Yellow Springs, Ohio is one of those places that I had on my local bucket list for quite some time. Sometimes the best adventures are the ones that are a bit spontaneous. Yellow Springs is a little over an hour’s drive from Cincinnati and has little waterfalls. They had me at waterfalls. My family spent an afternoon in Yellow Springs and discovered several adventures that make a great day trip.

Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve

Located at 2381 OH-343, Yellow Springs, OH – Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve is 268 acres with trails that connect to John Bryan State Park. The postglacial cutting in the rocks and lush green scenery along the trails will make you almost forget that you are in Ohio.

The Jackson Street parking lot is a good place to start your adventure. Make sure that you still lock your vehicle and bring water and a camera for the hike.

I’ll admit that after hiking the trails, I was instantly mad at myself for taking so long to visit this place. This is truly a gem to check out.

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. John Muir

A video posted by adventuremom (@adventuremom) on May 9, 2016 at 5:06am PDT

Downtown Yellow Springs

There are lots of eclectic shops and restaurants in the downtown district to discover. Most of the shops are open until 6pm on Saturdays and close earlier on Sundays.

Historic Clifton Mill

Clifton Mill located at 75 Water St, Clifton. Clifton Mill (very close to Jackson Street parking for Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve.)

Historic Clifton Mill dates back to 1802. On-site there is a restaurant, country store, and one of the largest water powered grist mill still in existence. There is also a 90 ft covered bridge that you can walk on to get a better view of the mill and a 1940’s era gas station.

Clifton Mill offers tours the inner workings of the mill several times a year. It is recommended to call prior to confirm times and availability.

 

The Clifton Mill restaurant offers incredible views and wonderful home-cooked meals.

To say that the pancakes are GIANT would be an understatement. They fill the plate and your belly very quickly. We ended up boxing up half of our meal to eat the following day.

You have another excuse to come back because Clifton Mill is known for their incredible legendary light display around the holidays with over 3 million Christmas lights.

Young’s Jersey Dairy located at 6880 Springfield Xenia Rd, Yellow Springs, OH

A farm that dates back to 1869, where you can meet the cows responsible for your homemade ice cream. You could easily spend several hours at Young’s Jersey Dairy visiting the animals, playing mini golf, the driving range, playing at Cowvin’s Kiddie Corral and sampling at the Farmhouse cheese shop.

You will run out of time before you run out of fun on this day trip. You can find out more about Yellow Springs, Ohio from their website.

 

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