Columbus is full of things to do, but if you have an extra day (or two) to spare, you can use it as a home base for the best day trips from Columbus Ohio, including charming small towns, scenic parks, and even big-city adventures. Here are my favorite day trips — all easy to do in a single day and packed with charm, great food, and memorable experiences.
Drive Time: ~1 hour 30 minutes northeast
Sugarcreek is one of the most charming small towns in Ohio and an ideal day trip from Columbus. Known as the “Little Switzerland of Ohio,” it’s full of Amish Country charm, horse-and-buggies on the roads, and plenty to keep you busy for a full day.
Top Things to Do:
See the world’s largest cuckoo clock in downtown Sugarcreek — time your visit for the top of the hour to catch the clock’s little show.
Browse the shops for homemade jams, baked goods, and hand-crafted items.
Take a quick drive to one of the nearby wineries like Breitenbach Wine Cellars or Baltic Mill Winery — even if you don’t drink, the grounds are beautiful and many have great food options.
Where to Eat:
Rebecca’s Bistro for brunch — try the Creamed Eggs on sourdough or the Stuffed French Toast.
Park Street Pizza for lunch — thick, chewy crust, crispy pepperonis, gooey cheese bread, and a fresh berry salad that balances it all out.
Tip: If you love unique stays, consider booking a night at Dwellbox Treebox Stays, which are cozy shipping-container cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows, outdoor tubs, and fireplaces. Learn more in my full guide to Sugarcreek if you want to spend more than a day exploring.
Drive Time: ~1 hour 45 minutes northeast
Kidron is a smaller Amish town but perfect if you want a slower pace and a few quirky stops.
Top Things to Do:
Visit Lehman’s Hardware Store, a massive, fascinating shop selling everything from non-electric appliances to classic kitchen gear and nostalgic toys.
Stop at Heini’s Cheese Chalet to sample dozens of cheeses — you can taste your way through almost their entire selection.
Where to Eat:
Pack snacks from Columbus or grab lunch in nearby Wooster or Sugarcreek before heading back.
Tip: Combine Kidron and Sugarcreek into one full day — they’re close enough to visit together if you start early.
Drive Time: ~1 hour southeast
Hocking Hills is the ultimate escape from the city and a must-do if you love hiking, waterfalls, and dramatic landscapes.
Top Trails:
Old Man’s Cave – Iconic rock formations, bridges, and waterfalls.
Ash Cave – A massive horseshoe-shaped cave with a waterfall.
Cedar Falls – Peaceful hike and a beautiful waterfall.
Where to Eat:
Pack a picnic to enjoy at one of the park’s picnic areas or stop in Logan for a casual lunch or dinner after your hike.
Tip: Go early in the morning to beat the crowds, especially on weekends — the parking lots fill up fast. Wear good hiking shoes and bring water. If you’re staying in the city, check out my list of the top things to do in Columbus before heading out on your day trip.
Drive Time: ~2 hours north
If you want a completely different vibe from Columbus, head to Cleveland for a day.
Top Things to Do:
Explore West Side Market — a historic market with vendors selling everything from fresh produce to international foods.
Visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — a must for music lovers.
Walk through Ohio City and check out the breweries and shops.
Where to Eat:
Grab lunch at Great Lakes Brewing Co. or sample pierogi and gyros from the West Side Market vendors.
If you’re hungry on the way back to Columbus, make a pit stop for a massive burger at The Thurman Café.
Tip: If you can swing it, leave Columbus early and stay for sunset by Lake Erie — the view is gorgeous.
One of the best things about Columbus is how easy it is to escape for a day. Whether you want small-town charm, cheese tasting, outdoor adventure, or a big-city experience, you can find it all within a short drive. Pack some snacks, hit the road early, and make a day of it.
Four hours on a train through a canyon you can’t reach by car — such a fun experience! We picked the indoor seats with unlimited access to the open-air viewing car, which honestly felt like the only right call. You’re not stuck in an assigned seat the whole time we bounced between the two, snacks in hand, chasing the best light.
The scenery is the whole point. Red rock cliffs, the Verde River, a 734-foot tunnel, historic trestle bridges views most people visiting Sedona never see, because you literally can’t drive to them.
The charcuterie box that comes with your ticket is shockingly filling ✨ so skip lunch at the Copper Spike Café beforehand, save your appetite for dinner back in Sedona.
Four hours with no stops did start to feel long by the end, but the trade-off for scenery like this? Worth it.
Would I ride it again? Yes. Would I buy lunch first again? No.
Link in bio for the full review cost breakdown, what to pack, and exactly how early to arrive 🚂
I ate chilaquiles while a Cessna taxied past the window, and that’s just a normal Tuesday breakfast in Sedona.
@mesa_grill_sedona sits right beside the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout, so along with your food you get red rock views stretching in every direction and a front-row seat to tiny planes lifting off. Chef Mercer Mohr runs the kitchen, serving up Southwestern comfort food from breakfast through dinner, chilaquiles, elevated diner classics, burgers, steaks, seafood, all of it.
The view is what pulls people in the door, but the food actually holds its own. Good enough that this place stays packed with locals, not just tourists passing through on their way to the lookout. It also picked up the 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice and OpenTable Diners’ Choice awards, so it’s not just me saying it.
Indoor seating if you want the AC, a pet-friendly patio if your dog’s along for the trip. Either way, get there before plane-spotting turns into a wait for a table.
Link in bio for the full Sedona breakfast roundup ✈️🌵
Confession: my newsletter is where the good stuff lives. Not the polished, edited-for-the-grid stuff, the “here’s the hole-in-the-wall I almost skipped” stuff, the packing lists I actually use, the “don’t book this hotel” warnings before you waste your money on them.
The newsletter is basically me texting you before a trip instead of after one. Sign up and you’ll be the first to know where I’m headed next, plus a few things I’ll never post here.
Link in bio if you want in. ✈️
Yes, it’s only July. Start planning anyway. Fall books faster than people expect, and a few of these destinations are worth getting ahead of. Here are five places worth putting on your radar right now.
Ireland: Cooler temps, moody skies, dramatic coastline fall was made for it. Tourist crowds drop, the green stays, and the whole country feels a little more like itself.
Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC: Fall foliage in the Smokies is the real thing. The color peaks mid-October and the views from the ridgelines are hard to argue with. It’s also one of the most visited national parks in the country, so going on a weekday makes a real difference.
New York City: Fall is NYC at its best comfortable temps, the energy of the city shifting into a new season, and every neighborhood doing something worth showing up for. It’s also just a great walking city when it’s not brutally hot.
Japan: Fall foliage season is as good as spring cherry blossoms and somehow less talked about. The colors are dramatic, the temples and gardens are stunning, and it’s worth planning around peak dates by region.
Mystic, Connecticut: Small, walkable, genuinely charming Mystic in fall feels like exactly what a New England autumn is supposed to look like. Easy to pair with a broader New England road trip if you want to extend it.
Full guides linked in bio 🍂
There are two kinds of travelers: people who plan a trip and then figure out where to eat, and people who book a restaurant and then build the rest of the itinerary around it.I am the second kind. I will not apologize for this.
The reservation gets locked in first. The hotel search happens within the same 24 hours. The flights get compared around the restaurant’s hours of operation. The rest of the trip exists to fill the days before and after the table I actually came for.
If this sounds unhinged, I completely understand. It has also resulted in some of the best meals of my life, so I’m going to keep doing it.
Drop a 🍽️ if you plan your trips around food too.
Follow @travelwithwendyplummer for Beautiful Beach Destinations, City Guides, Foodie Spots, and Luxury Hotel Recommendations.
