Lancaster offers different ways to plan your trip: museums and historical connections, art in public spaces, and trails through forests, ravines and meadows. You can focus on culture and the decorative arts, or compare nature experiences based on their landscapes and trail types.
Historic Sites and American Art
The Sherman House Museum is the birthplace of General William Tecumseh Sherman. The Sherman House Gardens include a kitchen garden, a medicinal herb garden and a garden featuring native Ohio plants. The Georgian Museum has a different focus: it combines Federal and Greek Revival styles and illustrates 19th-century American craftsmanship.
The Georgian Museum’s collections also offer specific topics to explore: these include silver, quilts, musical instruments, dollhouses and antique miniatures, as well as carved figures by folk artist Elijah Pierce. The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio is a museum and cultural center for American decorative arts from the 18th century to the present. The Ohio Glass Museum offers hands-on classes where you can create your own works of art. The cultural offerings range from historical collections and decorative arts to practical classes.
Public Art and the Festival
The Lancaster’s Open Air Art Trail runs through downtown streets between Mulberry Street and Chestnut Street, and between Memorial Drive and High Street. Along the trail, you’ll find public artworks such as murals, sculptures, and pieces made of stained, leaded and art glass. The History Underfoot Trail offers a historical perspective: ten sidewalk markers are located in front of historic sites in the city center. The trail is designed for a self-guided walk.
The Lancaster Festival is a special occasion: an annual ten-day celebration of art and music. It includes more than 70 events at 22 different venues. If you’re planning your trip around the festival, check the event dates in advance.
Forests, Sandstone and Trails
Clear Creek Metro Park in Lancaster encompasses 5,470 acres of forestland dotted with sandstone outcrops, ravines and streams. The Benua Trail is a 1.9-mile loop through forest and meadows. The park also contains the 4,729-acre Allen F Beck State Nature Preserve, with rugged trails over ridges and through deep ravines. The descriptions show two distinct natural settings: a clearly measured loop through forest and meadows, and trails defined by ridges and ravines.
Another landscape feature is Mount Pleasant, which rises from Blackhand sandstone almost 300 feet above Lancaster. For groups and certain educational programs, Charles Alley Nature Park offers year-round field trips for schools, 4-H groups, scout groups, and families who homeschool or use distance learning.
Discover more destinations: Pickerington.
Go to the main travel overview: Fairfield.
