5 Reasons to Visit Our 2025-26 Best Hometowns

Dickinson Cattle Co · Barnesville

Dickinson Cattle Co. offers visitors the chance to take a tour and learn about the hundreds of Texas Longhorn and BueLingo cattle raised there. 

In our modern era, it can be rare to have the chance to see where our food comes from, but at Dickinson Cattle Co. near Barnesville, ranching is a way of life. This sprawling 5,000-acre destination sits on reclaimed mining lands in Belmont County, where the Dickinson family has been herding hundreds of Texas Longhorns and other cattle breeds since 1994. 

“We raised our family in Colorado, but Colorado was prone to drought and blizzards ...,” says general manager Darol Dickinson. “Ohio was a clean place, and the grass was good here, the water was good.”

Darol and his wife, office manager Linda, live on the ranch where they work with other members of their family and dedicated staff to breed, herd and sell livestock. 

Dickinson Cattle Co. hosts fun public tours where visitors can get a taste of the cowboy life and even order some beef if they so desire. Participants board a bus for a 75-minute narrated tour to get an up-close look at the ranch’s BueLingo and Texas Longhorn breeds. Visitors can even purchase “cow candy” to feed the cattle through the windows of the bus during the tour.

Experienced tour narrators teach visitors about the day-to-day work that is done on the ranch and what it takes to care for hundreds of heads of cattle. 

“[We] work every day, 24 hours a day, guarding the herd from all disease, or lack of nutrition or minerals, and you do everything to make them healthy and comfortable,” Dickinson says.

The tour also teaches visitors about the fascinating people tied to the land. Dickinson says two famous and controversial Ohioans — Gov. Wilson Shannon and his great-nephew “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker — were born on the property. He adds that William Boyd, who portrayed Hopalong Cassidy, grew up nearby, and one of Johnny Appleseed’s famed apple orchards once flourished just 4 miles northeast.

“There’s so much history here,” Dickinson says. 35000 Muskrat Rd., Barnesville 43713, 740/758-5050, texaslonghorn.com

Grandpa's Cheesebarn · Ashland

Grandpa’s Cheesebarn in Ashland needs no introduction, but if you haven’t visited in a while (or ever) this is your sign to fix that. 

A dairy barn just off the highway in Ohio isn’t usually anything to get excited about. But when you see letters on top spelling out “Cheesebarn,” it’s nearly second nature to point the car toward the exit and make a visit to this favorite family-owned spot in Ashland. 

Open since 1978, Grandpa’s Cheesebarn sells more than 100 varieties of cheese as well as a selection of meats, spreads, dips, snack mixes and gifts. The business began the way a lot of great ideas do: around the breakfast table. 

“[My parents] were sitting over at Perkins, and they were like ‘that old dairy farm over there looks like a good place, maybe we could put a business [there,]’ ” recalls Mistie Hray, manager of Grandpa’s Cheesebarn, as well as its satellite locations in Norton and at Summit Mall in Akron. 

So, her parents, Dick and Ronda Poorbaugh, bought the property, which had both a dairy barn and a farmhouse on it. They named their business in honor of Hray’s grandfather, who had once operated a small shop called Wonderland of Foods. 

Easily accessible from both U.S. 250 and Interstate 71, Grandpa’s Cheesebarn has grown to include Sweetie’s Chocolates, which opened in 1994. Sweetie’s stocks unique candies and fudge flavors, including an unusual banana cream pie fudge. 

A walking deck and turfed courtyard welcome visitors to relax and enjoy occasional live entertainment, while the on-site cafe offers sandwiches and homemade ice cream. Today, the business is often one of the first places that comes to mind when people think of Ashland. 

“That’s meant a lot to my parents,” Hray says. “That’s one of the main reasons, too, that they want to make sure that anyone’s first impression is: Wow, our employees are the nicest, and that must be because they’re from Ashland.” 668 U.S. 250, Ashland 44805, 419/281-3202, grandpascheesebarn.com 

South Main Plaza Dog Fountain · Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon’s South Main Plaza Dog Fountain draws visitors in with its playful statutes of canines that have made the installation a destination onto itself.   

Eighteen dogs gather at Mount Vernon’s South Main Plaza. They aren’t playing fetch, but they cause a stir, even though they never stray from their spots. These 18 cast-aluminum statutes stand steady, spouting arcs of water from their mouths. 

The fountain is at once unusual and captivating. Since it opened June 30, 2020, the South Main Plaza Dog Fountain has grown into both a spot loved by locals and a pitstop for those passing through. It’s on property owned by Mount Vernon Nazarene University and sits next door to the college’s Schnormeir Gallery. Although it is on university property, retired Gambier resident Phil Samuell spearheaded the project.

Samuell retired from the Ariel Corp., which funded construction of the fountain, and was friends with the company’s former CEO, the late Karen Buchwald Wright. 

“Karen and I inline skated every day, and I would talk to her about these crazy ideas, and I showed her pictures of this fountain in Toronto,” Samuell says. “She liked the idea and thought it would be a draw for dog people and a place to relax in an urban setting.”

Claude Cormier, the artist behind the Toronto fountain, scaled his design to fit the fountain basin at South Main Plaza, after meeting with Samuell, his wife, Mary, and the couple’s golden retriever, Sandy. Cormier used the same statue castings as he did for the fountain in Toronto, which were then painted by Manfield-based artist Jeff Ritchie. 

“I think many downtown areas don’t have that sort of attraction,” Samuell says. “It does draw people in. I assume many people will fill their car up with gas while they’re here or they may have lunch or dinner, so I know it’s a draw for tourism, but it’s also meant for local people just to relax and enjoy looking at the dogs.” 201 S. Main St., Mount Vernon 43050  

Glen Helen Nature Preserve · Yellow Springs

Glen Helen Nature Preserve sits tucked away near the heart of downtown Yellow Springs, offering an easy afternoon adventure. 

Located less than half a mile away from  Yellow Springs’ village hall, Glen Helen Nature Preserve offers a haven of biodiversity. The 1,125-acre preserve, which abuts John Bryan State Park, offers a mix of interesting geological formations, including limestone outcroppings and waterfalls.

Visitors can venture into the preserve to see these features, as well as the town’s namesake. The natural spring, which colors the surrounding rocks yellow and orange, can be seen from the 1.5-mile loop Inman Trail, which also takes hikers along the boardwalk and past a beaver dam.

Kat Christen, deputy director of Glen Helen Nature Preserve, says the beavers moved into the preserve in 2021, creating a dam, pond and lodge, near the entrance along Corry Street. Other visitor wildlife sightings have included foxes, coyotes and deer. The preserve also provides a great habit for bird-watching, with more than 200 species having been documented throughout the year. 

“I really hope that folks get a chance to connect to the local biodiversity,” Christen says. “We live in a really unique part of the world, and connecting to and understanding where you are is connected to understanding the plants and animals that live here and call this place home.”

In addition to exploring the wildlife in the preserve, visitors can check out the Glen Helen Raptor Center. Currently home to more than 20 native raptors representing 15 species, the center focuses on bird rehabilitation. It offers educational raptor programs and occasionally hosts public releases of rehabilitated birds.  

“Certainly, the features of the glen are gorgeous to see, but I also think our work as a nonprofit is pretty compelling,” Christen says. “We have the outdoor education center where we serve school children from the region. They can learn about native plants and animals and really immerse themselves.” 405 Corry St., Yellow Springs 45387, 937/769-1902, glenhelen.org

MAPS Air Museum · Green

Visit MAPS Air Museum in Green to discover 67 historic aircraft, artifacts and inspiring exhibits that celebrate aviation history and military service. 

Within minutes of stepping inside the roughly 13,000-square-foot aviation center, visitors are immersed in a massive hangar that houses dozens of historic aircraft. This one space covers nearly 70 percent of MAPS Air Museum’s footprint, with the collection assembled here ranging from pioneering aircraft like the 1908 Martin Glider to the gondola of the Loral GZ-22, better known as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s The Spirit of Akron.

Spearheaded by member Wesley Shank, a group of 14 founders established the Military Aviation Preservation Society in 1990. Shank originally received two Douglas SBD Dauntless airframes from restaurateur David Tallichet under the condition that MAPS Air Museum would restore them at their original brick building on the west side of the Akron-Canton Airport. 

The museum’s present-day location is much larger, boasting educational exhibits in four display rooms, including a Gallery of Heroes, which highlights locals, such as Henry J. Fuller of Akron, who landed in Normandy on D-Day with the 101st Airborne Division. Central to this room are the Medal of Honor displays, showcasing seven decorations belonging to Ohioans. 

“MAPS is here to tell the stories of the people that can no longer tell them themselves,” says volunteer Reed Kimball, who has been at the museum since 2010. “We try to preserve them.”

Make sure to stop by the Airwaves Radio Corner, which was designed by member Rick Willaman and puts a spotlight on 20th-century military communication, including teletype and Morse code. Visitors can browse the military vehicle collection, as well as step inside five aircraft, including two helicopters, when weather cooperates.

“Most people see airplanes here as simply pieces of metal,” Kimball says. “For us, each one of those airplanes has its own story.” 2260 International Pkwy., North Canton 44720, 330/896-6332, mapsairmuseum.org 

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