Kinda of a “Staycation“… kinda not. If you live in Ohio (or a surrounding state) THIS needs to be your next getaway! 📍Fairfield County. Know of it? Maybe not on your travel “bucket list“, but it should be if you live nearby. Only a one hour drive from Columbus and under 3 hours from Cleveland. Y’all – this county has got-it-all, especially for fall photos or a winter escape. Go with your BFF, partner or family. With the variety of unique experiences, events and attractions, plus the combo of big adventure with small-town charm, everyone will enjoy the trip!
📍Why Fairfield County?📍
- Cheers to an eclectic beer and wine scene
- such as the Route 33 Brew Trail, featuring 6 craft breweries with unique taprooms
- 12 museums spanning all interests
- Amazing array of outdoor adventures
- 17 original covered bridges (the most in the state of Ohio!)
- Dozens of events and festivals year-round
🍺 BrewDog Brewery & Taproom 🍺
Check out the brand new brew house and taproom, serving up their US-brewed beers AND a range of incredible nom-noms to eat. Yes, HUGE soft-pretzels are on the menu… and they are so good!
- The 42-acre site includes a brewery, taproom and the new Doghouse, a hotel made for beer lovers.
- Beers are brewed right at the brewery.
🍺 Rockmill Brewery 🍺
- Featuring Ohio-made, Belgian inspired brews
- Situated on a previous horse farm
- THE most quaint, chic and cozy brewery I’ve ever seen! With a fireplace!
📍Covered Bridges 📍
Fun Fact: O-H-I-O is second only to Pennsylvania for the state having the largest number of original covered bridges. Too simple chic to pass up… especially now in the fall or with a fresh coating of snow!
- Fairfield County, Ohio has the most covered bridges in the state.
- The majority of Fairfield County’s covered bridges were built ca 1871-1906.
- Original construction began in 1849.
- Photos (below) are of of the GORGEOUS old Rock Mill Bridge
- built in 1901
- stands on its original abutments over a striking gorge just before the falls of the Hocking River
- spanning 37 feet
- one of the last bridge in Fairfield County to carry vehicular traffic.
🍺 Ale House 1890🍺
Literally since 1890, this ale house (located at 151 W. Main St.) has provided spirits and good times to the city of Lancaster. Expanded in 2014, Ale House 1890 continues this community tradition.
- Cheers to 18 beers on tap (along with a full bar)
- Mmmmmmm Menu: Featuring “made-from-scratch” recipes sourced from some of the finest locally bought produce.
🛍️ Shopping 🛍️
Downtown Lancaster features many restaurants, museums, boutiques, antique shops and more. Unless you “shop til you drop”, it will be a challenge to get all of these boutiques in one day! Here are a few faves NOT to miss…
- A Season in Time – 200 W. Main St., open 11AM-5PM
- Paperback Exchange – 201 W. Main St., open 10:30AM-7:30PM
- Tracie Lynn’s Collections – 113 N. Columbus St., open 11AM-5PM
- Rustic Gals Boutique – 81 N. Paint St., open 10AM-5PM
- Old Shoe Factory Antique Mall – 301 Forest Rose Ave., open 9AM-6PM
- Miss Miss Molly’s Mercantile – 117 S. Columbus St., open 9AM-8PM
Love a good vintage find? Found these (below) at the Old Shoe Factory Antique Mall. Add all to cart!
If you’re not planning a road trip JUST yet… PIN the image below so that you can refer back to all this info later on!
Happy Traveling, Friends!
This post was sponsored by Fairfield County, but all opinions are my own.
You know that you and I were JUST talking about me & the hubby coming to Ohio, so this area is totally where I am staying when we come.
We don’t drink so the brewery wouldn’t be on our list so we would do other things in the area. I know many people who would totally enjoying visiting the brewery.
This sounds like such a lovely place to visit. I hands up would love to get to go to Ohio, I have never seen much of America at all but it seems to have such lovely and unique places to visit.
This does look like a beautiful area. Ohio has some fantastic towns. I wouldn’t mind checking this out. My husband has family in Ohio so when we visit again, we need to go here.
Thank you for mentioning our Rock Mill Covered Bridge and Rock Mill. Here is the new Fairfield County Parks website – fairfieldcountyparks.org.
The view was ahhhhh-mazing! Wish we could have stayed even longer! Gorgeous!! Especially this time of year…
I am always looking for cute little towns to explore. Ohio is a bit far at this point but I do want to go there. It looks like it would be a nice relaxing time.
Okay so a few things – we are in Ontario and we could easily drive to OHIO to do this actually. I would love to visit Rockmill brewery. My husband has never done one of these kinds of tours with me so that could be a great little weekend away. I had no idea that OHIO has so many covered bridges. I LOVE those for photos and for atmosphere.
I haven’t been to Ohio in a while. I would like to see the bridge, though. My kids love stuff like that!
This town looks like it is a lot of fun and a great place to sample beer. I love that they have an original 1890 pub and the shopping looks great too.
I’ve never been to Ohio and honestly never really thought about visiting! But now you make me think twice about it!
This looks like such a cool place! We have a little microbrewery in our town and love going to it! Looks like you had a great time!
I would love to see those covered bridges! I don’t think I’ve ever been to Ohio unless I was traveling through on the way somewhere else. I need to plan a visit soon.
You had me at breweries but those covered bridges would make for some amazing photos. Fairfield County sounds like a wonderful travel destination.
This looks like such a wonderful time, so much to see and do. I can’t wait to visit.
That wedge salad looks awesome. I had no idea that Ohio had so many covered bridges.
I’m interested in the Ale House and the made-from-scratch recipes! My wife would surely like the shopping. Interesting fact about the covered bridges!
I love Ohio. What a great state. And who knew there were so many covered bridges. I would love to see one.
Breweries, Museums, Bridges, and great food. All the makings of a great holiday getaway. Definitely irresistible, especially very keen of the bridges.
I’m visiting someone in Ohio in a couple weeks–gonna have to keep this in mind! It looks like there’s lots to do there! :] I’m all for outdoor adventures!
My dad grew up in Ohio, but hasn’t been back in forever. This has me thinking we should go back to visit his hometown. Looks like a lovely time of year to visit Ohio.
My husband and I are non-drinkers of alcohol. This would not be a trip that we would want to take. In spite of us being non alcohol drinks , our son was a alcoholic before he died at age 47. His paternal grandpa and uncle gave him alcohol at age 12. We hate alcohol, actually.
Maumee Bay Lodge with surroundings is a wonderful spot for a perfect family vacation
I’m so very sorry to hear about your son. I appreciate you taking the time to share this with me… and I understand how this would not be a trip that would be a good match for you/your family. I’ll check out the other place you mentioned – always looking for new options! Take care and thank you for the support.