Columbus, OH

Columbus is a fun city in the center of Ohio—a sentence I never thought I would say!

Cbus Tips: 

• Remember every time you are planning a trip to the Midwest—you will enjoy your time more if you go from May-October. Winter can be brutal!

• There is a thriving beer scene here! Be sure to plan ahead because you’ll want to target your ideal breweries, it would be nearly impossible to hit them all in one trip!

• Snag a Columbus Ale Trail booklet from pretty much any brewery to get stamps for your purchases and earn free swag!

• Ohio State University is located here so be conscious of football/graduation seasons when planning your trip! [Also be sure to yell Go Green for me if you’re there when they play Michigan State!]

• Columbus definitely has some rough areas so be aware and be safe.

Exploring Ohio? Check out my guides to Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland!

Adventures & Ales Top Columbus Recommendations: ​

• Hoof Hearted Brewing: A hype brewery mainly known for their IPAs which are super tasty, but everything they make is generally great. They have two locations in the Columbus area:

  • Marengo, Ohio: Their original location is about 30 minutes northeast of Columbus. They have Oak Hill BBQ onsite, an arcade, front and back patios, and overall chill vibes. This is basically in the middle of nowhere but it is a cool spot to check out.

  • Italian Village Neighborhood: Their downtown spot has fun vibes and even a pool that you can pay $10 to hang out at if you’re not a member of the gym it’s connected to.

• Land Grant Brewing Company: Yummy beers, a massive outdoor beer garden space, and tons of TVs. They also have frequent live music and outdoor movies during the summer months! Rayrays Hog Pit lives onsite for your BBQ needs.

• Gemut Biergarten: A great German biergarten with traditional German food (read: great pretzel) and solid beers.

• Lineage Brewing: A very chill spot with a full food menu without exuding ‘restaurant’ vibes. They’ve also got wine and cocktails for your non-beer friends and frequently host events.

• Emmett’s Café: A fantastic neighborhood café in the Brewery District of Columbus. They have fantastic breakfast/brunch/lunch and coffees and a great outdoor patio in the back. Highly recommend!

• North High Brewing: Super delicious beers at this brewery located in the Short North Arts District. You can also brew your own beer here which is a super fun concept! It can get quite loud and crazy on the weekends as a forewarning.

• Henmick Farm & Brewery: A farm-style brewery in Deleware, Ohio just north of Columbus. They have an extremely nice set up both indoors and out and great beers. There is usually a food truck or you can also bring your own food.

• Wolf’s Ridge Brewing: There are two different entrances to Wolf’s Ridge, one for the taproom and one for the restaurant, so decide what kind of mood you are in and go in the correct door! The taproom side has a smaller food menu and you can get beer from both sides of course!

• 2 Tones Brewing: Delicious beers and a super friendly staff. Worth adventuring out of central Columbus for!

• Somewhere in Particular Brewing: A funky brewery with a nice outdoor space and average beers. They’ve also got a full food menu if you’re hungry!

• Zaftig Brewing: This brewery also has two locations—the original is just north of the city and the newer spot is downtown. During my first visit to the original spot the beers were super impressive and the staff was incredibly friendly. During my visit to the downtown location the beers were not good and the service was terrible. Take that as you will!

Pretentious Barrel House

Columbus Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

• The Book Loft: A giant bookstore with 32 rooms and a cute garden out front!

  • Stauf’s Coffee Roasters is located right next door with delicious coffees and pastries!

  • These are located in the German Village neighborhood which is cute and has several German bars and restaurants

• Scioto Mile: Several parks along the river downtown. It makes for a lovely walk/run/bike ride!

  • Bicentennial Park: If it is summertime and you’ve got kids with you on your trip this is the perfect park to hang out in with water features for them to play in

• North Market: Classic food hall/farmer’s market combo in the heart of the city

  • Jeni’s Ice Cream is located here and will forever be one of my favorite ice cream spots!

  • Barrel and Bottle is a beer shop—you can get a beer on tap and “sip and stroll” the market with it if you want!

• Short North Arts District: A fun neighborhood downtown with all kinds of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and stores to wander!

• Take a day trip or weekend trip to Hocking Hills! This gorgeous state park is just an hour southeast of Columbus. Check out my recommendations here!

Hoof Hearted Brewing

Other Things To Do in Columbus:​​

• Mission Coffee Co: Cute industrial coffee shop in the Short North Arts District neighborhood

• Endeavor Brewing: I loved the adventure theme at Endeavor but their beers were just average. They had a bunch of board games and they host soccer viewing parties too!

• Seventh Son Brewing: Located just up the street from Hoof Hearted’s downtown location, this brewery has a rooftop bar and frequent food trucks.

• Platform Beer Co: Solid beers, rooftop space, and a little off the beaten path. They’ve got darts and several board games for entertainment. Heads up you have to pay for metered parking here. Unfortunately they sold out to big beer, so support small and local first.

• BrewDog: A Scottish brewery with several outposts in the Columbus area. This brewery has faced a lot of issues with sexism and discrimination, so please support somewhere else first. Prior to all of these issues were surfaced I visited the Franklinton location which is right across the street from Land Grant Brewing. At this location the downstairs had more of a restaurant vibe with a full food menu and upstairs was a rooftop bar. The Doghouse, BrewDog’s craft beer hotel is also located in Columbus.

• There are a TON of other breweries in the area if you have a longer trip—over 45! Check out the map here.

Cleveland, OH

Cleveland gets a bad rap because well…it’s Cleveland. They have a ton of breweries and an overall fun vibe, check it out!

Forest City Tips: 

• Fun fact, Cleveland’s nickname is The Forest City! There is a bunch of nature surrounding the city, so be sure to venture out into it!

• Per all of my Midwest USA tips—I would recommend visiting May-October for the most joyful experience because winter is real and not fun when you’re walking around a new city!

• You can see Cleveland in a weekend, you don’t need to plan for much longer of a trip.

• Snag a Cleveland Brewery Passport and mail it in for prizes!

Adventures & Ales Top Cleveland Recommendations: ​

• Masthead Brewing Co: The best beer I had in Cleveland! The atmosphere is fun, they’ve got a pizza kitchen, long tables to share, friendly staff, and fantastic brews!

• Butcher and the Brewer: Located on the super cute 4th Street that is full of bars and restaurants, this brewery and restaurant combo has a fire Albino Stout that is worth a try and a fun outdoor patio to hang out on.

• Town Hall: A craft beer bar and restaurant combo with fantastic brunch and cheap Happy Hour specials. Located in the heart of the Ohio City neighborhood. Check out their back patio if the weather is nice!

• Bookhouse Brewing: Actually like a house full of books! This place is super cute and has fantastic beers. They’ve got a small snack food list, frequent food trucks, and lots of board games if you’d rather play something than read a book!

• Terrestrial Brewing: Located across the highway from Edgewater Park with a view of Lake Erie. Delicious beers and the most dogs I’ve ever seen at a brewery (insert heart eyes emoji here!)

• Noble Beast Brewing Co: Their taproom is combined with the brewing space which I love! Really good beers and fun vibes

• Collision Bend Brewing: Located right on the river, this brewery has a full food menu, a killer Happy Hour, and lots of outdoor seating

Butcher and the Brewer

Cleveland Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

• Brewnuts: This ever-popular donut and beer bar combo is worth the hype. Delicious donuts? Check. Fantastic tap list? Check. Do it up!

• West Side Market: Cleveland’s large city market with food stalls in a historic building

  • Market Square Park is directly across the street and home to open air markets and frequent events

• Great Lakes Brewing: Also right across from the West Side Market, this big name brewery lets you choose between outdoor seating, indoor-upstairs restaurant-style seating, or the indoor-downstairs pub-style atmosphere. Check out the mural on the back wall for a solid photo opp!

• Edgewater Park: A great place to hang out on the lake or catch a sunset!

• Rocky River Reservation: A nature park with trails and picnic areas. Heads up I’ve read some sketchy things about this park so be cautious.

• Fat Head’s Brewing: The local’s favorite! Fat Head’s has won a plethora of awards for their beers. They have two locations in Cleveland that each have different beers on tap. The newer location in Middlebury Heights is conveniently located near the airport if you’re flying in/out of the city and has fun beer garden vibes inside, along with a full food menu.

• Cuyahoga Valley National Park: This National Park is located 30 minutes south of Cleveland.

  • Brandywine Falls: This is the main attraction of the park. There is a short .3 mile/10 minute long boardwalk trail to see the falls or a 1.4 mile/35 minute loop trail along the creek. Parking is limited, but since it is so quick you can normally get a spot.

  • Ledges Trail: This is an easy 2.3 mile long trail with 203ft of elevation gain that takes about an hour to complete. There are some neat rock formations and slot canyons, but otherwise it is a bit boring.

Market Garden Brewery

Other Cleveland Things To Do:​​

• Saucy Brew Works: Restaurant style brewery with delicious pizzas and skee ball!

• Market Garden Brewery: Located directly next to West End Market, this brewery has a full food menu and cute outdoor patio with a fire pit.

• Forest City Brewing: A vintage-style brewery with a large outdoor space, games, and a snack menu.

• Wander the Flats East Bank area: A very walkable area on the river with lots of bars and restaurants, though a bit touristy

  • Thirsty Dog Brewing is here. They have indoor and outdoor seating and cute dog bone flights, though the beers weren’t super impressive

• Moe’s Tavern Brewing: A very interesting little space with tasty bar food and pub vibes

• Platform Beer Co.: They sold out to Anheuser-Busch which was quite disappointing, but when I visited their were still independently owned and had solid beers

On an Ohio kick? Check out my Columbus recs here!

Dayton, OH

Dayton is your classic Small Midwestern City with a few good spots to explore!

Dayton Tips: 

• Dayton is pretty small so I would recommend just a day or two to explore.

• I would recommend trying to stay closer to the university area or downtown! The outskirts of Dayton are not always super safe, so the closer to downtown the better.

• On a road trip through Ohio? Check out my guides to Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Hocking Hills!

Adventures & Ales Top Dayton Recommendations:

• The Barrel House: A fantastic beer bar with a killer tap list and phenomenal selection of cans and bottles for on-site consumption or to-go. If you can only go to one place in Dayton this is the number one spot! Highly recommend.

• Branch and Bone Artisanal Ales: A nice little spot with tasty beers and friendly staff members. They have a small dog-friendly patio as well.

• Nowhere in Particular Cabinet of Curiosities: A very funky brewery with some delicious beers and some average beers. Overall I would recommend checking it out. They are dog-friendly inside and out!

The Barrel House

Other things to do in Dayton:

• Warped Wing Brewing Company: A solid brewery in a converted warehouse with a massive tap list. They have a kitchen as well with tasty food! There is no outdoor seating option here so dogs are not welcome.

• Toxic Brew Company: A solid brewery right downtown with a wide range of brews.

• Ghostlight Coffee: A great coffee shop with two locations in town.

The Best Breweries in Ohio

Ohio has over 400 breweries, but which are the best? In ranking order, here are the best breweries in Ohio:

Planning an Ohio trip? Check out my Columbus beer and travel guide here, Cleveland guide here, Dayton guide here, Cincinnati blog here and Hocking Hills blog here.

Jackie O’s Brewing: Athens & Columbus

Jackie O’s is best known for their stupendous Barrel Aged Stouts, Barleywines and Porters. Everything they make is delicious, but their barrel aging program is really what makes them the number one brewery in Ohio. Jackie O’s has four locations in Athens—Public House Restaurant, Uptown Brewpub, Taproom and Brewery and The Bakeshop and they also have Jackie O’s on Fourth in Columbus.

CLAG Brewing Company: Sandusky

CLAG is quietly emerging as a powerhouse brewery cranking out stellar IPAs, Lagers and Stouts. Their taproom is shared with Small City Taphouse and both tap lists are full of incredible beers and guest taps. They’ve got delicious food as well. This spot is a delight to visit.

Hoof Hearted Brewing: Marengo & Columbus

Hoof Hearted is definitely a “hype brewery” but they live up to their hype. They are best known for their IPAs, but their Stouts and Sours are also great. Their original taproom is in Marengo and they have a second space in downtown Columbus.

Listermann Brewing: Cincinnati

Listermann is easily the best brewery in Cincinnati. Their Stouts and Sours are superb, but everything they make is generally great. Their taproom is right off Xavier University’s campus and has chill vibes.

Masthead Brewing Co: Cleveland

Masthead crushes the Hazy IPA game. Located in downtown Cleveland, their taproom is a fun and spacious building with a pizza kitchen as well. Their barrel aged beers are also gaining notoriety.

Little Fish Brewing Company: Athens & Dayton

Little Fish is focused on using local ingredients for both their beers and their farm-to-table restaurant menu. Their Wild Ales, Sours and Stouts are what they do best. Their original taproom is in Athens and they have a satellite space in Dayton.

Land Grant Brewing Company: Columbus

Land Grant has a large tap list with a large variety of beers available. Their Sours are the most impressive but everything is well done. They have a massive outdoor space and frequent events.

Branch and Bone Artisanal Ales: Dayton

Branch and Bone is making unique and delicious beers in Dayton. They are known for their our Wild Ales, Saisons and Mixed Fermentation Styles, but their tap list always has a large variety of beers for any palate.

What are your top breweries in Ohio? Let me know in the comments! Cheers—Alexis

24 Hours in Cincinnati

To split up our road trip from Michigan back to Charlotte we decided to spend a day in Cincinnati! Although we were just there for a quick visit we drank some delicious beers and visited some cool spots that I would definitely recommend!

Listermann Brewing: By far the best brewery we visited in Cincy. Their beer was absolutely incredible! We tried a wide variety of their brews and enjoyed each of them. Listermann has a small patio that is dog friendly and chill vibes overall.

Cappy’s Bottle Shop: We were lucky enough to pop into Cappy’s just down the street from Listermann and found some amazing beers! I would definitely recommend grabbing some to-go options while in Cincy.

Highgrain Brewing: We had a fantastic experience at Highgrain. Their beers were delicious and we had an incredible lunch as well! Their sour beers were my personal favorite and I loved my fried green tomato BLT. Highgrain has three different patio seating options and dogs are welcome outside. Their staff was incredibly nice as well, this is a must visit in Cincy!

MadTree Brewing: MadTree is absolutely massive. They have a huge indoor space and large outdoor patio in an old railroad production facility that is quite unique. They have a large tap list and Catch-a-Fire Pizza onsite as well with yummy wood-fired pizzas that we enjoyed.

Rhineghist Brewing: We had of course intended to visit Rhineghist, the biggest brewery in the city and the second largest in the state. It was one of the main reasons we picked Cincy to stop in. However, we’re personally not doing indoor seating due to COVID (it’s an airborne disease for anyone who is not clear on that) and they closed their outdoor seating on the covered rooftop due to rain. I was pretty disappointed that they weren’t offering any outdoor seating options during a pandemic, but hey maybe next time.

Northern Row Brewing: After our disappointment at Rhineghist we walked around the corner to Northern Row, a brewery and distillery. We had average Hazy IPAs but a delicious pretzel! They had a little bit of everything and overall it was a good experience.

Have you been to Cincy? What are your favorite spots? Let me know in the comments!

Hocking Hills, Ohio

Hocking Hills is a gorgeous area of Ohio with awesome hiking options and a quaint town to explore. It is a perfect weekend escape to relax in the forest and get away from the hustle and bustle of your daily life.

The park is nestled in the southeast corner of Ohio, near the West Virginia border. It is 6 hours from Charlotte, North Carolina, my home base. It is also just one hour southeast of Columbus, so if you are looking for a longer adventure you could visit the city as well. Check out my Columbus recommendations here!

I would definitely recommend renting a cabin for your time in Hocking Hills. There is nothing better than a day of hiking followed by a nice relaxing campfire! We stayed at an Airbnb in the forest and thoroughly enjoyed it. Get $35 off your first Airbnb stay using my link here!

Hocking Hills State Park

Hiking Hocking Hills

Hocking Hills State Park offers a lot of different hiking options depending on what you want to see and how far you want to go. We did a 7.5 mile loop trail to Old Man Cave, Whispering Cave, Cedar Falls, and Rose Lake that I would definitely recommend.

When we visited it was quite crowded at Old Man Cave and Cedar Falls because those are two areas that you can park near and just do a short hike to see. Outside of those popular spots we saw very few people along the trail which was really nice.

There are a few waterfalls in the park but expect them to be quite dry if you are visiting in the summer months. It looks like in the spring after the snow melts they are flowing at their full potential.

The first half of the hike varied in difficulty. It was mostly flat but there were areas that were quite rocky making it a little harder to traverse. After Cedar Falls, which is essentially the halfway point, there is a quick suspension bridge and then the ridge trail that leads you back to the parking lot is flat and easy along top of the cliff faces.

We really enjoyed the change of scenery throughout the hike. There were waterfalls, caves, rivers, cliffs, gorges, boulders, forests, and lakes all in the 7.5 miles we hiked.

Rose Lake

Hocking Hills Area things to do:

Brewery 33

The local brewery has a wide variety of beers on tap for you to enjoy in their beer garden or tap room. We enjoyed their light and refreshing beers after hiking in the sun all morning. The Fruity Tooty Gose was my personal favorite!

Brewery 33 doesn’t have any food besides some pretzels and snacks, but you can get food delivered from local restaurants. They are dog and kid friendly.

Wine Slushie at Hocking Hills Winery

Hocking Hills Winery

The local winery has a fantastic outdoor space surrounded by nature that was super nice to relax on.

Their wines were all tasty and you can sample 8 of them for just $10. I would also highly recommend the wine slushie option, especially if you’re visiting during the heat of summer!

The winery also has charcuterie boards to help you refuel after your hike or you can get a meal delivered from a local restaurant. The winery is dog and kid friendly.

Jackie O’s Brewery

Depending on where you are staying, Jackie O’s is around 30-45 minutes from the park and absolutely worth visiting. They are one of the top breweries in the country and definitely the best in Ohio. Their Stouts, Porters, and Wild Ales in particular are incredible and I would highly recommend checking them out!

They have a brewpub and a taproom in Athens, Ohio. Depending on where you are visiting Hocking Hills from, you potentially might drive through Athens given that it is one of the major cities nearby, so definitely check it out!

Brewery 33

Have you been to Hocking hills? What was your favorite part?! Let me know in the comments!