Cincinnati to Boston, what should we see?
July 29, 2010 12:19 PM   Subscribe

My best friend and I are taking a road trip from Cincinnati, Ohio to Boston, Massachusetts. What should we see? Where should we go?

After staying in Cincinnati for the Summer, I'm moving back to Boston for school in August. My best friend is kindly helping me get back there. We will be traveling by car and we would like to turn it into a little wild and wacky road trip. We're leaving ourselves anywhere from two to four days to complete the journey.

While we are game for ANYTHING (the stranger the better), we do have SOME limitations. We have to make a required stop in Bowling Green, (northern) Ohio to see a friend. This would happen on the first day since it is relatively close to Cincinnati (~3-4 hours). Furthermore, we will be traveling with a dog. While she's very well-behaved and very well-trained, she's an enormous German Shepherd, so places that are large-dog-unfriendly will not work.

We're looking more for obscure roadside attractions than traditional tourist destinations. While we don't have unlimited funds, we've got enough gas money to meander a bit. He's a photographer so unique photo opportunities are a huge plus.
posted by LittleKnitting to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is an absolutely fantastic old-time drive-in ice cream and burger joint in Dalton, OH, right on US-30E, also known as "The cheap way of getting across Ohio." I-80 is toll the whole way, until you hit I-76.

Both Ohio and Pennsylvania have a couple of dozen covered bridges each. These will definitely be off the beaten path, and you'll get a lot of local color. They also have the advantage of being completely free. Plus I'd bet your dog would like playing in the creeks, though you might not.

I think though, what you want is RoadsideAmerica.com. Yeah. That seems to be it.
posted by valkyryn at 12:31 PM on July 29, 2010


Last August, my best girl friend and I went on a road trip from Chicago to Boston, and on the way back, we stopped at Niagara Falls (Canadian side). It was pretty awesome and didn't take us much out of the way at all! I highly recommend spending 2 nights there it's a trip!
posted by katypickle at 12:59 PM on July 29, 2010


If you happen to stop in the Akron area for a meal, Swensons Drive-ins makes to-die-for burgers and damn good shakes.

And while not really a roadside attraction, the Goodyear Blimp Hanger is a sight to behold. It's right next to the Derby Downs where they hold the annual Soapbox Derby.
posted by slogger at 1:02 PM on July 29, 2010


Just before you hit Columbus, you ought to stop at Yellow Springs/Springfield. Home to Antioch University and a good number of eateries and one very decent comics shop (if it's still there, I haven't been since, oh, 1997!) Yellow Spings has an amazing vegan cafe called Sunrise.
posted by wowbobwow at 1:19 PM on July 29, 2010


Seconding Yellow Springs, OH. In college (Wittenberg in Springfield, OH), I was told that Yellow Springs was where hippies retired. I lived around there circa 99-2000. If things haven't changed too much: the pizza and list of toppings is astounding at HaHa's, Ye Old Tavern is great for drink, Earth Rose has great trinkets, and Dingleberry's (might be wrong on that name) sells music and "etc." There are some nice hikes in the nearby forest and a bike path for strolling or rolling.

Just outside of Yellow Springs is Young's Dairy. It has become a bit touristy, but it is best ice cream I've eaten in a long time. The entire process cow to cone is on site. Freshest dairy products around.

If you end up making your way through NY on the turnpike, you should dip south for a detour to the Finger Lakes Region. (You won't be able to miss the signs.) The lakes are gorgeous; wineries and Upstate NY villages abound. There is also the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge off of the turnpike, which would be great for bird watching.
posted by wg at 1:39 PM on July 29, 2010


Yellow Springs also has Young's Jersey Dairy, home of the greatest ice cream on earth.

The Wood County Historical Society, just outside of BG has a finger in a jar.

The Prehistoric Forest near Sandusky is, sadly, in its last season.

Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright house in southwestern PA is well worth a stop (make reservations beforehand).

When in August are you going? The Bucyrus (OH) Bratwurst Festival is Aug 19-21. Good eatin!
posted by plastic_animals at 1:43 PM on July 29, 2010


When you get to Mass there's a huge museum Mass MoCA that's worth the detour.
posted by sammyo at 3:44 PM on July 29, 2010


If you are passing through Zanesville, Oh on route 70, why not go on safari? There is a great exotic wildlife reservation on reclaimed strip mine land called The Wilds: http://www.thewilds.org/

They have rhinos, camels, giraffes, asian deer, cheetahs, etc. The craziest one though, is this Asian Goat that looks like a mix between a buffalo and bear, the Sichuan Takin.

Take the open air tour. This is not a zoo, it is a large chunk of land set aside for these animals which emulates their natural habitat.
posted by mythicalbyrd at 8:47 AM on July 30, 2010


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