Away From the Crowds in Ohio

In Logan, you’ll find the caves of Hocking Hills State Park. When the Wisconsin glacier started melting thousands of years ago, the waters flowed over the land that is now part of the park. They rushed through cracks in the ground, creating deep winding gorges and recessed caves. The caves are large enough to walk into, such as the Rock House cave.

The Rock House cave has a ceiling that’s 25 feet high, and the main corridor is 200 feet long and up to 30 feet wide.

Chateau Laroche is a medieval castle in Loveland. It was built by a medieval enthusiast, Harry Andrews. He built the entire castle on his own. The stones used to build the castle came from the Little Miami River. Andrews even added a secret room that wasn’t discovered until the castle began to collapse. The interior is filled with medieval trinkets and paraphernalia, including a full-size suit of knight armor. There are even thorns to sit in. Visitors can see the castle since it is run by the "Knights of the Golden Trail," the youth organization established by Andrews. It has also been used as a wedding venue because of the lovely gardens.

In Dublin visitors are surprised by Cornhenge, a public art display in this suburb of Columbus. Commissioned by the Dublin Art Council and completed in 1994, this field of corn consists of 109 six-foot tall white ears of concrete corn coming up from the ground. They were designed by artist Malcolm Cochran, a professor of sculpture at the Ohio State University.

Crystal Cave in Put-In Bay is actually a single rock. (pictured above) It is the largest geode on Earth. The geode was discovered in 1887 when workers were digging a well for a winery operator named Gustav Heineman. It was discovered that the formation was a “yug,” a large cavity within a single rock. The name Crystal Cave comes from the celestine crystals that jut from the walls.

Acres of English cottage gardens can be found at the Gardenview Horticultural Park in Strongsville, a suburb of Cleveland.

This is a charming garden with thousands of flowers and over 2,000 trees. It is the work of Henry Ross, whose dream it was to create an English garden.

The Hartman Rock Garden in Springfield is a miniature world of concrete and stone. H.G. “Ben” Hartman was inspired to create this rock wonderland in his yard. Hartman constructed replicas of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, the White House, and Mount Vernon, and a large castle with a drawbridge, as well as many other structures. A line of stone animals marches up a bridge to Noah's Ark, all made of pebbles.

The Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland has an angel statue that weeps black tears. The statue is called the Haserot Angel and is seated on the marble gravestone of Francis Haserot and his family. This is a life-size bronze angel with an extinguished torch held upside down, a symbol of life that has been extinguished. It appears that the angel weeps black tears from her eyes that drip down her neck.

Georges Seurat’s pointillist masterpiece has been recreated in Ohio in the Topiary Park in Columbus. The topiaries recreated the famous painting by Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. This project was the creative idea of Columbus sculptor James T. Mason. This art installation was dedicated in 1992 and consists of 54 people, 8 boats, 3 dogs, a monkey, and a cat formed from yew trees.

In Hinckley you can explore the unusual Worden’s Ledges created by an ancient ocean; the sandstone cliffs are surrounded by woods. The intricate stone figures found here were created by Nobel Stuart, the son-in-law of the owner of this land, Hiram Worden, for whom these ledges have been named. Stuart became creative in the 1940s, and the figures are a blend of historic figures and people from his life. You’ll spot the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ty Cobb, as well as a pirate ship, a guardian sphinx, Christ on a crucifix, and a Native American throwing a tomahawk. Adventurers enjoy wandering the surrounding wood.