Opportunities abound for safely soaking in all Cherry Valley Hotel and the area have to offer. Enjoy our Top 10 picks for ways to play is safe when you stay at Cherry Valley this fall.
Want even more fun? Check out all the events we have in store for guests and locals alike! From Art in the Park to Wine Craze Corn Mazes, Licking County serves up something for everyone. Check out the full calendar of area events here.
Apples, peaches, pumpkins, and more. This fall, area orchards and farms not only provide hours of outdoor fun, but delicious treasures to take home. Fruit-picking and corn mazes at nearby Lynd Fruit Farm are annual traditions for many families. Find the perfect pumpkins and gourds at Diamond Hill Farm or explore Pigeon Roost Farm’s Great Pumpkin Fun Center with mazes, rides, and other fun activities for the kiddos.
Cherry Valley Hotel is just minutes from some of the best hiking, bird-watching, fishing, picnicking, running trails and all-around family fun in Ohio. Licking County park system is a year-round haven for outdoor adventurers. Pack a picnic from Granville Pantry, then head out for a day of exploring trails, rivers, ponds, fields and wildlife sanctuaries. It’s easy to find an activity to match your pace, and most trails are pet-friendly. Get started exploring here.
World-class cycling lives here. Licking County is home to over 40 miles of multi-use trails. Our hills challenge even the most seasoned of cyclists (Pelotonia’s annual charity event even comes through Granville). Everyone pedals around these parts, from leisurely enthusiasts who come for the scenery to weekend warriors who come to break a sweat. To take in the scenery, try the tree-lined Thomas J Evans trail. For something to get your heart rate up, look no further than the Ride to Gambier.
Is there anything better than being out on the open road? With some of the country's most epic leaf-peeping in the fall, central Ohio's road ways and bi-ways can't be beat for beauty this time of year. Licking County offers five unique Pathfinder driving routes, scenic drives that have everyone from couples to car and motorcycles aficionados meandering through our quaint towns and villages, and cherised historical sites. For car and motorcycle clubs looking for extra space, Cherry Valley is an ideal spot to host events, featuring over 400 parking spaces and a 31,000 sq ft exhibition center.
Some of the best days are spent doing nothing at all. Cherry Valley sits on acres of quiet, lush Ohio countryside. Flowering cherry trees and indigenous flora line our gardens, fountains and walking paths, providing for a tranquil afternoon or evening under the stars. Each guest room has its own private patio or balcony with wrought iron tables and chairs, perfect for enjoying morning coffee and a pastry from the Granville pantry. In cooler months, you’ll find quiet, out of the way nooks with comfy chairs in the lobby and around the property to spend time cozying up with a good book and a cup of coffee. Backyard lawn games like life-size connect four or corn hole are also available. Evenings are best spent by one of our fire pits roasting s’mores or out on the terrace where the chefs at Craftsman Kitchen and Terrace serve famed farm-to-table cuisine paired with local and regional wines.
Vineyards and wineries dot the landscape of central Ohio, and just up the road are six unique experiences not to be missed while visiting Cherry Valley. From Autumn Rush Vineyard that sits on sixteen acres of countryside in nearby Johnstown to the sprawling Otter Creek Vineyards to a more urban oasis like Sand Hollow Vineyards (and Speakeasy – shhh!), opportunities to savor local varietals in picturesque settings has never been easier. Pick up a “wine trail passport” at any of these spots and spend a weekend visiting all six.
There’s no shortage of opportunities to quench your thirst in Granville. Cherry Valley’s own O&E Taphouse serves up seasonal, hand-crafted selections from the best brewers in the region, including lighter brews like pilsners, sours, lagers and wheat beers to savory IPAs, cream ales and stouts. When venturing out, DankHouse Brewing in Newark is a cult fave with locals and serves up brews to-go, as does nearby Homestead Beer Company. You also can’t go wrong with Three Tigers in Granville’s historic downtown village - where you can also order your beer online – as well as Snapshots Lounge who’s set up shop in an historic house in Granville (the back yard is the place to be). By the way, you don’t want to miss the grub in any of these spots, either.
If golf is your thing, the greens are plentiful in Licking County. The Denison Golf Club is an easy 10 minutes from the hotel and regularly hosts tournaments and outings. A Donald Ross design, the award-winning course dates back to 1925 and is known as one of the best courses in Midwest Ohio…just watch the sand bunkers (they’re everywhere). The Virtues Golf Club is also minutes away. The Arthur Hills-designed championship course boasts awards from Golfweek and Golf Digest and features some of the best views around as well as instruction for juniors. For a complete list of nearby golf courses, call our Concierge at 740-788-1200.
Situated on over 2,000 acres just minutes from Cherry Valley is one of the country’s most prestigious and visually stunning botanical gardens, Dawes Arboretum. Breathtaking views, woodland forests, and beautifully sculpted gardens await. Dawes also regularly offers art displays and installations by local artists set among its gardens. Did you know that Cherry Valley is also an arboretum? It’s true! Our gardens feature a variety of specimen plantings of indigenous trees and shrubs. Call our Concierge to schedule a private, socially-distanced tour of our gardens with our botanist.
A little known American treasure sits right here in Newark, Ohio. The Newark Earthworks are the largest set of geometric earthen enclosures in the world. A National Historic Landmark, the earthworks were built by people of the ancient Hopewell Culture between 100 B.C. and 500 A.D. While we can never know their purpose, one theory is that they were built on such a massive scale for astronomical accuracy—long, straight embankments provide longer sightlines that increase the accuracy of astronomical alignments. Cool, right? And fun for the whole fam. Guided tours are available most of the year, or you can explore them on your own.
And these are ten! We’re full of ideas for you. For more information on any of these local treasures – or for more ways you can play it safe at Cherry Valley – contact our Concierge at 740-788-1200.