I stuck to it and finished week one! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see my initial post. A quick recap here so you don’t have to go look at the original post unless you want to. I asked ChatGPT to give me a fitness plan including exercises and nutrition to get a bikini body in 8 weeks. And it did!
So when I say I stuck to it above, I stuck to the exercise plan. I still have to sort out the details on the nutrition plan, because none of that stuff is what make at home or eat now. So I’m going to have to ease into that. My goal is to make at least one of those meals this week.
But I am all in on the exercise part, and I followed the plan to the letter last week. How did it turn out? Well, I think it’s working! After just a few days I felt like my abs are getting tighter. They were definitely sore, as well as my back muscles. The exercises ChatGPT provided are mostly new to me. So, I worked some muscles that I don’t normally work by yoga, walking and running. And that’s a good thing. As far as weight, I lost less than a pound, but maybe that’s because I was well hydrated. I went cold turkey on my Diet Pepsi for a couple of those days and I guzzled water. Also, couldn’t the small weight loss be because I’m turning fat into muscle and muscle is heavier than fat? That’s what I chose to believe.
Last weekend was that most wonderful time of year, the annual Loveland Frogman Festival 2025! Not to be confused with the Loveland Return of the Frogman event that is sponsored by city and held in downtown Loveland. This is a separate event (Loveland really loves their Frogman festivals!).
This is a convention for all who love criptids, especially the Frogman. A little backstory, “the Loveland Frogman, or Loveland Lizard, is a legendary creature said to inhabit the area near Loveland, Ohio. The first reported sighting dates back to 1955, when a businessman claimed to have encountered three bipedal, frog-like creatures along the Little Miami River, each standing roughly three to four feet tall. According to the account, the creatures had leathery skin and webbed hands and feet. One even held a wand-like object that emitted sparks. The tale of the Frogman resurfaced in 1972 when a police officer reported seeing an unidentified animal, which he described as having similar features to the Frogman.” [1]
The Festival seems to get bigger each year. It is filled with entertainment, vendors, speakers and even a parade! Everyone is happy, welcoming, and having a good time.
[1] Text generated by Copilot, Microsoft, March 2, 2025, and summarized for clarity
After the festival I was inspired to go look for the Frogman myself! I found a hiking trail that runs right a long the Little Miami River; the perfect place to go looking for a four-foot-tall frogman! I chose the Carter Park Loop since it was on my way back home to Columbus. This is a 1.7 mile paved and dirt trail loop near Kings Mills, Ohio. Take the King’s Island exit off of I71). Take the turn at the school, then head for the quilter’s barn; that is where you park.
And best of all, there is a bathroom at the trailhead!
The trail starts out as a paved road that takes you through the park area, then it changes to a gravel trail.
Shortly after leaving the park area I came across a set of stairs, and I immediately thought of “the stairs to nowhere in the woods” lore. This is when you find a set of stairs in a forested area that seemingly lead to no destination, appearing as a standalone structure with no obvious purpose. The folklore speculate these stairs are forgotten structures to supernatural occurrences. I was so excited to find my first set! The lore says you should not go anywhere near them (unless you want to be sucked into another dimension). I decided to play it safe and kept on walking.
The trail takes you down the hill and it eventually turns to run alongside the Little Miami River. There is a tall mound between the trail and river, presumably to contain flooding, so you only catch glimpses of the river. But you can leave the trail and cross over to see the river if you want to search more closely for the Frogman.
This trail is marked “moderate,” and I did not understand why until I got to about the ¾ mark. At this point, the trail narrows down to a dirt path, and it takes a sharp turn to take you straight up the hill you came down earlier. But there is no fancy gravel road on this end of the trail! It starts out with a steep set of stairs (these stairs definitely had a purpose, so I was not worried about dimension jumping if I took these).
After the stairs, you are on your own to scramble up a steep rocky incline using tree roots for handholds!
But once you make it to the top, you are met with a nice gravel trail again that takes you back to the paved park trail.
Overall I enjoyed this trail quite a bit. I especially liked the little bit of a climbing challenge at the end. I met a couple of hikes and some cyclists on the first part of the trial, but I was alone on the back side. I did not feel unsafe, just a little isolated.
As you can see from the pictures, the winter landscape was a little brutal, but I bet this is a pretty trail in the summertime. And if you are traveling between Cincinnati and Columbus and are looking for a place to get out and stretch your legs, this is the perfect spot, right off the freeway.
Here is my itinerary for the trip.
Let me know if you decide to take this trip for yourself!
I don’t have a hike this week, but I’m planning one for this weekend involving the annual Loveland Frogman Festival, in Loveland Ohio. So I will report back next week on that one.
However, I do have is an interesting experiment. I went on ChatGPT and asked it to give me fitness plan, including exercise and nutrition, to get a bikini body. And it did! It gave me five days of exercises plans and two days rest; and seven days of meal plans.
So I’m going to give it a try. The exercise seems doable, but the nutrition plan is a lot. It seems like a ton of food and when I added up the ingredients for my first week of food, it was over $200! But to be fair, some of the ingredients they provided would be staples and last for several weeks.
While I love exercise, I have never liked to cook. So I’m going to commit to the exercise for sure, but I’m going to ease into the nutrition.
I am a 58 year old mother of an adult son. Honestly I am not expecting to achieve a bikini body. But I would like to be more fit. So why not try it? If anyone is interested, I’ll report my status here each week. ChatGPT said it would take about 8 weeks to see solid results and real definition by 12 weeks. So I’ll commit to the 8 weeks and see what happens!
Charleston Falls Preserve is another great day trip from Columbus, Ohio. It is a little more than an hour away, almost a straight shot down I70W; 2535 Ross Rd, Tipp City, OH 45371. In Maimi county, the preserve covers over 216 acres of both fields and forest.
From a hiking perspective there is a nice 2.4-mile loop; but you can cobble together some other trail offshoots to increase the distance if that is your goal. I got up to 4 miles from hitting all the side trails.
Lake Hope is located in Vinton County, Ohio; about 68 miles southeast of Columbus. Per their website this state park is home to abandoned mines, ancient mounds, and step gorges. There are a variety of trails you can pick from, but I chose trail #7 from AllTrails – Hope Furnace Trail to Yosemite Falls Trail. This is a 6.5-mile dirt trail loop through the woods.
The trail starts at the old Hope Iron Furnace, which was operational between 1854 and 1874. The trail head is just to the left of the Furnace; and there is signage, so it is easy to find. And best of all, there is a bathroom!
I picked a cold snowy morning for this hike and the place was quiet when I arrived. There were some footprints at the start of the trail; but I was the first one to venture beyond, onto the Yosemite trail, since the last snow. The further out I got the trail was completely obscured by the snow and I relied heavily on my AllTrails app to keep me on the right path.
This part of Ohio is known for its cliffs, gorges, waterfalls, and rock shelters. And you get to see some of them on this trail.
While I did not see any other human footprints, there were plenty of dog tracks! I assume these were left by coyotes, or wild dogs since there were no human companion prints beside them. More than once, I mistook the dog paths for the trail; and had to correct my course when AllTrails vibrated my watch to let me know I was going the wrong way. I hate to criticize the native dog population, but they seemed to have no regard for staying on the proper path!
There is some great elevation on this trail; so if you are looking for a workout, this is a good one. And the tromping through the snow added some extra resistance training. There was a little bit of rock negotiation as well, but in all fairness, I could have been off trail at this point. It is hard to tell.
I also had to cross a stream, which was not too bad since it was mostly dried up and frozen over. But this would be a little more challenging to cross in the summer when the stream is full and flowing. You will definitely get your feet wet.
The back end of the trail has a lot of switch backs. It was at this point when I realized the dog’s trail was much more expeditious than the human trail. So, I decided to follow the dogs instead. Did I cut off a few of the trail’s switch back loops? Yes, I did. Do I feel bad about it? No, I do not. My apologies to the hiking purists, but I picked the path that brought me the most pleasure in the moment and I have no regrets.
One more note, I did come across a mound at the top of the ridge. It looked like it could have been an old Indian burial mound, but there were no indicators. But I am betting it is.
I am not going to lie I was a little tired by the time I made it back to my car. Between the hills, the snow, and the back tracking due to the obscured trail, I had a good workout. I deserved a warm-up and a hot meal; so I headed to the Lake Hope Lodge.
I was excited to see they had potato skins and BBQ on the menu (you might be seeing a trend here, as this is what I had after last weekend’s hike). The Lodge is a pleasant wood and stone structure and was not too crowded this Saturday afternoon. So I ordered a mug of hot tea and enjoyed my meal.
I took a spin through the gift shop on my way out and bought a sticker for my journal and a diet Pepsi for the road. Next I was off to a spooky adventure, to the Moonville Tunnel.
I actually I grew up in this area, so I am well aware of Moonville’s spooky lore. At one time a rail line ran through this tunnel. The story goes that the tunnel is haunted by a railman who had an unfortunate collision with a train. The train won. It is said you can still see him waving his lantern in the dark inside the tunnel. Back in the day you had to hike through the woods and jump over a stream to reach the tunnel. But these days, there is a lovely parking lot and a nice bridge to take you right there!
Apparently, it is now a hot spot for ghost hunters and spooky thrill seekers! In addition, the brick structure is quite beautiful, which is an added bonus.
Honestly though Moonville still creeps me out a little. I was happy to find other visitors there when I arrived (how many were real people and how many were ghosts, I will never know!). But I am glad I did not have to explore it on my own.
In the end I braved my fears and got to chat with a few tourists. All and all this was a full day, and I enjoyed it immensely!
Here is my itinerary for the day:
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
On the day of this hike, it was cold, wet, and foggy; very foggy. So, I picked a trip that I had in my back pocket for a while. The benefit of this adventure was that I got to see several different sites in one trip and the hikes were short (this last part was good because the weather was not cooperating).
Ohio is home to many Native American burial grounds and earthworks. I asked AI what the difference is between the two and here is what it spit out. “A burial mound is a single mound used for burial, while earthworks can encompass a complex of mounds, walls, and other earthen features across a large area.”
I have known the existence of these wonderful creations, but I never took the time to explore them. Then I found the one on Columbus’ west side (see my earlier post on the Shrum Mound) and my interest was really piqued. I decided to see the Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio, and the Hopewell Mounds in Chillicothe, since they were in the same direction from Columbus, and relatively close to each other.
So, I set out on the aforementioned cold, wet, foggy morning. But I got a little sidetracked. While planning for this trip, I discovered that a world-famous roadside attraction was practically on my way! So of course I had to make a small detour to see it. Let me introduce you to the World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab! This marvel of man-made ingenuity resides at 7592 OH-124, Hillsboro, OH 45133. And it is magnificent! You can even walk inside!
It was a little tricky to find since it was almost covered in snow. It is literally in a field between some houses. No parking lot, you just pull off the side of the road, which was especially tricky given the slippery conditions on the day of my visit. But it was so worth it! And if seeing the world’s largest horseshoe crab (at 24 feet wide, 12 feet tall) isn’t good enough for you, it also has a famous connection! World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab T-shirt was included in the T-shirt quilt given to Bella by her mother in the movie Eclipse from the Twilight saga! Talk about famous!!!
Seeing the world-famous crab is adventure enough, but I had more to see and do! So, I pressed on to my next stop, The Great Serpent Mound, 3850 OH-73, Peebles, OH 45660.
The gentleman working there told me the museum was closed for repairs and other upgrades. He waived the normal $8 dollar parking fee and told me to have a good time. That is exactly what I intended to do!
The Great Serpent Mound is an earthwork; specifically, an effigy earthwork, which means it is in the shape of an animal or object. This one is in the shape of a snake with a curled tail. It is estimated to have been built by the American Indian Adena culture in 300 BC! In addition to the effigy mound, there are three burial mounds nearby, the oldest is estimated to have been built in 800 B.C.–A.D. 100! That time scale is crazy to think about, and fortunately these landmarks are still here for us to see today!
Apparently, I was the only one who thought it was a good idea to tromp around snow covered trails on a Saturday morning, so I had the whole place to myself. I followed the icy trail that runs along the parameter of the earthworks, so close that you can reach out and touch it (walking on the mounds though is prohibited as it lends to erosion – always be respectful!).
Even though the mounds were obscured by snow, I still felt like it was the perfect day to visit. The fog was heavy and crowded around the site, lending to a feeling of awe. And since I was the only visitor, the place was quiet and peaceful. And the snowy landscape and views of distant hills were beautiful. But given the mounds astronomical alignment, visiting on a solstice would be special as well. But I have a feeling it will be a great deal more crowded.
Maybe it was the fog, or maybe it was because it was a quiet and serene day, but I definitely felt the magic and awe of this historic landmark. According to the website, The Great Serpent Mound has been submitted to be included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for inscription on the prestigious World Heritage List; “the Serpent Mound will join the ranks of the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, Pompeii, Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal, all of which are World Heritage sites.” That is an impressive accreditation for one of our local Ohio landmarks!
It was time to move again, this time to the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, Ohio! Here is the summary from their website, “Two thousand years ago, people of an advanced culture gathered here to conduct religious rituals and ceremonies related to their society. At this site, they built an enormous earthwork complex enclosing 55.34 hectares (about 130 acres). An earthen wall extended for over four kilometers (over 2 miles), surrounding an immense sacred space that included 29 burial mounds.”
The museum was open this time, and I poked around inside before visiting the mounds (note no entrance or parking fees for this site). The staff there are very knowledgeable, and they were kind enough to share the sites history with me. I also found a few things in the gift shop I could not live without!
Finally, I headed outside to explore. Rather than going directly into the mound site, I took the approximately one-mile trail that circles the parameter of the mound area. This was a great way to take in the whole site. The trail starts off by veering into the woods and it runs alongside the Scioto River before circling back to the mounds.
After finishing the trail, I headed into the heart of the mounds area. There are several mounds of varying height, the largest of them was much taller than I expected. It is incredible this site remains for us to enjoy and be amazed by to this day! Many thanks to all the preservation efforts! Well done!
By this time, I was cold and getting hungry. I decided to drive the short distance to the heart of Chillicothe’s historic district. They have done a lot of splendid work revitalizing this area. There are great restaurants and wonderful shops to explore. I highly recommend planning some time to explore and appreciate Chillicothe’s historic district. I was in the mood for a hot cup of tea to warm up and some potato skins! I headed to the Old Canal Smoke House at 94 East Water Street, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601, and got exactly what I was craving! The tea was hot, and the potato skills were delicious. The portions are healthy, I ended up bringing skins home with me, but since the pulled pork looked so good, I ordered a sandwich to go for later!
This was a big day, by the end I traveled about 120 miles! As I said earlier, I had this trip in my to do list for a while, but it kept falling to the bottom of my list because it was more driving than hiking. But this turned out to be one of my favorite trips! It was perfect for a cold winter’s day, and I certainly did not have to deal with crowds! I highly recommend winter adventure road trips!
Here is my itinerary for the day:
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
This week I am writing about a trip I wish I took. Last weekend (1/11/2025) Oxford Ohio held its annual Chocolate Meltdown Festival. It is about a two-hour drive from Columbus, and unfortunately, we had some winter weather that day. I decided to forego the trip, but I am definitely marking this event on my 2026 calendar. I thought I would share it here in case anyone else thought this might be fun and may want to plan ahead.
I planned to pare this trip with a hike of the Bachelor Nature Preserve North Loop trail. This is a 4.7-mile dirt trail hike through the woods. According to AllTrails, the hike includes nice views and a swinging bridge.
And of course, Oxford has a ghost story. While you’re in there, see if you can conjure the Oxford Light. “…travelling past Millet Hall and Yager Stadium, out past the University property, past Beta Headquarters on the left, and up to the first four-way stop. Park your car, flash your lights three times, and wait to see the Oxford Light in the distance.”
If you have already taken this trip, tell me about it, since I have not been yet! I look forward to hearing from you!
Blackhand Gorge is a paved trail along a 4-mile-long sandstone formation. It is about forty-eight miles east of Columbus, Ohio. The main parking lot is located at 2200 Gratiot Rd SE, Newark, OH 43056; and thankfully, there is a bathroom. The paved trail is 4.3 miles. This is an out and back trail, rather than a loop; so, plan to do 8+ miles for a round trip.
The trail runs alongside the Licking River. I went on a cold wintery day; it had just snowed, and the river was partially frozen. As the ice sections collided in the river, the sound reverberated off the sandstone and was amplified. It was very loud and very impressive! I had never heard anything like it before.
I did part of the paved trail, but I wanted to get into the woods and see the snow. I verged off on the Quarry Rim Trail Loop, which is a dirt trail that connects with paved bike trail. This is a lovely loop that takes you through the woods, crossing streams and providing a splendid view of the quarry.
There are additional dirt trails at Blackhand Gorge I plan to explore when I visit again. But on this day, I was hungry and ready to head out.
I stopped off at The Restaurant at the Granville Inn on my way back to Columbus. It was lunch time, and I felt comfortable in my more casual apparel. They have a wonderful menu, and this was the perfect way to warm up from my hike.
The Inn is pretty and a little imposing with its stone exterior and heavy wood paneled interiors. And of course, it is haunted! The paneling and carpet in the main hallway are reminiscent of the movie The Shining! So maybe have a bite to eat, then take a walk to the restroom and see if you can glimpse any ghosts!
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
The holidays are busy, but I wanted to get out for a quick trip. I don’t think a lot of people know there is an ancient Native American burial mound right here in the middle of Columbus. Take a quick trip to 3141 McKinley Avenue and see this beautifully preserved 2000-year-old mound from the Adena culture. The site is beautiful, easy to access and free to the public. Well worth the short trip.
On a nicer day, this would be a beautiful place for a picnic! But it was starting to rain, so I moved on. Since I had time, I decided to add a second stop to today’s adventure. I drove the short distance to The Columbus Museum of Art (480 E. Broad Street, Columbus).
I found out admission is free on Sundays. It is seven dollars for parking, but if you buy something at the gift shop, or the café, they validate your parking. At any rate, this is a wonderful place to spend a rainy/snowy Sunday (open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays).
After taking in the art, I stopped at the museum’s Schokko Café for a quick lunch. I highly recommend the Winter Brussel Sprouts and hot chocolate. They also have a soup of the day which is lovely as well. I did not know this before my visit, but they have a happy hour with drinks and light bites from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
When I think of the Columbus Museum of Art, I automatically think of this painting; so, I got it as a refrigerator magnet.
It turned out to be a mucky-rainy Sunday, but I think I made the best of it.
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
Wayne National Forrest in southeastern Ohio, covers over a quarter of a million acres, spread across twelve counties along the Ohio River and the Appalachian Mountains foothills. It is Ohio’s only national forest. It is a beautiful place to hike, but there is a darker side to this beautiful, forested area…ghosts are known to lurk within these woods.
First is the story of Airplane Hollow, and the ghosts of the men who died tragically in a military airplane crash back in 1941. Check out Spooky Ohio’s video for the full story, which also includes a Mothman sighting in the area! And finally strange howls have been reported in several different areas within Wayne National Forest. The Nelsonville Police department investigated at least one incident, but the screaming abruptly stopped before they could locate the source. Sound creepy? Yes, absolutely! So, let’s go scampering off into the haunted woods!
I chose the Wildcat Hollow Trail because it runs through Airplane Hollow (the haunted part we discussed above). Now this is a 15.1-mile trail, but I did not plan to hike the full trail on this particular trip. Instead, I planned to hike about three miles in and double back to create a 6-mile hike.
Once again, I’ll being using AllTrails to navigate my path. Please note, I am not getting paid to promote AllTrails; I just really like the app, and I really like not getting lost in the woods. Especially in woods where ghosts haunt, eerie screams are heard, and a large Mothman-like creature sometimes darkens the skies.
I really enjoyed the journey to this hike. If you like winding curvy roads through small towns and pretty scenery, you will enjoy the drive from Columbus to this trailhead. Well, most of the journey is on route 33, a major highway, but the last twenty miles or so is the epitome of small-town America. I really enjoyed it. However, as I was driving, I noticed a lot of trucks pulled over and parked by the side of the road. Then I spotted them…hunters! This is when I realized the flaw in my well-planned trip, it’s deer season!
But I continued on, thinking hopefully they do not hunt near a hiking trail. I am happy to report the trailhead was well marked and best of all, there was a bathroom. I am always grateful for a bathroom at a trailhead, especially after a long drive.
The trail is a rustic dirt trail through the forest, but clearly marked with blazes on the trees to help you find your way. And the forest is beautiful! I do not know why that surprised me so much, but the landscape made me feel like I was not in Ohio anymore. It has a wilder feel for some reason (maybe because I listened to podcasts about Bigfoot sightings all the way down – who knows?).
I was still pretty anxious about all the hunters in the woods with me at the same time. And when I got about a quarter of a mile down the trail, I heard a gunshot in the distance. That was when I decided completing this hike was not worth the risk, so I made my way back out of the woods. I was bummed but still glad I came. I will definitely return, when it is not hunting season, and I only have to worry about Bigfoot, Mothman and ghosts.
With my hike aborted, I had more time on my hands than expected. I decided to check out the surrounding area. I plugged Nelsonville into my car’s GPS and got back on the road. This short journey was not without excitement, however. Every now and again, I am convinced my car’s GPS is out to kill me. On this day it instructed me to turn off a perfectly good, paved road to travel up a steep, barely one lane trail!
I was very dubious, but the GPS was insistent, and I decided to trust the process. I passed a couple of houses, still driving what felt like straight up! I came around a curve, and these thugs were blocking the road!
Finally, after a few minutes of picture taking and gently edging forward, they agreed to let me pass. But just a little further up, I realized this was not a through road, rather just an exceedingly long and narrow driveway to someone’s house at the top of the hill. I had been foiled by my GPS yet again! So, I found a place to turn around and gingerly made my way back down the steep grade and got back on the paved road. This time my GPS led me directly to Nelsonville.
I had a couple of places I wanted to visit while I was there. First of all, the Starbrick BBQ restaurant looked interesting. Since I was starving, I headed there first. Turns out the restaurant is in the middle of the Rocky Outdoor Gear Store. They carved a section out of the middle of the shopping floor and added a little restaurant! I was not expecting that, but thanks to a helpful local, I finally found it. I had a delicious pulled pork BBQ sandwich, seasoned fries, and a soda for $12.85! Not a bad deal in my book! And if you are feeling adventurous, you can try one of their wine slushies! I passed on the slushie this time, but I did enjoy browsing the store on my way out.
With my belly filled and energy restored, I went out to explore. Nelsonville has this lovely central shopping area, and I hit a couple of cute gift shops. My main target was to visit the Mountain Mystics LLC shop because I am sucker for pretty gravel (otherwise known as crystals). But I was foiled here again. Apparently, the store was closed for the day because they were in Columbus at some kind of an antique market, literally just a few miles from my house! No pretty gravel for me on this day. But I did console myself with a chia latte at the coffee shop next door.
So, my day did not go as expected. Things can change even with the best of plans. But I still had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the drive, as well as exploring Nelsonville. I will definitely return to finish that hike though!
Here is the itinerary I planned for the day:
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
This entry is a little bit of a departure from our normal Hikes & Haunts itineraries; but this was such a great trip I wanted to share it with all of you here. I actually took this trip with my cousin back in 2016. We booked a stay at the Lizzie Borden B&B on August 4th, which was the 124th anniversary of the murders!
In case you did not know, the Lizzie Borden house is open for daily tours. It is also a working B&B, so you can book an overnight stay as well, if you are brave enough! The haunted tour of the house was included with our room booking, so we got the best of both worlds.
We arrived in the afternoon, so we had time to settle in and explore the house. The vibe of the place was creepy from the time we arrived, but the staff was amazing and very welcoming. We settled down in the front parlor and watched The Legend of Lizzie Borden, the Elizabeth Montgomery (of Bewitched fame) Lizzie Borden movie (the B&B provided a copy of the movie). It was very surreal watching the movie while sitting in the actual house!
Pretty soon evening rolled around and it was time for the haunted tour. Since this was the anniversary of the murders, the house was filled with actor’s from the events they held earlier in the day, as well as paranormal investigators. All of it added to the spookiness of the atmosphere! The tour took us throughout the entire house, including where Lizzie’s stepmother was found dead on the upstairs bedroom floor (you can stay overnight in this room by the way) and of course the living room where Mr. Borden was found. The staff did an excellent job of detailing all the events, including trial evidence. Then they took us to the basement. This is where it got really creepy. Our guide as well as the paranormal investigators told us their belief that an elemental spirit, probably of demonic origin, resides in the basement of the house. They led us to one particular section in the basement that appeared to be a storage room/closet. Our entire group looked in, but nothing looked amiss. Then the guide suggested we take a photo of the room and that is when the outline of a face became visible (see the photo below). This face is not visible to the naked eye, you can only see it in photos. At that point we were really creeped out!
After the tour we got to spend time with the staff and investigators. We learned more about the house, and they told us about their own personal scary experiences there. Then it was time for bed. We went up to our “room,” which was actually the two rooms that the Borden sisters used as their bedrooms. We each had our own beds. But after the tour and just the oppressive atmosphere of the house, were decided to sleep in the same bed. I would like to point out we are two full grown women, both normally very logical and courageous; but on this night, we slept back-to-back with the lights on like two little kids!
After a somewhat restful night (it is tough to get a good night’s rest when you are terrified), we got up the next morning and went downstairs to a lovely breakfast. We had authentic flapjacks, sausage and all the breakfast fixings. It was wonderful.
Out of all the spooky places I have visited, the Lizzie Borden B&B is the scariest. My brief summary above does not do the place justice. And I cannot give enough glowing praise for the tour and house staff. They are pros and made our stay incredible! Oh, and the gift shop was awesome too! I still put out my Lizzie Borden bobble head out every Halloween.
If you ever get the chance to visit the Lizzie Borden B&B, do! Better yet if you can, spend the night!
Before leaving Fall River, we drove the short distance to Maplecroft, the house Lizzie bought and moved to after the death of her parents. The house is privately owned and not open for tours, so please be respectful if you decide to drive by.
We also stopped at the Oak Grove Cemetery where Liz, her sister and her parents are buried. Note that Lizzie preferred to be called Lizbeth after her parents died, so that is the name on her tombstone.
Finally we left Fall River and on recommendation from the paranormal investigators, we drove to the Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island to visit the grave of Mercy Brown. Mercy’s family was inflicted with tuberculosis, killing her mother, sister, and Mercy herself. Unfortunately, this all occurred during the New England vampire panic of 1892. When Mercy’s brother fell ill, Mercy’s grave was exhumed on suspicion of her being a vampire. Her heart and liver were cut out and burned to ashes, mixed with water, and fed to her dying brother as a remedy to break the vampiric curse. It did not work, Edwin died two months later. Was Mercy a vampire, or was her body preserved due to the cold New England winter? I will leave that to you to decide.
We stopped to pay our respects and found we were not the only ones curious to visit the grave of a suspected vampire. The grave was covered with candles and trinkets from many other visitors. Hopefully, Mercy is enjoying the attention!
From here we made our way to Newport, Rhode Island. This is where I would usually introduce a new hike, but as I said this was a different trip. However, we did do a ton of walking! We took the Newport Rhode Island Mansion tour. This was my second time touring the mansions, but it was just as amazing as the first time! I would not hesitate to do it again if I am ever in the area. Definitely wear comfortable shoes though. The houses themselves are vast, but you also cover miles traveling from one house to the next. I was particularly fascinated with the basements, where the kitchens are located, in my opinion the hearts of the houses. It is just incredible to see how they managed to support and feed the hundreds of guests the mansions hosted every summer. Please view the pictures of the houses via the link I provided above. My favorite is The Breakers, second is The Marble House. But each mansion has its own appeal.
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. As always, I look forward to hearing from you!
The Great Seal State Park is located outside of Chillicothe, Ohio; which was our State’s first capital before it was moved to Columbus. On this trip I was lucky to have my friend Jeannette, who traveled all the way from Canada to hike with me. We were training for the Camino de Santiago in Spain at the time, so we picked a challenging hike; the Shawnee Ridge Loop.
The Shawnee is a 12.1-mile trek through the woods, and up and down very step ridges. It was a challenge indeed! You can find the trail head at the first parking/camping lot, right behind the bathrooms (I love a trailhead with a bathroom!). You have to look for a little bit, but you will see the sign. The trail is definitely rustic, sometimes very overgrown, and hard to follow. I would definitely recommend using All Trails for this one.
You are pretty much in the woods for the whole hike, and the hills keep you on your toes! It felt like we climbed forever, only to find we just reached a plateau and had more to climb to reach the top! I definitely recommend doing this hike when conditions are dry because the hills are both high and steep, so wet conditions would make this an exceedingly difficult hike. We did run into a few fellow hikers, but for the most part we felt pretty isolated on this trail.
Some strange highlights, we found the frame of an old truck randomly in the middle of the forest and I cannot image how that got there. But the creepiest thing we found was at the top of one very steep hill, these doll heads!
We have no idea why these were placed in this very remote location, but we decided to keep walking, and maybe pick up our pace a little. I did some Googling when we got home, but never did find any reference to the doll heads, or any explanation why they were there. Just a nice creepy mystery to add to our list of adventures!
Here is my itinerary for the day:
Note, the trail was much more challenging than we anticipated, so we did end up lobbing off the last portion and just hit the loop back to the parking lot. I was on the back loop that we found the doll heads, just for your reference.
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
As you can see by this post’s header, I covered a lot of ground on this one. It was the weekend before Halloween and I wanted to pack in as much spooky fun as possible, so I planned an ambitious itinerary.
My first stop, The Battletown Witch Festival. I travelled four hours from Columbus, Ohio to Brandenburg, Kentucky to attend a festival that was created to commemorate the life and murder of Leah Smoch. This poor young woman was labeled a witch and burned to death by her neighbors in her own family’s smokehouse. Her ghost is rumored to haunt the area ever since.
I attended the festival last year (2023), and I enjoyed it immensely. They had speakers and events, great vendors, and food trucks. This year they moved the festival to a new larger venue at the YMCA Camp Piomingo (still in Brandenburg, KY). I was surprised there was no signage for the event, even at the festival itself. And I did not see any event itineraries on the website, and I did not see any speakers or events at this year’s festival. Parking was problematic as well. They utilized a field that had been mowed but not leveled. I am sure some lower to the ground vehicles had some issues maneuvering. Also, the parking lot was a mile away from the actual event. There was a bus to shuttle people, but there appeared to be only one and the line was long. But for a hiker, that was great! Once I figured out what direction to go, I enjoyed the walk there and back.
The YMCA Camp was nice, but I do not think it is open to the public. The only thing I could find on the website was for group event registration. I could not find any trail maps on Park’s website, or even on my beloved AllTrails app. But there are other hikes nearby that would be fun to explore if you have the time.
I was frustrated by the inconvenience of the new venue and disappointed in the lack of festival events and food options (not as many food trucks this year, I ended up finding food after I left the event). I hope they work out the kinks for next year’s festival because the legend and the concept of the festival are wonderful! This should not just be a vendor event. After I hiked back to my car, I was ready to move on.
I hit the road again and headed to Louisville, Kentucky. My next stop was the Waverly Hills Sanitorium. Waverly Hills was opened in 1910 for tuberculosis patients. It is estimated that over 50,000 unfortunate souls died within its walls. And you guessed, it is haunted.
Being the weekend before Halloween, the Sanitorium was decked out for the annual haunted event. I bought the RIP ticket that included an abbreviated paranormal/history tour and admission to the haunted sanitorium. This was well worth the money in my opinion. The guided paranormal tour took us through all five floors of the facility, and naturally, in the dark. The guides were wonderful, providing a history of the facility and giving us highlights of the some of the people who lived and died there, and of the ghosts! And we got to see the most haunted location in the building, Room 502.
After the paranormal tour we were taken directly to the front of the line for the haunted sanitorium event. I have not been to a haunted house in years, so I was both a little nervous and excited to see it. It did not disappoint. They provided 3D glasses to be worn for the first portion of the haunt and the effects were great! The scariest parts for me though, were the rooms that were in complete darkness, and you had to find your way out! I thought the whole thing was very well done.
Finding Waverly Hills was a little challenging though. The address on the website leads you to the back gate, which was closed for the haunted sanitorium event. I was not the only one confused, there was a group of us parked and trying to figure out where to go. I finally found the correct address on the Event Brite ticket website. And again, no signage! Even when we found the right gate! So, double check where you need to be before you go.
I spent the night in Louisville and headed home the next morning. But I had one more stop before I went home. I did a slight detour and visited Cincinnati’s Findlay Market.
The Findlay Market has been in operation since 1855 and provides an amazing variety of foods and other treasures. The place is chuck full of fresh produce straight from the farm, spices, meats, and prepared foods. I had a delicious Nutella crepe for breakfast and a wonderful cup of chia tea. Both were delicious. Findlay Market is a perfect excursion for a beautiful autumn Sunday morning. I arrived a little before 10:00 a.m. and found plenty of parking. But the lot was pretty filled up by the time I left a little over an hour later. I know they have more than one lot, so I am sure parking can be found.
All and all, I had a very enjoyable road trip. I would recommend checking out the Kentucky After Dark site, for more spooky places to visit in the state. A miss on my part was not picking up the Kentucky After Dark passport! I was too distracted at both the festival and the sanitorium to look for it. But I will find it eventually and hopefully hit some more of the locations.
Here is my itinerary for this trip:
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
The Ridges, or as it was originally named, the Athens Lunatic Asylum is located in Athens, Ohio. The asylum was built based on the famous Kirkbride Plan. Dr. Thomas Kirkbride believed exposure to natural light and air circulation were crucial to healing of the mentally ill. Thanks to Dr. Kirkbride’s influence, many hospitals were built using his design throughout the second half of the 1800’s.
But like many things started with good intentions, things did not work as planned. By the 20th century, these sanctuaries for the mentally ill became overcrowded and understaffed. These formally bright and airy halls because warehouses for the unwanted. Along with the disintegrating facilities came patient neglect and abuse. And as expected, a place with a history of so much suffering also has the reputation for being haunted.
Today, some of The Ridges buildings are occupied by Ohio University. But other buildings on the sprawling campus remain empty and boarded up.
I decided to drive ~76 miles from Columbus to Athens and check out The Ridges for myself. I was lucky to find a podcast that provides historical background, and some ghost stories about The Ridges to listen to during the drive.
I also recommend you check out Ohio University’s website for an in depth history of The Ridges.
The campus was much bigger than I expected. Apparently, The Ridges comprised of seventy-eight buildings at its peak. The main red brick building was designed to impress, and it is still beautiful and imposing.
The Ohio University website provides walking and self-guided tours. Unfortunately, there was not a walking tour available the morning of my visit, so I opted for a self-guided tour around the campus. It was a beautiful sunny fall morning, not quite peak fall leaves, but a lot of the trees were popping. So not a spooky time to visit, so I will definitely return to do a haunted tour at some point.
After I finished exploring The Ridges campus (external only, as the buildings that are not boarded up are used by the university); I jumped back in my car and drove to The Ridges Loop Trail trailhead.
The Ridges Loop Trail is 2.9 miles, taking you through the countryside around The Ridges, including the asylum cemeteries. I used the AllTrails app to chart my course. I also recommend opening the mAppAthens app available via your phone’s browser to learn about the floral and fauna you will encounter along The Ridges Cemetery Nature Walk, as the two trails mostly coincide.
I started my hike at about 10:00 a.m. and the parking lot was empty. But it was filling up by the time I left about an hour and half later. Please note, I did not encounter any bathrooms along the hike, and none were provided at the parking lot/trailhead. So go before you arrive.
The trail started out as a gravel road, but then changed to a grassy trail and finally a dirt trail through the woods.
This trail gives some great ups and downs to get your heart pumping, and the countryside and woods are beautiful.
As I mentioned above, the trail takes you to the asylum cemeteries. The podcast provided some background information, including how some of the poor souls who lived out their days in the asylum had no one left to care when they final died, so they were buried on the asylum grounds.
I do not know if the grave markers were originally inscribed with information about the person buried there, but they all appeared to be blank at the time of my visit. It is incredibly sad to think some of the patients were left at the asylum and forgotten for the rest of their lives and even in death.
However, the cemeteries are beautiful and a peaceful resting place.
I encountered this plaque along the hike, “Dr. Tom “Chainsaw” Walker; a tireless crusader on behalf of those with mental illness.”
Now this sounds like an interesting guy and how did he get “Chainsaw” for a nickname?! Of course I had to look him up. I found his obituary; he earned his nickname from his work restoring the cemeteries and building the nature walk. Sounds like he was a nice guy.
Overall. the trail was well maintained, and I encountered enough people to make me feel safe, but I had long stretches between passing others to make the hike pleasant and quiet.
I was starving after the hike so I drove into Athens to see what I could find. Athens is a great college town, so there are a ton of options for restaurants and shops. I opted for a foot long and fries at Larry’s Dawg House and it was delicious!
Here is my itinerary for the day:
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
Loveland is a charming small town in southwest Ohio, about 23 miles from Cincinnati. According to the city website, Loveland is known as the “Sweetheart of Ohio.” But Loveland has another claim to fame as the home of the Loveland Frogman!
According to my trusty copy of Weird Ohio, the Frogman was first spotted by a police officer around 1:00 a.m. on a cold March night back in 1972. Another officer spotted the Frogman again later that same month. Both times the creature was on the road and when the officer stopped, it hopped over the guard rail and escaped. According to the first officer, the creature “weighed about sixty pounds and stood about three or four feet tall and had textured, leathery skin and a face like that of a frog or a lizard.”
So that is certainly exciting! So much so that this year the City of Loveland debuted their first Return of the Frogman Event! I thought this was too good to pass up, so I began to plan my adventure. I had the creepy portion of the trip covered with the Frogman, but I needed a good hike to go with it.
I highly recommend using All Trails, both to find great trails in different areas and to use as a navigation tool on the trail. The navigation feature is easy to use and gives you turn-by-turn directions as you go and shows you if you are getting off the trail. Hiking is fun, but getting lost in the woods is not! Please note, I am not receiving any compensation from these sources/apps. These are just tools that I find useful when planning and undertaking my trips.
So back to the story. I did a search in All Trails for hikes in the Loveland area and I picked the Symmes Township Park trail. It is a 4.2-mile paved/gravel loop that meanders through fields, wooded areas, and crosses streams. It seemed like a great place to go Frogman hunting!
As any hiker knows, there are lots of different types of trails (e.g. scenic, wooded/forest, public parks, with elevation, flat, etc.). I was a little disheartened when I arrived at Symmes and found a busy public space. But fortunately, that opinion changed as I undertook my hike. The first portion wound next to a pond and then across the street to a busy ball field (keep in mind, this was a Saturday morning, so kid’s sports was in full swing). But then it veered off into a quieter wooded area.
The trail alternated between paved and gravel/dirt and was well maintained. There are some step grades in one section of the trail to give a little spice of challenge to the hike. And in another segment, the park caretakers created a nice Halloween vibe with ghosts and bats in the trees and fun scarecrows.
If you are looking for a remote rugged hike, this is not the one for you. But all and all, Symmes Township Park gives a little bit of everything. It offers nice wooded quiet areas, but it is public enough so that you feel safe throughout. I enjoyed this hike, but unfortunately, I did not find the famous Frogman.
With my hike completed, it was time to investigate the Return of the Frogman Event! I traveled the 1.7 miles to the heart of Loveland (120 W. Loveland Ave., Loveland, Ohio 45140), and began to explore the town.
I am happy to report the Frogman was everyone where once I got to the town center! Or his likeness at least. I found a charming town with lots of fun shops and enticing places to eat.
Rather than a festival where all the attractions are centralized, The Return of the Frogman had events/attractions at various businesses/pubs/restaurants throughout the downtown area. So, it gave visitors an opportunity to explore more of the area.
So now you are probably thinking, “This sounds like fun! I’ll put this on my calendar for next year!” Well, you can’t. According to the city website, Return of the Frogman “is a new event hosted by the City of Loveland to commemorate the mysterious sightings of the Loveland Frogman. It will be held on Leap Years (every four years).” Sorry, you will have to wait until 2028 to partake in this adventure. But all hope is not lost! You can attend the annual Frogman Festival on March 1-2, 2025! I went to this one a couple of years ago and it is more of a convention setting with book authors, speakers, and vendors. It is a great deal of fun as well, but with more focus on cryptid sightings and hunting.
After I completed my rounds of Loveland, I had time for another stop. So, I drove the 2.4 miles to The Loveland Castle (otherwise known as the Museum Château Laroche). The website gives a great overview of its history. But the highlight is that Harry Delos Andrews built the castle using rocks he quarried himself from The Little Miami River that runs near the castle. And when he ran out of rocks, he created his own stones out of cement. A true testament to resourcefulness and determination, and the outcome is stunning!
And like any good castle, this one is haunted! The website offers ghost hunts/paranormal investigations for the truly brave of heart. Or if you prefer, you can just do one of the wine tastings.
The castle was busy on a Saturday afternoon, especially with the Loveland Frogman Event going on. I had visited the castle previously on a Thursday afternoon and my son and I had the place all to ourselves. So, I would recommend going during the week if possible if you do not like crowds.
Clearly Loveland has a lot to offer, and this was a day well spent. I stopped off at the Destination Outlet Mall in Jeffersonville, which is about halfway back to Columbus, to break up the drive.
Here is my itinerary for the day:
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
Malabar Farms is located about 69.4 miles (~1 hr. 10 min) northeast of downtown Columbus, Ohio. I picked the Pleasant Valley Bridle and Hiking Trail from All Trails, for my hike. This is a 6.2-mile dirt trail hike though the Malabar Farms woods and fields.
The trail head was a little tricky to find, but the kind people in the gift shop helped me to find it. It’s on the top of the hill behind the gift shop building just so you know. The All-Trails app will help you find it.
I went on a cool fall day, and it was beautiful. The trail was lightly populated, I think I only ran into 1 or 2 other hikers on my trek. It’s a peaceful walk, designated as “moderate” in All Trails; but the most distinguishable feature to me was when I had to cross a stream. The water was up to maybe midcalf (keep in mind I’m 5’2”), but it was over the tops of my boots. I chose to take off my shoes and socks and wade across bare foot. So, I was able to put on dry shoes once I crossed. So, keep this obstacle in mind if you choose to walk this path.
I must give a shout out to the kind staff, park ranger and Poncho, the resident gift shop parrot (yes real parrot), I met in the gift shop. They not only helped me find the trail head, but also shared some interesting stories on the local history. The gift shop has some wonderful treasures. I picked up a copy of The Witch of Mansfield: The Tetched Life of Phebe Wise, written by a local author, Mark S. Jordan (book is also available on Amazon). Which I thought was a great read, about the life and struggle of one local woman. I hit the gift shop again on my way out, not only to hit the lovely and clean restroom (which is treasured by any hiker!), but I also picked up some stew meat and ribeye steaks! Yes, you read that correctly, I bought meat at the gift shop. Malabar is a working farm, and they have a freezer in the gift shop with fresh meat provided by the farm. And I can attest the steaks were amazing! And since it was a chilly fall weekend, I made a heart beef strew when I got home.
You can do a lot of things at Malabar Farms, including the Big House Tour. But this is a Hikes & Haunts trip, so I found something else to do. About a quarter of a mile from the gift house, right on the Malabar Farms grounds, is the Ceely Rose Murder House! Ceely Rose was a mentally disturbed young woman who fatally poisoned her family members. She was trialled and found not guilty due to insanity and spent the rest of her days in the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. At the time of my visit, her house was not open to visitors, but you can explore the outside and grounds. There is a plaque outside, so you’ll know you’re at the right place, and they placed a wonderfully creepy scarecrow figure in the upstairs window. It’s a very fun and creepy side stop!
Ceely Rose is buried in the hospital graveyard, but her family members are buried at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery, just 1.1 miles from Malabar Farms, if you would like to stop by and pay your respects. (as always, please be respectful when visiting cemetaries)
If you would like to extend your Hikes & Haunts trip a little more, Malabar Farms is only about 18 minutes away from The Ohio State Reformatory, made famous from the 1994 Shawshank Redemption Movie. I’ve been several times, but I’m always awestruck at how it rises ominously out of the landscape. It’s a haunting experience for sure!
Well, fellow adventurers, that’s it for this Hikes & Haunts trip entry. Below is the itinerary I used for this trip. Please keep in mind I live in Central Ohio, so all my mile estimates are from downtown Columbus. So, make sure to update with your own start and stop points when planning your trips.
If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!
