Top 10 Weekend Road Trips from Columbus, Ohio

If you're like me, you try to take advantage of every long weekend possible - and for us, that usually means taking a quick weekend trip! Columbus is conveniently located within a reasonable driving distance from many major and historic cities, and with a 3-day window, there are so many things to see and explore. I'll highlight some of my favorite road trips from Columbus and the best things to do in each city to kick off your Memorial Day weekend!

1. Chicago

I've been to Chicago three times now, and each time I've visited we never seem to have enough time to see everything! Clocking in at just under 6 hours, getting to Chicago is a moderate drive from Columbus. If you've never been to Chicago before, try to drive in on a Friday night so you can spend a full two days sightseeing - especially in the summertime. Chicago has so many tourist attractions to choose from, but some of my favorites are the Navy Pier, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the SkyDeck. The best way to see the attractions on a budget is to use the CityPASS, which gives you access to multiple attractions that you can choose from for a bundled price. The Navy Pier is much more fun to visit in the summer, since all the shops are open, the Ferris wheel is running, and the spray from the lake cools you down on a hot day!

2. Toronto

As the only international road trip on this list, Toronto is a must-see for anyone located in the Columbus area with a passport! At just under a 7-hour drive, Toronto is one of the further road trip destinations, but it's totally worth it. Toronto is an awesome place to visit any time of the year, but even better in the spring and summer! This city has so much to see and do, especially if you're able to visit the Toronto Islands in the summertime when it's warm enough to spend the day on the beach and watch the sun set over the city skyline in the evening. In addition to visiting the Toronto Islands, there are also so many attractions in and around Toronto to see, such as the CN Tower, Casa Loma, Ripley's Aquarium of Toronto, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto is another city to use the CityPASS in to get some discounts on the local attractions. That's not all though - catching a hockey game in the spring or a baseball game in the fall is also a great time and a cool way to experience familiar sports in a different culture! You can read more about our weekend Toronto trip here.

3. Cincinnati

While Cincinnati may not be the most exciting road trip that comes to mind, visiting Cincinnati is a great weekend destination for families, with tons of family-friendly activities to check out and a short enough car ride for children that maybe don't travel so well. Cincinnati is about a 2-hour drive from Columbus, but you could always stop in Mason, OH and hit the King's Island amusement park on your first day to break up the trip. The Cincinnati area has so different attractions to check out - the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the American Sign Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center, Newport Aquarium - the list goes on and on! Fun evening activities for the family include catching a Red's game at Great American Ballpark or taking a riverboat cruise along the Ohio River. The best part? A short two-hour drive home with exhausted kids!

4. Nashville

We all know what to expect in Nashville - live country music, honkey tonk bars, nothing but cowboy hats and boots - but aside from the renowned nightlife, the Nashville area actually has a lot of other really cool things to do during the day. Nashville clocks in under 6 hours driving, making it an awesome road trip destination if you're tight on time! Checking out the shopping and dining in downtown Nashville is a given, but the Nashville area also has neat attractions such as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which contains almost a full day's worth of artifacts, memorabilia, displays, and history about country music. If you're the outdoorsy type, Radnor Lake State Park is a more tranquil way to spend the day, with over 5 miles of hiking trails and boating and swimming in the warmer months. Other local places to visit include the Grand Ole Oprey for the true country music lovers, the Parthenon replica in Centennial Park, and the Tennessee State Museum. Bonus points if you can catch a country concert while you're in town!

5. Myrtle Beach

If all you're looking for is a beach to plop down on and the sound of waves, a road trip to Myrtle Beach is great for a 4-day weekend. This drive is a bit longer, just under 10 hours, but is the best beach destination within a relatively short driving distance in the early summer months. The water is warm enough to pleasantly swim in at the end of May and temperatures creep into the 80s, making a Myrtle Beach trip the ideal way to kick off the summer. If you'd like to get out and do things, you can check out the boardwalk full of arcades, restaurants, and the SkyWheel, one of the tallest Ferris wheels in the United States! The Myrtle Beach area also has a very diverse restaurant scene with delicious Latin and Italian food, and one of the best breakfast spots I've ever tried, Old Town Crepes. A 4-day trip to Myrtle Beach gives you two driving days and two full days of sun and sand!

6. New York City

If you're willing to spend a little more, a long weekend in New York City is such a great time! The drive time to New York City is also a little farther at about 9 hours from Columbus, but if you've never been to NYC it's worth the trip! One thing to note when driving to NYC is that you'll most likely have to pay to park your car overnight if you're in the city, and the city isn't super driver-friendly, so you'll probably need to plan alternative transportation, like the subway, to get around faster and easier. Of course, you have to check out Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, and the Rockefeller Center, but there are so many other attractions and museums to choose from as well! Some of the most unforgettable moments for me in NYC included taking a tour of the Radio City Music Hall and seeing a Broadway show live (I saw Fran Drescher and Carly Rae Jepsen in Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella back in high school - absolutely unbelievable!). New York City is definitely one of the more costly trips on this list, but is such an awesome trip if you've never been there before!

7. Savannah

Savannah is the longest road trip on this list, with about 11 hours of driving, but is a really cool option for a 4- or 5-day trip. Not only will you run into Tybee Island, a great spot to spend the day on the beach and enjoy the warm breeze, but you'll also find so many unique things to do in Savannah that make it an ideal destination for couples or families. The architecture in Savannah alone is a really cool thing to experience. The majority of the city has maintained its original historic charm through the architecture, which is super neat for a real estate nerd like me to see. The Savannah Historic District is the largest National Historic Landmark District in the United States, with more than 20 blocks of museums, monuments, mansions, restaurants, and shops to explore. Of course, the culinary scene in Savannah is awesome, with southern influence and fresh-caught seafood all around. The rest of the Savannah area is pretty quiet, meaning that you can see most of it in a few days, which is why it makes a great long weekend road trip!

8. Geneva-on-the-Lake

If you've never heard of Geneva, Ohio, it's probably because it's super rural and doesn't really have any crazy attractions to visit or really even a noteworthy food scene. But if you like wine, Geneva-on-the-Lake is the best long weekend road trip for you! The Geneva area boasts over 40 local vineyards and wineries, a popular region given the fantastic growing conditions for grapes, especially some of the European varietals that can scarcely grow here in the United States. This area is great for couples or girls' trips, with no shortage of winery tours and bus caravans in the area. Additionally, this region lies on the banks of Lake Erie, offering beautiful views and tranquil afternoons at some of the lakeside wineries. Geneva is a great destination within a 3-hour drive, making it perfect for a 3-day weekend trip. You can read more about some of my favorite wineries to visit in Geneva here.

9. Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is a must-see, at least once in your life! The thing that makes Niagara Falls a perfect long weekend trip is that aside from visiting Niagara Falls itself, there isn't too much else to do in the area! Niagara Falls is about a 6-hour drive from Columbus. If you have a passport, I recommend booking a hotel on the Canadian side with a view of the falls from your window! Aside from actually taking the riverboat tour into the falls itself, there are plenty of restaurants, shops, attractions, and arcades in the little town on the Canadian side of the Falls. Even though the drive is a little longer than some of the other options on this list, visiting Niagara Falls is a pretty cool family trip to take, even with little ones.

10. Hocking Hills

For the nature lovers out there, Hocking Hills is hands-down the best road trip to take from Columbus. With over 25 miles of hiking trails in the area, you'll see rock formations, caves, waterfalls, forest critters, and natural beauty. The Hocking Hills area offers trails, water sports, fishing, and tranquil scenery at a pretty low cost. You could do Hocking Hills as a day trip or a long weekend, with an abundance of rental cabins nearby. In addition to visiting the state park, you can also spend the day renting out a pontoon and swimming in Lake Logan, which has cool clear water and is a fun way to spend the day with family. The Lake Logan area also has picnic areas and barbecue stations, so you can truly spend the whole weekend outside and exploring the area. The best part? Hocking Hills is less than an hour's drive from Columbus!

I hope this list has inspired you to take a short trip this Memorial Day weekend! Did I miss any of your favorite destinations? Leave them in the comments below!