Atwood Lake Trail Run

Atwood Lake is the perfect place to go in Ohio to experience fall at its best (hence the Atwood Lake Fall Festival, which takes place the first week of October every year). So, why not head to Atwood Lake for a fall 5K?

On September 27, the Atwood Lake Trail 5K is taking place through the bountiful acreage of the Atwood Lake Resort. This challenging and scenic run starts at 11AM and costs just $25. All proceeds of the run go toward the Team RWB, a group whose mission is to mission is to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity. Team RWB helps veterans with PTSD - a cause worthy of supporting.

Awards will be given for top overall finishers 1st-3rd male/female, and age group awards 12 and under,13-15, 16-20, 21-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 64-69, 70 and over.

SIGN UP TODAY FOR THE ATWOOD LAKE TRAIL 5K!

Tuscawaras County Wineries

Photos by OHventures

To continue celebrating Ohio Wine Month this June, consider stopping in to one – or all six – of the award winning wineries in Tuscawaras County. While you embark on your wine-tasting experience, be sure to check out the Ohio Grape Industries VIP incentive program, where you can register and win rewards for visiting different Ohio wineries.

Island Palm Winery (Bolivar): Historic downtown Bolivar is the setting for this fun and laid back island-themed winery. When walking in, you immediately get a tiki bar vibe that sets the tone for a good time. Flip Flop Muscat, Seashell Chardonnay, and Shark Bite Zinfandel are some examples of the exciting and whimsical wines found at Island Palm. The best sellers are fruit wines: Pomegranate Cove and Sunset Passion Fruit. They also offer a great bologna sandwich called “The Big Kahuna,” and the tasty home brewed Crow’s Nest Hard Apple Cider.

School House Winery (Dover): One of my favorite wineries in all of Ohio is School House Winery, which was established in an actual schoolhouse from the late 1800s! This bright red structure stands out in the rolling countryside and beckons you to come in the doors and have some wine. All wines have been given elementary school-related monikers, my top picks being Bully Red (dry, smoky, oaky), and Teacher’s Pet (the best seller).

Breitenbach Wine Cellars (Dover): When I visited Breitenbach, it was swarming with visitors, with check-out and wine-tasting lines stretching throughout the winery. Known for over 40 vinifera and hybrid American varieties, Breitenbach produces 135,000 gallons of wine each year. A must-try is the extremely unique (and extremely sweet) Dandelion wine, which has become a mainstay and crowd favorite. It is so popular, that there is even an annual Breitenbach Dandelion Festival each May.

Swiss Heritage Winery (Dover): Located at the Broad Run Cheesehouse, you’ll find yourself amongst an array of cheeses (all made on site), lace, curtains, and other specialty items. Making your way to the rear of the gift shop, you’ll find a counter selling a selection of 17 different wines made on site. The folks at Swiss Heritage will do a great job letting you know which cheeses and wines pair best together. My recommendation is the light and grapey Victorian Lace paired with blue ribbon Swiss cheese!

YOLO Winery (Dover): A winery with the name “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) can only mean good things. The interior has a modern and upscale décor reminiscent of a California-style boutique. Order delicious flatbreads and salads delivered to you fresh from local restaurant Sammy Sue’s. Be sure to sample my personal favorite wine called Party On Garth.

Silver Moon Winery (Dover): A great place to sit back and relax after a long day of traveling and wine sampling. There is a large, open seating area with loads of comfortable couches and chairs that pair nicely with the wines at Silver Moon. Try Blood of Zeus and Luna Bianca. If you’re daring, check out Eve’s Delight or Kiwi Melon Splash!

Coshocton Three Rivers Wine Trail

Photos by OHventures 

If you need one word to convince you to explore Coshocton County, that word would be: alpacas. I bet you didn't see that one coming!

There are a lot of hidden hotspots - including alpacas - tucked away in the rolling Appalachian foothills of Southeast-Central Ohio. One of the best ways in which you can experience this area is by taking a day-trip on the Three Rivers Wine Trail. Make sure you have a designated driver in tow, because there is a lot of wine to be had on the trail! There are 4 major wineries that can be found within a 15-minute drive of one another: Raven's Glenn Winery, Rainbow Hills Winery, the Yellow Butterfly Winery (home of the alpacas, which we will get to later), and Heritage Vineyards.

It being my birth-month (when you turn 30, you're allowed to celebrate all month), I wanted to whet my whistle with some new Ohio wines. The Three Rivers Wine Trail is located just over an hour south of where I live (straight down 77S from Canton). It was a clear blue Saturday afternoon, and we were set to cram in all of the wineries in just a few hours. You can easily spend a couple of days on the winery tour in Coshocton County, especially with great lodging.

Our first stop was Raven's Glenn, a Tuscan-style winery and Italian restaurant where every meal can be paired with the perfect wine. In fact, a great wine-buddy of mine, Rick, told me we needed to stop here for food (which is why we made it our first stop, to make sure we had a good base of good food in our bellies). There are usually private wine tours available (you must call ahead for reservations), but since that was not offered on the day we went, we went straight to the tasting room to order some flights!

When I am at an Ohio winery, I tend to try the wines that are made with Ohio grapes, if possible. An entire flight - "Vintner's Reserve" - was available with exactly that! I tried the White October (honey-citrus taste), Autumn Interlude (pineapple/grapefruit undertones), Vino Della Casa (an off dry red that can be served chilled or warm), R2 (a dry red with licorice tones), Moon Dreams (a very jammy finish with high alcohol content and fantastic bottle art), Sonata Evening (wine port), Scarlet Raven (red port), and Vidal Blanc (ice wine). I took home a bottle of Moon Dreams!

The dining experience was just as tasty as the wine. In fact, there was red zinfandel marinara sauce on my lasagna order. The red zin marinara also accompanied the yummy fried oysters appetizers I scarfed down (pictured above). 

The restaurant had large open windows facing the Tuscawaras River. It was pretty darn gorgeous, I must say. We spent a LOT of time at Raven's Glenn, which shows how much of a fan we are.

Before heading to the next winery, we stopped at the Unusual Junction located right across the street. It caught our eye because of the old train cars outside. The best way to describe this place is that it is, for lack of better terms, an "unusual junction"! It's a gift shop that you just have to see for yourself!

Moving on, we headed to Rainbow Hills, which is way off the beaten path in a gorgeous wooded area. Here, you can stay overnight at the Inn at Rainbow Hills Bed & Breakfast. Or, you can just stop in for a few samples of wine accompanied by cheese plates while sitting on spacious wooden decks. In summer, they have barbecue nights where you can grill your own steak and chicken! American grape and French hybrid varieties are grown and used for producing high quality wine. I took home a bottle of Drumming Grouse, my favorite of the bunch we tried.

Time was flying by and our stay at Rainbow Hills had to be cut short so we could make it to The Yellow Butterfly Winery. There was no mistaking the big bright yellow barn plastered against the lush green countryside. It was cheerful, inviting, and enchanting. The barn is almost 100 years old, with a deck overlooking the Blue Ridge foothills. Adjacent to the barn is the Yellow Butterfly BNB, which was also another lodging option if we were to have chosen to stay the night. 

We were rather "wined out" by this time, but I couldn't pass up sampling at least a few of their top sellers. They have a lot of fruity varieties, such as Apple Delight, Blackberry Butterfly, Golden Apricot, and Passionate Peach. After all of that sweetness, I needed to taste a dry red - so I ordered their Grande Red to enjoy on the patio.

In the back is where you can normally find their alpacas grazing on the hillsides. It was too early in the season for us to see them for ourselves, but my fascination with these weird looking creatures will surely bring me back soon. In lieu of seeing alpacas firsthand, I bought a rug made out of 100% Ohio alpaca fur! It was too hard to pass up!

Unfortunately, it became too late in the evening to head to the Heritage Vineyards, however, this just gives us one more excuse to come back in the summer for another round of the Three Rivers Wine Trail in Coshocton County!

Discover Ohio Wines!

With more than 150 wineries scattered across Ohio, the state ranks 9th in the nation for wineries - an impressive feat! The temperate growing climate and the fertile soil on the lakeside accounts for the majority of Ohio's most well-known wineries, although no area of the state is lacking!

With so many to choose from, I have compiled a list of 10 unique wineries to visit across the state!

1. School House Winery (Tuscawaras County)
2. Camelot Cellars (Franklin County)
3. Lakehouse Inn Winery (Ashtabula County)
4. Gervasi Vineyard & Italian Bistro (Stark County)
5. Country Porch Winery (Trumbull County)
6. Myrddin Winery (Mahoning County)
7. Firelands Winery (Erie County)
8. Heineman's Winery & Crystal Cave (Ottawa County)
9. ThornCreek Winery (Summit County)
10. Bluebird Winery at Little Forest Inn (Carroll County)

Read my latest guest post on the Ohio Division of Tourism's official blog, Discovering Ohio for photos from each winery as well as my favorite wines I recommend you order at each location!

The Historic Village of Zoar

Photos by OHventures

It's likely that you have never heard of the tiny town of Zoar before now. But the job of OHventures is to bring to light some of the lesser known hot spots that are worth a visit. With 169 residents in the 2010 census, this historic village is one that is sure to turn heads whenever driving through.

On my annual camping visits to Atwood Lake in Tuscawaras County, I would always slow the car down and rubberneck my way through what I later learned was the Village of Zoar. It doesn't take long to drive through, yet there is much to see. The buildings are perfectly puritan, some dating back to 1817 when a group of German Separatists were seeking escape from religious persecution in their home country.

Heading here is like taking a quick journey back in time at a speed of 88.8 miles per hour with Marty McFly. The architecture consists of colonial-looking masonry, ornate observation towers (like that on top of the Zoar Hotel - pictured above), and even homes that resemble log cabins. You will stumble across centuries-old buildings with old fashioned trades, such as the cobbler shop, the blacksmith, and the weaving house. 

Me & Slider hanging out at the Zoar Town Hall!

Many of the buildings are open to the public through educational tours that showcase how things were done in the olden days. You can witness butter churning, bread baking, and tinsmithing on a hands-on guided tour all year long, as well as special Christmas tours to see the village decorated for the holiday season. The Old Cider Mill is currently an antique shop, as well as a bed & breakfast to those who want to stay overnight and get the full experience! Ghost tours, Civil War reenactments, the annual Harvest Festival in August, and nearly year-round crafts are highlights of the culture to be experienced throughout the year in Zoar.

School House Winery

Photos by OHventures

School House Winery

455 Schneider's Crossing Road NW

Dover, OH 44622

(330) 602-WINE

If these walls could talk, they would surely  tell the tales of young Ohio schoolchildren of the late 1800s and early 1900s learning their way through reading, writing and arithmetic in the heart of Tuscawaras County. They'd be likely to spout off stories of dunce caps and chalkboards, yard sticks, and pencil sharpeners. Built in 1886, Oak Grove School held classes in one room from all students grade 1-8 up until 1941. It was thereafter owned by numerous families and used as a home, until it became what it is today: The School House Winery, established in 2009. 

Owners David and Jennifer Jagunic ferment all of the wine on site, most made with grapes from the Lake Erie region. They have approximately 2 acres of beautiful landscaping including a small pond and outside sitting area where patrons can enjoy live local music every Saturday night. 

The school house has been painted a strikingly bright red hue that stands out in the countryside backdrop. Inside, the one-room school house has been transformed to include a wrap-around bar in the center and ample seating throughout. 

All of the wines have been cleverly given elementary school-related monikers, and are available for approximately $13-16 per bottle, $5 per glass, or $0.50 per sample. Naturally, I opted to get a sample of each of the 11 available wines so I could see what tastes each had to offer! Julie, our bartender, poured the samples from driest to sweetest and lined them all in a row!

First up was The Principal, which is the driest red, and seemed like a crowd favorite (others coming to the bar seemed to ask for this one). I personally loved it, given that dry reds are my favorite! The next was Oak Grove, named after the original school. This one reminded me of wine consumed at church during communion, which is a good thing! Equation was next, which was the driest white wine available, and was rather palatable. My absolute favorite was next in line: Bully Red. Full of character, it had a smoky, oaky flavor, and I even bought a bottle to take home!

Next came Eraser, a semi sweet white wine, followed by Teacher's Pet (which wins the coolest name award in my book and is apparently the winery's true best seller), Lazy Daze, Cranberry (a seasonal sweet red), Class Clown (tasted too much like candy to me), and an apple-flavored wine that was a delight!

A small yet incredibly tasteful menu is available that includes meatballs in a bread bowl, 10 inch pizzas (veggie, cheese/garlic, and pepperoni), subs, and pizza rolls. All menu items were made with local ingredients, such as bread from nearby Breadhead Bakery, Mids sauces from Navarre, and cheese from Heini's Cheese Chalet in Berlin.

This quaint winery is one of the most memorable and noteworthy I have been to in Ohio, and is worth a road trip no matter where you're coming from - just be sure to have a DD!

5 Fun Fall OHventures

Looking for some fall fun for the whole family? OHventures has you covered! Here are 5 fantastic fall adventures across the Buckeye State for you to enjoy before the snow starts up!

1. Circleville Pumpkin Show: The Circleville Pumpkin Show is where families go to make memories and is one of the most highly anticipated festivals in the state. I first became aware of this gourd-tastic event when my college roommate and his family would perform in a band each year, ranting and raving for the weeks leading up to the event. In addition to live entertainment, there is much fun to be had at the annual show, which has taken place for the past 40 years for an entire weekend in October (this year, the fair runs from October 17-20). The Great Pumpkin Weigh-In draws a great deal of excitement, as it finds out who has grown the largest pumpkin in the state that year (these puppies are HUGE, weighing close to 1,500 pounds!). If that isn't enough squash for you, everything imaginable is made out of pumpkin: pies (over 20,000 to be exact), cookies, dips, salsas, burgers, sloppy joes - you name it! Crafts, games, parades, pageants, and more are crammed into the weekend as well!

2. Mansfield Reformatory Haunted Prison Experience: Nothing is spookier in Ohio than the Mansfield Reformatory. I don't mean the "fake spider web and bedsheet ghosts" kind of spooky. I am talking about the "decaying walls, rusted jail cells, and eerily quiet hallways echoing with stories of tortured prisoners" kind of spooky. This now defunct prison is one of the most majestic buildings in all of Ohio, resembling a Transylvanian castle soaring high into the sky. In the fall (RIGHT NOW) the prison is transformed into a haunted house! It is hands down THE SCARIEST haunted house experience I have ever had. I am not afraid to admit, that at age 25, I was jumping and shrieking left and right! The cost is $17 and the lines are incredibly long....but you can guess, it is worth the wait!

3. Camping: I have done a lot of camping at various locations throughout the state, all of which were unique and memorable in their own way. Some places I would suggest for any aspiring camper in Ohio are: The Atwood Lake Campground in Tuscawaras County (where they hold the annual "Fall Festival" each October), Pymatuning State Park in Ashtabula County (and partially in Pennsylvania), and of course Hocking Hills State Park in Hocking County (the most famous for hiking, ziplining, and pretty much every other OHventure in the state). However, the fun certainly does not stop at those 3 suggestions. There are HUNDREDS of campsites all over the state, which you can find at Ohio Camper. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!

4. Apple Picking: A sea of apples and a maze of corn lie just minutes away, in every nook and cranny of Ohio, providing a perfect escape for anyone wishing to relive their childhood. For those in Central Ohio, Lynd Fruit Farm, located on the corner of state Route 310 and Morse Road in Pataskala, provides a bounty of fall activities for the young at heart throughout September, October and November. When you're there, it's like walking through a postcard. It's so serene and peaceful here. Coming here makes me almost forget about school and work and bills and all the responsibilities of life. It's also a cheap, or sometimes free, activity. To find the nearest apple orchard for public picking, visit Ohio Apples!

5. Tailgating: Whether you are a Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, or Ohio State Buckeyes fan (or even another college, high school, or peewee team), you are bound to be found hooting and hollering on a weekly basis (sometimes more), rooting for your favorite team to win. This is probably the most common and easiest of OHventures to be had, as it's probably not too difficult to round up some friends to drink some beer, eat a potluck of chili and hot dogs, and throw on some jerseys while gathered around a big screen TV! No matter what way you do it, the pigskin sport brings people together, in sports bars, parking lots, and man caves across the state! Ohio is truly a football-loving sport, so on the off days, you can try visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton to get your fix and learn some interesting history!

Der Dutchman Restaurants

Dutch Valley Restaurant & Bakery 
1343 Old Route 39
Sugarcreek, OH 44681
(330) 852-4627

There is something inherently intriguing about a culture that lives so modestly without many of the luxuries of modern technology that they choose to ride horse and buggies over driving in cars, and opt to not use electricity (thus not reading this blog entry). A prominent Amish (or Amish Mennonite) population of approximately 50,000 people exists throughout the rural parts of Ohio, which is more than any other state in the Union (despite many of them speaking a language referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch). Thus, it is only logical that those of us who are not familiar with this sub-sector of our state to take a road trip to areas of the state where we can learn more about them.

The perfect place to become educated and experience the minimalist lifestyle of the Amish is at one of the five Der Dutchman Restaurants in Ohio (one also exists in neighboring Indiana). The restaurants are: Der Dutchman Restaurant & Bakery in Walnut Creek, Dutch Valley Restaurant & Bakery in Sugarcreek, Berlin Farmstead Restaurant in Berlin, Der Dutchman Restaurant & Bakery in Plain City, and the Dutch Kitchen, also in Plain City.  In case you feel you live too far to one of these locations, there are also inns on site so you can stay overnight. Shops and entertainment are also at each location, so you are sure to have plenty to do if you decide to make a weekend out of it.

READ MORE AT DISCOVERING OHIO

Warrior Dash Photo Blog

Who: You and 10,000 fellow runners
What: The craziest frickin' day of your life (AKA Warrior Dash)
When: Various dates across the country. The next in Ohio is June 2012.
Where: Carrollton, OH
Why: To challenge yourself physically and mentally to run through crazy obstacles and get dirty!
How: Visit the official Web site to find out more!

5 Great Ohio Bike Trails

1. Back Roads & Beaches Bike Route: The video above from our pals at Discover Ohio and the Ohio News Network speaks for itself when it comes to the Back Roads & Beaches Bike Route in Lorain County. Riding along the shores of Lake Erie makes this one of the most scenic and interesting bike paths in the state. The path starts in Vermillion at Mill Hollow Park and heads east 22.5 miles to Avon Lake. It is part of the greater biking site, the Lake Erie Coastal Bike Trail (a mammoth path that contains over 300 miles of multi-purpose trails).

Back Roads & Beaches Bike Route offers a much less intimidating route than the Lake Erie Coastal Bike Trail as a whole. It is perfect for visiting wineries and the quaint Northern Ohio towns such as Oberlin, Sheffield Lake, and Avon.