Things to Do in Yellow Springs, Ohio

Hugh Taylor Birch gave the first 700 acres to Antioch College in 1929, in memory of his daughter Helen. The preserve now covers more than 1,000 acres right at the edge of town, with over 20 miles of trails, 2.5 miles of the Little Miami River, old-growth forest and a rock column called Pompeii’s Pillar. The Yellow Spring itself, its iron-rich water staining the rocks orange, is here too, along with an Adena burial mound.

★ Good to know Non-members pay a parking fee. Use the Cascades Lot on State Route 343 for the easiest walk to the spring and Birch Creek Cascades, or the Corry Street lot for the Trailside Museum and the stone steps down to the beaver dam.

Inside the preserve, the region’s only raptor rehabilitation center cares for more than 200 sick, injured and orphaned birds of prey a year. Resident owls, hawks and other birds that can’t return to the wild live here as education ambassadors.

★ Good to know Staff introduce the birds on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 2pm, so a weekend visit is the most interactive.

This 268-acre state preserve protects a dolomite and limestone gorge along a 2-mile stretch of the Little Miami State and National Scenic River. It became a National Natural Landmark in 1968. At the Narrows, the river squeezes through a deep channel carved from connected potholes, and huge slump blocks lie along the valley floor.

★ Good to know Pets aren’t allowed and you must stay on the trail. Spring brings some of Ohio’s best wildflowers, including the rare snow trillium.

Next door to Clifton Gorge, the state park follows the same limestone gorge, which is also a National Natural Landmark. It has 16 hiking trails, including the Storybook Trail, a public rock climbing and rappelling area, mountain bike trails, disc golf and a campground. Together, the park, the gorge preserve and Glen Helen form more than 2,100 acres of connected river corridor.

★ Good to know Unlike the nature preserve, the state park allows pets, and a launch area outside the park gives paddlers access to the river.

The Young family built the red barn here in 1869, and the family has sold milk since the 1950s and ice cream since 1981. Today the working dairy farm north of town has homemade ice cream, farmstead cheese, miniature golf, a driving range, batting cages and a petting area. It draws more than a million visitors a year.

★ Good to know Come in fall for the corn maze and pumpkin picking, or in winter to cut your own Christmas tree.

The 78-mile paved rail trail runs right through the village on the old Little Miami Railroad bed, from Springfield to Cincinnati. It’s the fourth-longest paved trail in the country, and the stretch south to Xenia and beyond is easy, flat riding.

★ Good to know Yellow Springs Station downtown makes a natural starting point, with food and shops a block away.

The walkable downtown has close to 100 shops, galleries and places to eat. The Little Art Theatre on Xenia Avenue has shown films since 1929 and mixes first-run, independent, international and classic films. Next door, Ohio Silver Company sells handmade sterling silver jewelry, most of it fair trade.

★ Good to know The Little Art hosts the Yellow Springs Film Festival in the fall, so check its calendar before you go.

A few minutes east in the village of Clifton, the first mill on this site went up in 1802. It’s one of the largest water-powered grist mills still in existence, with a restaurant overlooking the gorge and a gift shop selling its pancake mixes. Around the holidays it lights up with millions of lights, a miniature village and a Santa Claus museum.

★ Good to know The Legendary Lights run nightly from late November through Christmas, so check the mill’s site for that year’s dates.