FALL FOLIAGE View the

People from all across the Midwest will flock to Ohio as days get shorter and nights get longer to view the changing leaves. While many think of state parks, we’ve listed a couple of alternatives to get out and not only capture the changing colors, but avoid some of the crowds and learn a little along the way.

New England isn’t the only place to view fall colors!

With more than 3 miles of trails and a scenic overlook, FORT ANCIENT EARTHWORKS & NATURE

PRESERVE near Oregonia and Lebanon is a perfect place to stop and take in the variety of fall colors. During the peak season, the site will have bursts of reds, oranges and yellows as leaves change. In addition to its natural features, at Fort Ancient you can see expansive hilltop earthworks that ancient American

Indians built about 2,000 years ago. With a museum sharing the story of the earthworks and the ancient people who built them, you can easily spend several hours enjoying all this site has to offer. Fort Ancient is one of seven ancient sites in Ohio collectively called the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks proposed for addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List, which recognizes places worldwide of outstanding universal value to humanity.

Ripley, Ohio, is right on the Ohio River, an hour east of Cincinnati. Considering its location, it’s not a surprise that the village of Ripley, little-changed since before the Civil War, was a major stop on the Underground Railroad. Ripley’s JOHN RANKIN HOUSE was one of Ohio’s most active Underground Railroad “stations“ and remains one of the best documented. It overlooks the Ohio River from a bluff high above the town and provides gorgeous panoramic views that stand out in the fall. The town of Ripley has a 55-acre historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Walk Front Street and take in the sights and sounds of river life, including the historic riverside homes—among them the restored home of Black Underground Railroad “conductor” John P. Parker, now a museum—and try one of the great local restaurants.

Located in southwestern Ohio, DAVIS MEMORIAL NATURE PRESERVE is an 88-acre preserve with more than two miles of hiking trails. It includes large parts of the Buckeye Trail, a 1,440-mile hiking trail circling the state of Ohio. Within the preserve is a boardwalk leading to 30-foot cliffs of exposed bedrock that are over 400 million years old. The easy hikes and gorgeous colors allow visitors to take in the natural beauty of Ohio. Davis Memorial Nature Preserve is an hour south of Chillicothe and free to the public.

A hidden gem of Ohio history and natural beauty, BUCKEYE FURNACE , near Wellston, is a 270-acre site with a restored iron-making furnace built in 1852. Furnaces like this one, once scattered throughout rural southeast Ohio, produced iron that helped win the Civil War. The site has five reconstructed buildings associated with the historic iron-making furnace and several nature trails that you can take to explore the area around it. Buckeye Furnace is a good alternative to some of the state’s larger parks that get crowded with visitors during the peak of fall color.

There are so many more Ohio History Connection sites to explore where you can enjoy the changing colors. We always recommend checking ohiohistory.org/sites for days and hours before traveling to ensure the best experience.

When it comes to timing your fall adventure just right, we recommend scanning the QR code below to visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Fall Color Report to see what areas in Ohio are in peak season and which are just starting to change.

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