Travel Guide: Toledo, Ohio

ByNina Thomas Last Updated

If you’re looking for a day trip from Columbus with equal parts food, outdoors and indoors, may I suggest Toledo Ohio?  We’ve been here many times, but we just went to Toledo this winter for a full day, and it did not disappoint!

Overview

The total drive time was 5 hrs. 30 min. We selected an audiobook that was the exact same length as the driving.  It was perfect!

We left at 10:30 am on Saturday, ate lunch in the car (stopped for snacks, obviously), and returned by 7:30 pm.

We made 5 stops total.  (OK, 6 because I had to go to the bathroom)

Sightseeing

Oak Openings

We follow a lot of Ohio-based Instagram accounts, and so we’ve seen pictures of “The Spot” at Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, but it was time to see for ourselves.

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It had just snowed so the ground was perfectly white and the forest was perfectly silent.  We couldn’t drive up (as many of the roads were blocked off), but we parked on the side street and walked up. 

Walking didn’t seem to be off-limits (lots of people were walking around).  The trees were impressive.

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Toledo Museum of Art

I wanted to see a special exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art, not realizing you need to reserve tickets ahead of time.

So we didn’t get to see that, but we did see another special exhibit called Light and Shadow, and the rest of the wonderful artwork.

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The museum is free and impressive.  (You do have to pay for some of the special exhibits.) There is a great impressionist section, and you’ll recognize many artists’ names (Monet, anyone)? 

They also had some interesting exhibits.  For example, one had music you could listen to that was supposed to match individual pieces of artwork.  Headsets were given out with special throw-away covers so you don’t spread germs! 

It was a fun way to spend a few hours.

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“Greetings from Toledo”

Of course, we had to visit the “Greetings from Toledo” sign.  The last time we were here, years ago, we went and obviously we had to recreate that special moment.  (This sign is directly next to a Wendy’s.)

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If you want to see the old version of us, be sure to read the Day Trip from Columbus: Toledo article I wrote a few years back.

Eating

Rustbelt Coffee

We stopped at Rustbelt Coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up: Cortados. You can tell this is where the cool college kids and trendy pastors hang out.  It was a great space and good coffee.

Dietsch Brothers Ice Cream, Findlay

Dietsch Brothers ice cream in Findlay is nationally-known.  Being ice cream lovers, of course we had to sample this!  In 2014, it was ranked the #2 ice cream place in the world on TripAdvisor.  It was so good. 

I wished we lived closer because I would be ordering up those ice cream cakes for birthday parties.  Findlay was on the way back from Toledo to Columbus, so we made this our final stop.

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I love planning day trips because it feeds that travel bug just enough to keep me going until the next trip.  How about you?  Do you like day trips?

For more to explore in Toledo, don’t miss these articles:

A lover of new experiences and fun road trips, Nina enjoys local and worldwide travel. She seeks authentic adventures ranging from wilderness camping to fine dining. Her passion is to share her experiences with others, so they can get the most out of their travels. Nina manages a local history museum in Columbus, Ohio, where she lives with her husband. Her travel motto comes from a woman she met locally who told her, "Always have a trip planned." She's the author of the book How to Be Your Own Travel Agent available on Amazon.