cincinnati's functioning Amtrak terminal. Large mosaic tile murals dating from the 1930s adorn the interior rotunda, and come summer kids frolic around the stair-stepped fountains near the evergreen-landscaped entrance.

Cincinnati's golden years are recalled at the Cincinnati History Museum. You can walk down a re-created city street from the early 1900s, interact with interpretive historians in period dress, and view dozens of Queen City artifacts, along with vintage automobiles and a 1920s streetcar.

At the Cinergy Children's Museum kids can climb, crawl, and explore the world around them. Play areas include a forest with a two-story treehouse, a construction site, an energy zone with pedals and pulleys, and a waterworks with small boats and a series of locks. For kids up to 10 years of age.

You can get a close-up look at whales, volcanoes, Mount Everest, and other wonders at the Linder Family OMNIMAX Theater. Movies are shown on a five-story, 72-foot-wide domed screen.

Exhibits at the Museum of Natural History and Science take you on a journey back in time, from the age of the dinosaurs through the English Renaissance and the Wild West. There's a colony of bats and underground waterfalls in a replica of a limestone cave.

You can buy individual tickets or a combination ticket that gives you entry to multiple museums and the theater.

East of Cincinnati, near Milford, is a 1,025-acre nature preserve with 18 mi of trails. Hikers of all fitness levels are accommodated through trails with varying degrees of difficulty. Several ponds and lakes are also great for a picnic or rest. There are also a gift shop, bookstore, nature exhibits, and a bird-viewing area in the Nature Center.

Cleveland's NFL team plays from September through December at Cleveland Browns Stadium, a modern facility in every sense of the word. Football is an unwavering passion here, and tickets are scarce; any individual tickets are sold starting in July. Seats in the Dawg Pound, a lively area behind the northeast end zone, are highly desirable.

So Cleveland's terrain isn't exactly alpine, but the guides here take all comers to rocky outcrops in the Cleveland Metroparks. Outdoor dates are limited to the summer, but the indoor facility, with its indoor top rope climbing wall, bouldering area, and weight-lifting equipment, is open year-round. Rental equipment and classes are available. The gym is a 10-minute drive from downtown Cleveland.

The 33,000-acre recreation area, and the only national park in Ohio, sprawls along 22 miles of the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron. You can take part in fishing, biking, camping, winter sports, horseback riding, and more. The 19.5-mile-long Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail follows the canal's historic route and takes about 10 hours to hike. The trail is open 24 hours, allowing visitors the chance to explore after dark. There are five visitor facilities within the park that offer information, exhibits, and knowledgeable park rangers.

Exhibits, which span from antique dolls to modern collectibles such as GI Joe, bring out the educational, historical, and cultural significance of these toys. The collection, which numbers in the thousands, includes Disney memorabilia, toy trains, and circus items. The museum is about 15 mi southeast of Downtown.

Now a curious structure among the modern buildings and warehouses in Cleveland's Midtown District, the museum is filled with artifacts from the Dunham family, the original residents. Walk the Cleveland Botanical Garden–manicured grounds for vignettes of early-19th-century life.

Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River are two of Cleveland's greatest assets, and the Goodtime III shows them off in style. One of the largest leisure cruise ships on the Great Lakes winds its way along the Cuyahoga, a Mohawk word meaning "crooked river," and the Lake Erie shore for two-hour cruises, providing the best skyline views of the city. Regularly scheduled tours run from Memorial Day to Labor Day, on weekends only (but including Memorial Day) until mid-June. Luncheon, dinner, and dancing cruises are also available.

More than 400 interactive exhibits and daily demonstrations and an OMNIMAX theater await you at this indoor-outdoor educational center. Science and technology displays include a bridge of fire, a touchable indoor tornado, and an especially good area that focuses on the environment of the Great Lakes region. A working wind turbine on the front lawn provides the museum with supplemental, renewable power.

An abolitionist, minister, and composer of numerous songs, Benjamin Russell Hanby is most remembered for his song "Up on the Housetop." About 15 mi north of Downtown in Westerville, the home of Hanby and his family was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Built in 1846 and on the National Register of Historic Places, the house displays furniture and personal family items, including a walnut desk made by Hanby.

The exhibits in Burke Lakefront Airport's lobby and concourse chronicle centuries of female flight, from Napoleonic balloon captains to space-age pilots. The museum is particularly rich in the recent history of female astronauts.

South Bass Island has been a popular tourist destination since Victorian times, and a century and a half of the little island’s history is proudly displayed at this mostly volunteer-run museum. Here you’ll see photos of island life in the 19th century, as well as model ships, old documents and postcards, and educational displays about the entire Great Lakes region. It also screens a short historical documentary for interested visitors. Proceeds from the antiques store on-site help keep the museum afloat.

The Library of the Western Reserve Historical Society has more than 6 million items, including prints and photographs, manuscripts and newspapers focusing primarily on Ohio's history. The library's vast collection of genealogical materials has made it one of the best and largest family-history research centers in the country.

The Library of the Western Reserve Historical Society has more than 6 million items, including prints and photographs, manuscripts and newspapers focusing primarily on Ohio's history. The library's vast collection of genealogical materials has made it one of the best and largest family-history research centers in the country.

Adjacent to the world headquarters of the American Motorcycle Association, about 20 mi east of Downtown, the museum displays the actual machines that Hall of Fame inductees rode and celebrates the accomplishments of the more than 260 men and women recognized by the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, such as Evel Knievel and the founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Co.

Exhibits span all periods of military history, up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and include all countries in which the United States has been involved. About 10 mi south of Downtown Columbus, the museum serves as the repository for the Ohio Military Hall of Fame. Unique exhibits include a replica of World War I flying ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's boyhood home and a M47 tank driven by Arnold Schwarzenegger when he served in the Austrian Army.

Deep below the surface of South Bass Island, the limestone Perry’s Cave, with its underground lake, has been an island must-see for generations. More recently, a family fun park has been built around the subterranean grotto, and now visitors can easily while away an afternoon at the attraction. Activities include miniature golf, gemstone mining, laser tag, an antique-car display, a rock-climbing wall, and a maze. There’s also a butterfly aviary that houses 50 different species from around the world.

Although most people are more likely to associate Ohio with corn or soybean production than they are with wine, the Buckeye State has had a strong viticulture industry since the early 19th century. South Bass Island has a couple of wineries of its own, the newest of which is Put-in-Bay Winery. There’s a gift shop and a small exhibit on winemaking; those who want a more thorough experience can go on one of the half-hour tasting tours, which combine a tasting session (for those of legal drinking age) with a tour of the estate’s Victorian mansion.

If you want to take a relaxing break from the tourist excitement in Put-in-Bay, this is a good place to start. Here you’ll find 33 lakeside acres of fields and woodland, as well as a picnic area, cabins, and a campground—if you do decide to stay the night, note that you’ll be sharing your abode with other creatures including songbirds and a couple of types of harmless snake. Popular activities at the park include fishing and boating, and you can rent a variety of watercraft from private vendors in the area.

The former steel-and-coal–carrying behemoth churned through the Great Lakes for 55 years before retiring in 1980. State of the art when she put to sea in 1925, the ship is now a museum displaying how ships were once built, replete with a brass and oak pilothouse and an extravagant dining room. The William G. Mather is within walking distance of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Great Lakes Science Center, which owns the ship and has plans to build an enclosed passageway connecting it to the museum.

Watch the ponies run between April and November. The Ohio Derby, the largest-stakes race here, is held in early June.