Back to Ohio’s Amish Country

I went for the first time to Ohio’s Amish country back in 2020, when I was bringing my oldest son to college nearby.

Four years later, this May, I was with my husband and younger son for my older son’s graduation. They had never been to Amish country and wanted to see it. So as we left Ohio, we took a little detour to visit central-easterm Ohio, known as Amish country. This is one of the United States’ largest Amish populations, second behind Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s Amish country.

We started off our exploration in Millersburg, Ohio, on the dge of Amish country. This has a picturesque downtown and a great visitor’s center to plan your trip.

We picked up good tips on where to go and what to see, and set off to explore the verdant towns aroudn the area.

When I was there in 2020, there were far fewer tourists because of Covid craziness. It was nice to see that things had picked up in the intervening years.

We stopped off to get lots of Amish provisions: cookies, jams, cheeses, fruits. The Amish have impressive farmland, and their farm markets are always worth a stop.

In Ohio Amish country, the Amish and Mennonite populations seem evenly mixed. This means wide range of acceptable technology, ranging from horse and buggy and oxe-drawn ploughs, to motorbikes, cellphones and modern tractors.

Still, spending time here allows you to slip back into a quieter, less stressful pace of life.

We stopped off for an Amish lunch before heading back on our long drive to Washington, DC. My maternal grandparents are German, so the (heavier) meat and potato-based specialties felt familiar, and always completed by a wide selection of pies. It was a great alternative to Highway fast food we would have had to consume otherwise during our long trip.

It was a great day in beeautiful Amish country. Hope you’ll enjoy this picturesque countryside then next time you’re passing through eastern Ohio!