Two Day Fall Foliage Fantasy Tour, Chillicothe, Ohio
You can schedule your two day tour to coincide with one of two approaching festivals that are held in the Chillicothe area. One festival is The Farmer’s Fall Festival, it is held annually in the local Yocantangee Park the first weekend of October. The next festival is held the second weekend of October is Harvest Days, which is held at Adnea. The third festival, The Fall Festival of Leaves is held the third weekend of October in Bainbridge (which is a part of Ross County). Finally, nearby Circleville, which is close to Chillicothe is host of the annual Circleville Pumpkin Show in mid October.
During your two day tour, you will get to see many historical sites beginning with the home of Thomas Worthington, Ohio’s sixth governor. His home has been fully restored by the Ohio Historical Society and visitors can now have a sense of what it was like living back in the 19th century in Chillicothe, Ohio. Both the mansion and the gardens have been restored. Plus, they have incorporated inactive exhibits to make the Ohio frontier seem to come alive in front of visitor’s eyes.
Visitors will also get to visit the Ross County Museum, The Franklin House and Knoles Log House for an even more historical experience.
No visit to Chillicothe would be complete with a visit to Chillicothe’s Park, the Yoctangee Park. The Yoctangee Park hosts many events throughout the year. Yet, daily visitors are delighted by the park’s beautiful scenic gardens as well as the Pump House Center for the Arts which is located within the Park.
The tour also allows time for shopping at the wonderful and unique shops situated on the streets of downtown Chillicothe. If there is enough time between shopping and your evening entertainment, you may want to take a stroll through the Majestic Theatre, which formerly was the Masonic Opera House built in 1853. (That is if it is reopened to the public by October. A nearby fire in July caused the Majestic to suffer some smoke and water damage).
Your evening can be spent at relaxing at whatever festival happens to be going on the weekend you choose to take your tour.
Day two will begin with a tour of the Hopewell National Park. The Hopewell National Park is where the Hopewell past is brought back to life in many exhibits and a 17 minute video entitled “Legacy of The Mound Builders.’ After visitors learn more about the past of the Hopewell tribe they can tour the park and see the breathtaking mounds themselves. The Hopewell National Park includes the greatest density of mounds within an earthwork in Southern Ohio. It is a site to behold, when one remembers back then they did not have the advances in machinery we have today.
After your tour of the Hopewell Park, you will begin a tour of the village of Bainbridge. You will get to see the route that the former railroad station DT & I Railroad use to run. Along the way, you will see small country churches and even small country stores that are still in operation today.
Then you will enjoy a picnic lunch at beautiful Seven Caves. While there, you can go on a guided tour through the canyons. It will be a beautiful site with all the fall foliage beginning to their color show.
No trip to Bainbridge would be complete without a stop at the John Harris Dental Museum. After seeing all the manuscripts and old tools Dentists once used, you may even have more respect for the modern day dental profession.
By now, you should be ready for some more shopping. Bainbridge hosts a lot of unique little shops that could never be found in any big city.
Finally, you will get to visit the Mennonite Community. As you head in this direction, you may pass a horse drawn buggie or two. Then as you approach the community, you will see farmers tending to their fields and women baking. Be sure to save money, because these women are known for their wonderful goodies such as home-made pies, breads and rolls. You will definitely want to take some home with you, as a remembrance for your time in Chillicothe, Ohio.
For more information about this tour, you can contact the Ross County Visitors Bureau at 1-800-413-4118
