9 Ohio Natural Wonders You Need To Add To Your Outdoor Bucket List For 2020

Do you have an outdoor bucket list? It’s something you should make once a year, if possible. This year, consider exploring the following 9 destinations in the Buckeye State. They’re some of the most impressive natural wonders in Ohio. See which one’s you’ve explored and which ones you need to put on your bucket list for the summer of 2020.

(Looking to feed your wanderlust? Click here to sign up for our Bucket List Newsletter for a weekly peek at the best destinations throughout the country to inspire your next adventures.)

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Crystal Cave on South Bass Island is a hidden gem that most people don’t about. Imagine a cave of nothing but celestine crystals. Pretty cool, right? In fact, Crystal Cave is the largest known geode in the whole world—and it’s right here in the Buckeye State. Discovered in 1897 while digging a well for a winery, Crystal Cave is 35 feet below the surface and about 12,000-15,000 years old. Today, it's part of a winery and one of the most underrated natural wonders in the state.

Ohio Hiking Trails and Historical Sites./Facebook

Tucked away in Wayne County, you'll find more than 200 acres of some of Ohio's oldest trees at Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve. According to the ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, some of the trees have grown to be 120 ft. tall with a diameter of 4 - 5 ft. Most of them are 400-years-old. Although these trees began growing before the pilgrims came to America on the Mayflower, they've continued to flourish for centuries.

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Within the Ohio Caverns is one of the world's largest and most perfectly formed stalactites. Crystal King is nearly five feet long, weighing an estimated 400 pounds, and is estimated to be more than 200,000 years old.

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The Rockbridge State Nature Preserve in the small town of Rockbridge features a natural bridge that stretches more than 100 ft. long – and it’s truly incredible. After steady rainfall, the water trickling down into the ravine increases and forms what locals call "Rockbridge Falls" beneath the bridge.

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Vasenka Photography/Flickr

Hocking Hills State Park is arguably Ohio's most beloved state park, where waterfalls, caves, unique rock formations and hiking trails abound. Old Man's Cave has an interesting history and origin to its name. Legend has it, a 19th-century hermit who once lived in the cave, (named Richard Rowe,) is buried under a cave ledge in the area.

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Within the town of Yellow Springs, you'll find the official "Yellow Spring" (which actually looks more orange than yellow) at the Glen Helen Nature Preserve. The nature preserve covers 1,000 acres and features a 25-mile network of footpaths that allows visitors to observe 400-year-old trees, limestone cliffs with waterfalls and overhangs and the official yellow spring.

Jolene/Flickr

Although you'll have to take a ferry to this natural wonder, it's absolutely worth it. Few people are aware that Kelleys Island is home to the largest accessible glacial grooves in the world. The Glacial Grooves Memorial measures 400 feet long and 35 feet wide. Today, you can explore the grooves from different perspectives via a winding series of steps and footbridges that loop around the upper rim of them.

See 1, Do 1, Teach 1/Flickr

Within the Hocking Hills State Park area in Logan is the beloved Rock House, where visitors can freely explore this unique cave with a 25 ft. high ceiling and window-like openings. Evidence shows that the homey Rock House was often used for shelter by past visitors, Native Americans and even bootleggers, robbers and horse thieves.

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park in northeast Ohio is home to a breathtaking 65-foot waterfall that flows from Brandywine Creek. Known as Brandywine Falls, these easily accessible, beautiful falls are a popular highlight within the park. Wooden pathways and stairs lead the way to Brandywine Falls - which you can hear before you see. Softer layers of rock below the falls include Bedford and Cleveland shales, which were formed from mud found on the sea floor that covered the area 350-400 million years ago.

How many of these have you explore before? Which ones will you be visiting this year? Share your thoughts, photos and experiences with us!