Ohio · best-of list
The 6 Best Outdoor Spots in Ohio
All 6 outdoor spots our route editors picked in Ohio, across 4 destinations, gathered in one list. Each one is a stop on a route you can open and copy into a trip.
Our curated picks
6 outdoor spots in Ohio, grouped by destination. Destinations with the most picks come first; this is not a ranking.
German Village 2 picks
Schiller Park
German Village · On our Columbus New Year's Eve route
23-acre park at the heart of German Village with a pond, old trees and a statue of Friedrich Schiller.
Tip: Loop the park, then wander the brick side streets east of it for the 1800s cottages.
Photo: Jsjessee · CC BY-SA 2.0Scioto Audubon Metro Park
German Village · On our Columbus New Year's Eve route
Riverside park on a former industrial site just west of German Village, with wetland trails and skyline views.
Tip: The loop around the wetlands is an easy, flat first walk of the year.
Ohio City & the Lakefront 2 picks
Edgewater Park
Ohio City & the Lakefront · On our Cleveland New Year's Eve route
Lakefront park with a beach, a pier and a hilltop lawn facing the downtown skyline across the water.
Tip: Walk out on the pier for the straight-on skyline view.
Photo: Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0
Lakewood Park
Ohio City & the Lakefront · On our Cleveland New Year's Eve route
Bluff-top park in Lakewood with wide stone steps down to Lake Erie and a long view east to the city.
Tip: Sit on the steps at sunset; it comes early, around 5 p.m.
Photo: Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0
Cleveland 1 pick
Brandywine Falls
Cleveland · On our Indiana & Ohio City-Nature Loop route
65-foot waterfall with boardwalk views in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Tip: About 25 minutes south; combine with the Ledges Trail.
Photo: Matt Fox · Google
Downtown Cincinnati 1 pick
Smale Riverfront Park
Downtown Cincinnati · On our Cincinnati New Year's Eve route
Riverfront park below downtown with lawns, steps down to the Ohio and a close view of the Roebling bridge.
Tip: Walk here after dinner for the view of Covington and the lit bridge towers.
Photo: Jeffery Roberts · CC BY-SA 3.0
How we picked these
Every entry is a stop on at least one of TripsCircle's hand-curated routes, chosen by our route editors, who wrote the reason to go shown with each place. These are our curated picks, not a scored ranking: we haven't rated or reviewed them against each other. The list is grouped by destination, and within each destination places that appear on more routes come first.
Prices ($ to $$$$) and visit lengths are rough guides from our route notes, not quotes. Check opening hours before you go.
About this list
How did you choose the outdoor spots in Ohio?
Each one is a stop on a TripsCircle route that our editors built by hand, and each comes with a written reason to go. This page shows all 6 of them. They are curated picks, not a ranked score.
Which part of Ohio has the most outdoor spots on this list?
German Village and Ohio City & the Lakefront lead with 2 each; the other picks are spread across 2 more destinations.
Are any of these free?
6 picks on this list are marked free in our route notes: Schiller Park, Edgewater Park, Brandywine Falls, Smale Riverfront Park, Scioto Audubon Metro Park, and more. Check ahead, since parking or special exhibits can cost extra.
More lists for Ohio
Best outdoor spots nearby
Destinations on this list
- German Village 2 on this list
- Ohio City & the Lakefront 2 on this list
- Cleveland 1 on this list
- Downtown Cincinnati 1 on this list
Turn this list into a plan
Open a curated route in TripsCircle, add the spots your crew wants, vote with polls and keep everyone on one shared itinerary.