Recreation & Entertainment

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Ohio's cities are world-class and home to countless art and cultural activities while the outlying areas offer one-of-a-kind amusement parks, important historical sites, outdoor adventure, and quaint small towns.

Ohio's largest cities, Cleveland and Cincinnati, are home to excellent theater and orchestras, as well as world-class museums, galleries and attractions. Cleveland offers the Cleveland Playhouse, the longest running professional regional theatre in the country, the Cleveland Museum of Art, one of the world's leading art museums, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, with one of the largest primate collections in the country and the largest and most comprehensive rain forest exhibit in the country. Cincinnati, an arts mecca, is home to the Cincinnati Symphony, the Cincinnati Ballet, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Other unique attractions include the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, a museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad, the Holden Arboretum, the nation's largest arboretum, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the world’s first museum dedicated to the living legacy of rock & roll music. Professional sports provide yet even more entertainment with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians (baseball), the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns (football), the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA), the Cleveland Rockers (WNBA), the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL), and the Columbus Crew (MLS).

Ohio has plenty to offer kids, including Paramount's Kings Island theme park, located outside Cincinnati and one of the Midwest's largest theme-parks, Cedar Point Amusement Park near Cuyahoga, "Best Amusement Park in the World" by Amusement Today magazine, and Young’s Jersey Dairy Ice Cream, a working dairy farm which makes homemade ice cream as well as restaurants, a bakery, miniature golf, batting cages, and a petting zoo. Fairs and festivals are also popular, such as the Apple Festival in Jackson and the Ohio Hill Folk Festival in Quaker City.

Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy the Cuyahoga Scenic Railway, celebrating Ohio's rich railway history and part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where visitors can hike, bike, birdwatch, picnic, golf, fish, and ski. Lake Erie is also a popular destination - the oldest, warmest, shallowest of all the Great Lakes as well as the Walleye Fishing Capital of the World - and provides recreational activities such as boating, bicycling on its islands, fishing, and ferry rides. Ohio state parks also offer limitless outdoor recreational activities at more than 73 locations across the state. Also rich in history, Ohio is home to several historical locations where visitors can learn more about the Amish, the Civil War, Native Americans, past presidents, and the Underground Railroad.

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