Guides ·Day trips

The drive northeast

From Upper Arlington, take I-270 to I-71 north toward Mansfield, exit onto US-30 east toward Wooster, then drop south on SR-83 to Millersburg. It is 90 to 100 miles and roughly one hour 45 minutes. An alternative is SR-3 through Mount Vernon and Loudonville, slower but far prettier once you leave the suburbs. Holmes County and its neighbors hold the largest Amish settlement in the world, with tens of thousands of Amish residents across several affiliations, and the landscape shifts to steep pasture, hand-stacked hay and horse-drawn buggies within minutes of leaving the highway.

Two practical warnings before you set out. First, most Amish-owned businesses close on Sundays, and many close early on Saturday, so plan a weekday or a Saturday morning. Second, the roads are narrow, hilly and shared with buggies moving at eight to ten miles an hour. Pass only where you can see clearly, give a wide berth, and do not photograph people, which is both intrusive and against the religious convictions of most residents. Photographing barns, fields and buggies at a distance is fine.

Berlin, Walnut Creek and the loop

The classic circuit runs Berlin, Walnut Creek, Sugarcreek and Millersburg, all within 15 minutes of each other along SR-39 and SR-93. Berlin is the commercial heart, a single main street of furniture showrooms, quilt shops, bulk food stores and bakeries that can absorb two hours easily. The Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center just east of Berlin houses Behalt, a 265-foot cyclorama mural depicting Anabaptist history from 1525 onward, with guided viewings for around $12 and a genuinely useful explanation of the differences between Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite communities.

Walnut Creek, five minutes south, is quieter and holds Der Dutchman, the best-known family restaurant in the region, where a broasted chicken dinner or the buffet runs roughly $18 to $24 with pie extra. Millersburg is the county seat with a Victorian courthouse square, antique shops and the Hotel Millersburg. Sugarcreek, to the east in Tuscarawas County, bills itself as the Little Switzerland of Ohio and has a large working cuckoo clock on Main Street plus the Age of Steam Roundhouse, where locomotive tours run about $25.

Food you actually came for

Eat big and eat early. The regional style is Amish and Swiss-German farm cooking: broasted chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, egg noodles, dinner rolls with apple butter, and pie in a dozen varieties. Der Dutchman in Walnut Creek and the family restaurants in Berlin all run family-style or buffet service in the $18 to $26 range, and portions defeat most visitors. Coffee is bottomless, alcohol is rarely served, and lunch service often winds down by 2 pm, with dinner ending as early as 7 pm on weekdays.

The essential shopping stops are edible. Heini's Cheese Chalet at Bunker Hill offers free samples across dozens of varieties and sells the local baby Swiss that made the county famous, with blocks from about $8. Guggisberg Cheese near Charm makes the original baby Swiss and has a viewing window onto production. Hershberger's Farm and Bakery outside Millersburg sells fry pies for around $3, keeps a petting zoo and runs buggy rides for roughly $5 to $8 per person, which is the easiest way to experience the pace of the roads.

Beyond the shops

If you want more than retail, three stops give the day some depth. Yoder's Amish Home near Millersburg offers guided tours of two furnished Amish houses, a barn and a schoolhouse for roughly $15 to $18, with buggy rides extra, and it is the clearest picture most visitors will get of daily life. The Holmes County Trail is a rail-trail with a parallel buggy lane, unusual anywhere in America, and it is free to walk or cycle. The Warther Museum in Dover, half an hour east, displays intricate hand-carved locomotives for around $18.

Scenery alone justifies the drive. The county roads between Charm, Farmerstown and Baltic run over ridges with long views across worked farmland, and traffic is minimal on a weekday morning. Pull over safely to look rather than stopping in the lane. Several small covered bridges and one-room schoolhouses survive in use. Mohican State Park, 45 minutes west near Loudonville, offers a gorge, a covered bridge and canoe liveries if you want to add outdoor time on the way home.

What a day costs

Gas for the roughly 190-mile round trip runs $28 to $38 in a typical car. Lunch at a family restaurant is $18 to $26 a head, and cheese, baked goods and jams add whatever you allow yourself, realistically $25 to $60. Paid attractions are cheap: Behalt about $12, Yoder's Amish Home about $15 to $18, a buggy ride $5 to $8, the Age of Steam Roundhouse about $25. Two people can do a full, satisfying day for $130 to $190 including souvenirs.

Cash is worth carrying. Many small Amish-owned roadside stands, produce tables and bakeries do not take cards, and some businesses without electricity operate on cash only by necessity. Bring $40 to $60 in small bills. There are ATMs in Berlin and Millersburg but not on the back roads. Also note that some furniture makers only ship, which matters if you fall in love with a $2,400 oak table 90 miles from your hotel and are flying home.

Timing, seasons and etiquette

Go on a Tuesday through Friday if you can. Saturdays are busy with regional day-trippers, and Sundays close most of the county. Autumn is peak season, with the hills at color from early to mid October and traffic on SR-39 heavy through Berlin on weekends. Late spring is quieter with the fields being worked, which is the most photogenic time for landscape. Winter is stark and beautiful, and many shops keep reduced hours from January through March, so check before driving two hours.

Etiquette is simple and it matters. Do not photograph Amish people or their faces, do not enter private lanes, and do not treat a working farm as an attraction. Drive slowly, especially at dusk, when buggies carry only reflectors and lanterns. Buy directly from producers where you can, because the roadside stands are the actual local economy rather than the tour-bus retail. Leave Upper Arlington by 8 am and you will be back by 6 pm having covered the whole loop without hurrying.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

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