Where should we go on our roadtrip?

September 21, 2009 8:40 AM

My friends and I want to take a weekend roadtrip from Oberlin (close to Cleveland, OH). Where should we go? What should we see along the way? None of us are from Ohio, so we have no ideas! Thanks!
posted by slowcat to Travel & Transportation (16 answers total)

You can go up to Detroit/Ann Arbor. Do a day in Detroit, hit the DIA and drive around Grosse Isle, gawking, camp near Ann Arbor (Waterloo Recreation Area has a variety of facilities), and do a day in Ann Arbor (Zingerman's, the Arb, Northside Grill.)
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:43 AM on September 21, 2009

Wherever you go, see if you can find a haunted cornfield or corn maze along the way. Basically, there's a haunted house/maze in a cornfield. It's campy, but a lot of fun. My friends who aren't from the midwest are amazed by this, and have never been up close to a cornfield before.
posted by runningwithscissors at 8:48 AM on September 21, 2009

This isn't exactly a road trip, but I think you should go see the glacial grooves on Kelleys Island. You'll have to take the ferry from Marblehead, and then walk to the north end of the island (you can take a car, I think, but walking to the grooves is half the fun). There's camping on the island at the state park near the grooves, if you want to spend the weekend. I think there's a restaurant/bar or two on the island, too, if you want to go out to eat, but I've never been.
posted by pullayup at 8:51 AM on September 21, 2009

If you haven't been to Cedar Point amusement park, its not to be missed. Of course, its a little close to qualify as a "road trip" in the classic sense.

If you like big cities, Chicago is right on the edge of reasonable roadtrip range as well. There's a boatload of Ask topics with things to do there you can research.
posted by Wulfhere at 8:52 AM on September 21, 2009

Hocking Hills is nice this time of year.
posted by Otis at 8:53 AM on September 21, 2009

If you do drive to Detroit, I recommend stopping at Erie Orchards for cider/doughnuts/apples. They use an IPM/low-spray approach to pest and disease management, and seem like nice people.
posted by pullayup at 8:56 AM on September 21, 2009

It's a little late in the season, but the Lake Erie Islands near Port Clinton are pretty nice for chilling. Lots of little galleries, wonderful B&Bs oodles of good restaurants. I've never been there off-season, but it's sweet in August, so maybe even sweeter now w/o the tourists (aka me). Couple-few hours drive from Oberlin (we used to stop there when kid was at school at O).
posted by nax at 9:17 AM on September 21, 2009

Seconding the Hocking Hills. And if you do go there, be sure to look out for the Logan Round House, which is on Chieftain Drive, almost hidden from view, near the Canoe Livery.
posted by essexjan at 9:39 AM on September 21, 2009

You might check out these ideas in the NYT "36 Hours in Cleveland" article.
posted by tizzie at 9:43 AM on September 21, 2009

Cincinnati, Columbus and Pittsburgh are all very reasonable drives from Cleveland for a weekend visit.
posted by mmascolino at 10:16 AM on September 21, 2009

What sorts of things would interest you? What sort of budget? I know Oberlin can feel like the middle of nowhere (I'm probably within a mile of you as I type) but there's really quite a lot of interesting stuff in range.
posted by jon1270 at 10:38 AM on September 21, 2009

Mansfield is about an hour southwest of Cleveland. Here area few things to do there:

Ohio State Reformatory

Kingwood Center

Malabar Farm
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 11:00 AM on September 21, 2009

I've heard great things about Jungle Jim's in Fairfield. If you're of age & interested, you could visit Ohio wineries or wineries along Lake Erie.

If you go find a haunted hayride/cornfield, you might also be close to a place you can go apple-picking!
posted by knile at 11:20 AM on September 21, 2009

As an Oberlin alum, I second the Ohio State Reformatory as an ass-kicking place to visit this time of year. It's where they shot 'The Shawshank Redempton" and is just a gorgeous, spooky place even without all the haunted house stuff.
Also, I always regretted not going to Toronto. Get out yer passport!
posted by genmonster at 5:14 PM on September 21, 2009

Oh, please go to Gambier. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. And lots of Amish there as well.
posted by FlyByDay at 8:18 PM on September 21, 2009

Niagara Falls is about a four-hour drive from Oberlin, and much of it--especially in a few weeks, with the autumn colors--is very pretty. If you're looking for the traditional road trip of several hours of driving and ending at a destination, this might be one of your best bets. And, again, seriously, it's so pretty this time of year. Keep in mind that if you want to hit the Canadian side of the Falls, you'll need a valid passport.

I'll also second Kelley's Island. If you're into outdoorsy stuff, they've got great hiking and kayaking. If you're less into that sort of thing, there's a winery, a pub, a putt-putt course...

If you haven't explored Cleveland, it might be worth a trip. I made a lot of recommendations for things to see and do here.
posted by MeghanC at 9:41 PM on September 21, 2009