Two Days of Adventures in Springfield, Ohio

Peaceful horseback riding, scenic kayaking, live music, mouthwatering food, scenic parks and clean, comfortable accommodations… Did you know all of these things can be found in Springfield, Ohio?

Exploring different regions of Ohio is one of my favorite things to do (if that wasn’t made obvious by my account), so I was really excited when I got the opportunity to work with Ohio.Find It Here. and Springfield CVB to explore an area I haven’t been able to spend much time — southwest Ohio – specifically the greater Springfield area.

My friend and I had never been to this part of the state before, so he was just as excited as I was to take a road trip and explore everything the area had to offer. I’m going to share our two day itinerary with you to give you some inspiration on things to do in Springfield.

Day 1

Speakeasy Ramen for lunch. This is a hole in the wall dive bar with absolutely delicious Ramen. The serving size was huge and somehow I managed to eat all of it.

Horseback riding at Blue Horseshoe Farm

This was a really unique experience for us. Neither of us have much experience with horses but Brittany and Jason were so kind and generous and getting us comfortable with the horses before we saddled up for a ride. My friend was definitely more nervous than I, but they explained everything in great detail to make him feel super comfortable before we started the ride. It’s a very hands-on experience where you will have the opportunity to feed, brush and hose down the horses.

You can tell the horses are well taken care of and the owners are so passionate about sharing their love of horses with the community. It’s great to because they have trails for people with all types of experience. We  did the easy trail and it was so beautiful and so enjoyable the hour and a half flew by.

Explore Downtown

While we were there the weekend of the Indiecraft festival, the downtown area has many restaurants and bars that offer live music on the weekends. See the full list of events going on at Mother Stewart’s Brewery all summer long. We parked downtown, and first went to enjoy all of the street art. From there, we went to CoHatch and enjoyed an amazing pizza from Crust. The space is really cool because there are multiple options for food so you’re bound to find some thing that everyone in your group will like.

Day 2

We started our morning at Ironworks Waffle Café at CoHatch, which is an absolute must if you are a waffle lover. They have sweet and savory options to choose from. Not to mention the hashbrown was one of the best hashbrowns I’ve ever had.

Tour the Wescott house

Designed and built by the famous Frank Lynn Wright, this home was restored several years ago and brought back to its former glory! Take the tour and you’ll learn everything there is to know about the house and the history behind the design/inspiration for the house and the family who lived there. This is a great rainy day activity, or perfect for anyone in your family who appreciates architecture or history.

Enjoy a picnic at Buck Creek State Park

We grabbed food from All Seasons. This was a perfect choice for picnic food because they had so many great delicious sides to choose from we created a nice little smorgasbord of food to enjoy. We headed to Buck Creek State Park and found a nice shaded spot under a tree right by the water to enjoy our food. It was one of the first nice weekends of the year – high 70s and tons of sunshine, so there was so many people out and about enjoying the water via swimming, jet skiing and sunbathing.

Lodging

We were able to have a unique experience by staying at one of the luxury treehouses at the Simon Kenton Inn. These are the newest additions to the Inn and include a 16 foot deck with views of a field and inside it features a wet bar, queen bed and a dual head shower. The Inn also offers rooms and you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner here during your stay as well.  

Another option is the Marriott Courtyard which is in the heart of the city.

Additional Activities:

Kayak on the Mad River

Enjoy the great outdoors on the Mad River by renting a kayak or canoe from Mad River Adventures. The water is clear enough to see the river bottom in the more shallow areas and has a variable current.

Visit Yellow Springs

If do you have an extra day or even a few extra hours I would highly suggest heading over to the town of Yellow Springs. It’s a quirky little town full of unique shops. There’s also great hiking nearby at the Glen Helen State Nature Preserve, John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve.  

So next time you find yourself in the Southwest region of Ohio, be sure to stop in to the city of Springfield to enjoy everything it has to offer!