3 Ohio Cities Make Great Short Trips
We Stayed One Overnight in Kent, Vermilion and Chardon
The entrance to the Portage Hike and Bike Trail off Lake
Rockwell Road outside of Kent is pictured. Corey and I found opportunities to
enjoy the outdoors in each city.
By Anna Krejci
It is a great experience to take two days and explore a
nearby Ohio community. Corey and I had fun times in three communities all
within a 45-minute drive for us. We visited Kent, Vermilion and Chardon – all
in Northeast Ohio. When the cost of
everything goes up, too, it is another reason to look for recreation closer to
home. Sometimes it is nice to take a vacation that requires less advance
planning and allows us to see different things.
These three trips had in common the fact that we spent just
one night in overnight accommodation like a hotel or guesthouse. The weather was also warm; it was either
spring or summer when we went. Spending the night away gave us the feeling of
being apart from our normal routines and made the day and a half of sightseeing
feel very compartmentalized and very much helped us forget about the daily
tasks at home for a while.
There is no reason why you could not make a day trip out of
visiting these communities if you live in the greater Cleveland area, but as
for Corey and me, we liked the feeling of being away for an extended day and a
half that included an overnight.
Kent, Ohio
Kent, being a college town, had a youthful and contemporary
vibe; it is home to Kent State University. When we visited Kent this past
August, we arrived on a Saturday afternoon and returned home on Sunday
afternoon. Overnight accommodation at the Kent State Hotel and Conference
Center was the obvious choice. We walked everywhere within downtown Kent. The area
has a good number of restaurants and shops to choose from. We stopped at the
Last Exit Books and Coffeehouse, 124 E. Main St., which sold used books. I liked browsing in the
cookbook section. I enjoyed the other shops in general, too.
The Cuyahoga River in downtown Kent is pictured in late
August 2025. This section of river is alongside the Portage Hike and Bike Trail.
We walked on the Portage Hike and Bike Trail which
paralleled the Cuyahoga River downtown. The river looked beautiful given the
clarity of the water and its lively current. The trail is near the Franklin
Mills Riveredge Park; we accessed the park from West Main Street. That park was
very green with thick tree cover overarching an elevated wooden walkway that
had multiple tiers. A fountain and a mural added interest.
In the early evening, we attended a free concert outdoors at
Dan Smith Community Park, near our hotel.
A pair of vocalists and guitarists performed some Beatles numbers, in
addition to some Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, blues music and some
original songs, too. They were very good. Different artists performed on
Saturday nights in the summer as part of the Dan Smith Community Park Concert
Series.
After the concert, we went to Ray’s Place, 135 Franklin Ave., where we enjoyed
eating appetizers and dessert for a late-night snack. The restaurant was very
well patronized on a Saturday night. It
would have been a fine place for a meal.
On Sunday morning, we drove out a little way to hike on a
part of the Portage Hike and Bike Trail that was outside of downtown. We parked
at the trail lot on Lake Rockwell Road, which was a 5-minute ride away. While
we were nearby, we visited Towner’s Woods Park, too, part of the Portage Park
District.
The Portage Hike and Bike Trail was a fun place to walk
during a cool morning for the end of August in 2025.
In the afternoon we saw the Kent State University Museum, a museum on
the campus that specializes in fashion history.
We really enjoyed seeing the exhibit on actress Katherine Hepburn’s
wardrobe and movie screen fashion. Another exhibit covered stages of fashion and was fascinating. To give a brief description, it
covered the invention of the “Spinning Jenny,” an advancement for cotton
textiles, and later the invention of the zipper. The exhibit included garments
on display – including modern costume for film. It was an overview that addressed more historical periods than what I describe here. While the exhibits probably
change from time to time, we certainly enjoyed the ones available this past
August.
Vermilion, Ohio
The lighthouse by Main Street Beach in Vermilion marks the
shoreline in May 2025.
Vermilion is a lovely community involved in lake life and
supports recreational boating with its local economy. Corey and I visited
Vermilion, a city on Lake Erie west of Cleveland, this past May. We spent a
Monday night in town. We stayed at the Captain Gilchrist Guesthouse that was
within walking distance of downtown and by the lake. The best thing about our
overnight lodging was its location. Staying overnight allowed us to see the
view of Lake Erie at dusk and watch the lighthouse become lit at nightfall. It
was a view we probably would not have seen had we only made a day trip because
we would have already left for home by then.
Throughout our trip, we shopped along Liberty Avenue
downtown and explored the side streets. We ate meals in the restaurants. We
drove into the country and explored the Brownhelm Station Church on a tour just
for us offered by the Brownhelm Historical Association that we arranged several
weeks beforehand. Touring the church probably appeals to the most dedicated of
history enthusiasts, especially those interested in local history.
We visited the Lorain County Metro Park Vermilion River
Reservation where we hiked. We toured the local history museum once we came
back into town. You can see a more detailed account of the street views we saw
by visiting this link to an earlier blog post I made about Vermilion. We liked
staying for one night because it was before the summer tourist season opened.
Some attractions had not opened yet, but the shopping, dining and hiking
experience made the trip well worth the time.
Chardon, Ohio
Chardon is the county seat of Geauga County with an intimate
feeling of community. It is conveniently located to outdoor recreational
attractions. I know Geauga County for its very exciting and beautiful park
system.
An open field lends itself well for viewing the night sky at
Observatory Park in Montville in Geauga County. It is pictured at dusk in
August 2022. The park belongs to the Geauga Park District.
About three years ago, we stayed one overnight in Chardon at
the Lodge at Bass Lake and ate a meal at the adjacent restaurant. Our trip
spanned one Wednesday afternoon through Thursday in late August. We shopped at the stores and ate in the
restaurants that immediately surrounded Chardon Square, a park with a lovely
gazebo. We visited Observatory Park in
Montville in the evening, which is a place in Geauga County that has low light
pollution and offers wonderful views of the night sky. It was about a 20-minute
ride outside of town.
The next day we canoed in the reservoir at Headwaters Park
in Claridon Township, renting our boat. We
drove northwest and hiked in Big Creek Park in the Geauga Park District, too. We
visited Sage’s Apple Orchard and Farm Market on Route 6 and stopped for treats
at DQ, 108 Wilson Mills Rd, in town. These sites were worthwhile visiting.
We enjoyed our experience because we did not commit to doing
very many activities beforehand. We
prioritized canoeing. We did what we had
time for, and it was relaxing. We did
not make reservations for anything except the hotel room. I bet the line for renting a canoe was
shorter because we went mid-week.
Overall, it was a very fun time.
A yellow flower appears on the grounds of Observatory Park
in Geauga County in this picture taken in late August 2022.
Ohio Has Diverse Communities
These three cities represent some of the diversity of Ohio
communities that can be found in Northeast Ohio. Kent, Vermilion and Chardon
were all lovely areas to visit. Their proximity to Greater Cleveland makes them
wonderful one-night destinations for residents here. It is exciting to know
these corners of the region. My experiences with visiting these cities leave me
with the impression that Ohio has very pleasant tourist opportunities. It is
another reason why I appreciate being a resident of Ohio and why I am happy to
explore here.
Below are links to the websites of some of the parks and attractions we visited in each city.
Kent, Ohio
Franklin Mills Riveredge Park
Portage Park District
Kent State University Museum
https://www.kent.edu/museum/current-exhibits
Vermilion, Ohio
Brownhelm Historical Association
https://www.brownhelmhistory.org/
Lorain County Metro Parks
Chardon, Ohio
Geauga Park District
https://geaugaparkdistrict.org/
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