No place like home: discovering hidden gems on the Buckeye Trail

No place like Ohio—find mountains, beaches, and adventure on the Buckeye Trail

I have lived in Ohio my entire life. Growing up, I dreamed of living by the ocean and surfing every day while perfecting my tan and bleaching my hair. The salty sea air and sparkling blue water sounded way more appealing than being land logged in 70 percent humidity in July and breathing in the scent of freshly mowed lawns that permeated Ohio summers. If the ocean wasn’t in the cards, then maybe somewhere closer to the Smokey Mountains. My family visited Gatlinburg almost every other year, and I can proudly list the numerous hikes I’ve taken, including Cades Cove. Twice. If I lived in these places I would feel like I was on vacation all year. And who doesn’t want that?!

At 25 I married my best friend, who also happened to be a dairy and grain farmer. That pretty much sealed the deal of staying put in Highland County. Over time, I’ve been convinced that Ohio is where I’m supposed to be. I still love the ocean, but with two kids I’m really glad I don’t have to battle sand in my home on a constant basis! Also, I’m a redhead and so are our children and we can only endure so many hours in the sun. I still love Gatlinburg, cheap souvenir stores and all, but to be honest, I’m not a huge people person and lately the Smokies are attracting people like bees to honey. I could sit here and write a novel on the good aspects the Buckeye State has to offer (all four seasons, world renowned hospitals and prominent historical figures to name a few) but that’s not what I sat down to do. Ohio also offers a gem not every resident knows about. It’s very own long distance hiking trail.

Finding the Buckeye Trail close to home

It wasn’t until last summer, 2021, that I really got into hiking. What started out as nature walks in our woods soon exploded to a full-on obsession. Those hikes soothed my soul like nothing previous ever had. I could leave my problems behind and imagine myself in Colorado on the lookout for grizzlies or crushing miles on the Appalachian Trail. It was in researching the AT that I discovered the Buckeye Trail and the fact that I lived about 10 minutes away from it.

First hikes at Fort Hill

June 4th was the Buckeye Trail’s biggest day hike. While my family and I failed to officially register, we took that day to explore what had always been so close to home. Fort Hill Earthworks and Nature Preserve is about a ten-minute drive from where we live. It was always something I knew about but had never taken the time to visit. Now thanks to my new hiking obsession and the self-made goal I’d made for myself to hike more off our property, we packed our daypacks and trekking poles and followed the blue blazes.

It was a great way to spend the day as a family. We marveled at the size of the trees. How long had they been there and what had they witnessed of our state’s history? Had Tecumseh or Daniel Boone passed them by? What had made the big ones come crashing down? An infectious disease or the ice storm we had in February. I made my husband stand by one of these fallen giants as I took a picture with my phone. We hiked uphill and felt the blood begin to pump while birds sang overhead. The kids called out whenever they saw a blue blaze painted on a tree. The only people we saw on trail were two men hiking together who passed our fallen log where we sat eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. We left tired and sweaty and excited for more.

Exploring the Gorge Trail

The very next Saturday saw us once again packing up and following a different section of trail. By taking the Gorge Trail, the kids were excited to follow the river that runs parallel to the trail for a bulk of the way. It was another beautiful sunny day and we easily got glimpses of blue sparkly water and several rocky overhangs that gave us gorgeous views. The trail wasn’t very wide in some sections, and the lush vegetation made it hard to see very far ahead. For me it was easy to imagine that section of trail being a good hiding place for those grizzlies. We stopped and had our lunch at the junction of the Gorge Trail and Canby’s Mountain Lovers Trail. The kids wanted to cross the river so badly and get their feet wet so we promised them we would come back and take on the Canby’s Mountain Lovers Trail in the future. The rocky overhangs reminded us of Alum Cave on the way up to Mount Le Conte in the Smokies. Steep uphill sections reminded us of hiking up Chimney Tops as well. By the end of the hike my knees were reminding me of our hike out to Charlie’s Bunion back in March. Upon returning to the truck in the parking lot, it was hard to believe we would be home in ten minutes. It felt as if we would go back to a hotel and clean up then limp through Gatlinburg for food and shopping. But we weren’t. We were home.

Discovering the Northern Terminus

At a summer solstice festival at Serpent Mound, a representative for the Buckeye Trail had a booth set up and we decided to stop in. I was happily surprised to learn that another Ohio hidden gem was part of the Buckeye Trail. Headlands Beach State Park in Mentor is the most northern terminus of the trail. Headlands Beach is amazing and beautiful and simply astounding. Why more Ohioans don’t know about this natural beach is beyond me. We discovered it back in 2018 when we wanted to take a beach vacation minus a 10 hour drive in the car. Perhaps more people don’t know about it because it lacks the typical touristy attractions like Port Clinton and Put-In-Bay, but wow…the beach is incredible. Just last week we took our third trip to Headlands for a sun filled day of sitting in the sand and playing in the waves, which were comparable on this trip to those we saw last June in the Outer Banks. Once again, it was hard to believe we were still in Ohio and just a few hours from home. Before leaving Headlands, I tracked down the northern terminus sign and saw several trees sporting the blue blazes. It was fun to tell the kids that if they followed the blazes it would lead them back to Highland County. Do you want to feel like you’re deep in the mountains? Go for a hike on the Buckeye Trail.

No place like home

Do you want to feel like you’re at the ocean? Go visit Headlands Beach and enjoy the sailboats and lake breeze. If anyone is looking for a quick escape without all the crowds, gas money and time away from their homes, I can’t recommend the Buckeye Trail or its hidden gems more. No matter what sections you chose to enjoy, you will still be in the great state of Ohio. You will still be home. And after all, there really is no place like home.