The Best Scenic Drives Between Columbus and Cleveland

There's More Than One Way to Get to Cleveland

If you've driven I-71 between Columbus and Cleveland more than a few times, you know the drill: rest stops, fast food, a stretch of flat highway, and roughly two hours of your life that blur together. But within a 20-mile corridor of that interstate, there's a completely different Ohio hiding — one with covered bridges, state forest roads, small-town diners, and rivers worth pulling over for.

These three routes won't get you there faster. That's the point.

Route 1: SR-16 Through Coshocton County

Leaving Columbus northeast on SR-16 is one of the most underrated decisions you can make on this drive. The road runs parallel to the Licking River for much of its early stretch, passing through Newark and into the rolling terrain of Coshocton County. The landscape shifts noticeably — farms get quieter, towns get smaller, and the traffic basically disappears.

Stop in Coshocton itself, which sits at the confluence of the Tuscarawas and Walhonding Rivers. The town has a working replica canal boat at Roscoe Village, a restored 19th-century canal town with a handful of good lunch spots. It's a half-hour detour that doesn't feel like a detour.

From Coshocton, head north on SR-83 through Killbuck and Millersburg. This stretch through Holmes County passes through the heart of Ohio's Amish Country, where roadside stands sell fresh produce, baked goods, and handmade furniture. Plan around midday if you want to eat — the restaurant options here are genuinely worth a stop, and portions are not shy.

Route 2: The Mohican State Forest Corridor

If you want trees overhead for most of the drive, head north from Columbus on US-36 to SR-3 and work your way into Mohican State Forest. The road through the forest follows the Clear Fork Gorge, dropping into a hemlock-lined ravine that feels nothing like central Ohio.

Mohican State Park has a covered bridge — the longest remaining covered bridge in Ohio — that's been photographed more times than most things in the state. It's a short walk from the road, and it's genuinely worth it. The park also has a gorge overlook trail if you want to stretch your legs properly.

If you're using Stoprover, this is the kind of route it handles well. Type something like "drive me to Cleveland through somewhere with trees and a state park" and it'll thread together a navigable route through this area rather than defaulting to the freeway. It surfaces the kind of stops that don't make it onto standard GPS apps — the covered bridge, a roadside pie stand outside Loudonville, a riverside pull-off that has no official name but locals know it well.

Route 3: The Coshocton Backroads Loop

For the most rural version of this drive, leave Columbus on US-62 toward Killbuck, then pick up County Road 608 and the network of small state routes that connect Coshocton and Guernsey Counties. This is genuinely backcountry Ohio — dairy farms, grain elevators, church marquees, and occasionally a dog standing in the middle of the road with full authority.

The appeal here isn't any single landmark. It's the cumulative effect of driving through a part of the state that hasn't changed much in fifty years. If you stop in McConnelsville or Malta along the Ohio River, you'll find a main street that still functions as a main street.

A Few Stops Worth Knowing

• Wooster, Ohio — A college town with a strong downtown food scene, a good independent bookshop, and Wayne County's Amish market nearby.
• Malabar Farm State Park — Louis Bromfield's working farm and estate near Lucas. The house tours are surprisingly good. The farm still operates.
• The Loudonville area — Canoeing outfitters on the Mohican River, plus a short main street with ice cream and a hardware store that's been open since 1907.
• Covered bridges of Coshocton County — There are several within a few miles of each other. The county has a self-guided tour map if you want to make an afternoon of it.

On Timing

These routes add between 90 minutes and three hours to the drive, depending on stops. Fall foliage season — mid-October through early November — is the obvious peak, but spring along the Mohican is equally good, and summer in Amish Country means roadside corn and tomatoes that are worth stopping for on their own.

Before you leave, it's worth putting a rough route together in Stoprover — type in your destination and mention covered bridges or state parks, and it'll sketch an itinerary that sequences those stops without requiring you to manually stitch together a half-dozen searches.

The fastest route isn't always what the drive is about. Ohio has a lot more going on between Columbus and Cleveland than most people see at 70 miles an hour.