Amish Country Ohio: A Family Adventure

About an hour and a half south of Cleveland you’ll find Amish Country: a land of rolling hills, farmlands, and, well, the Amish community. “Amish Country” is centered in Holmes County, Ohio, where approximately 36,000 Amish residents live. It is the largest Amish community in the world!

We lived in Cleveland for 13 years, and never actually took a trip to experience this beautiful place. Many people I know visit Amish country for the cheese, food, and shopping. Honestly, that’s all I thought Amish Country had to offer because that’s all anyone ever talked about!

We had the opportunity to spend time and visit Amish Country for a few days, and man y’all, it is so much more than cheese and shopping! We’ve compiled a list of things to do and places to eat for your next trip to really experience the culture and beauty of Amish Country (and it’s okay if you eat cheese and go shopping too!)

But first…here are the deets on our FABULOUS accommodations, and why you should stay there too.

The Wallhouse Hotel

There are a variety of accommodations in Amish Country- you’ll find bed and breakfasts, cabin rentals, and hotels. We stayed in The Wallhouse Hotel in Walnut Creek, which is centrally located to the main towns in Amish Country (Millersburg, Berlin, Walnut Creek and Sugarcreek.) We found this to be the IDEAL location for touring around the different towns in Amish Country.

First off, The Wallhouse Hotel is beautiful and sparkling clean inside and out. Even as we saw it from the road, we said “WOW!” It offers gorgeous views out every window I could peek out of!

Y’all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? The impressive free breakfast buffet offered a waffle maker (kid favorite!), omelette maker, cereal, biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, potatoes, yogurt, muffins and oatmeal. Even the pickiest of eaters could find something to love here! The Wallhouse Hotel has their own coffee company, by the way. They proudly brew Wallhouse Coffee!

The pool. If you travel with kids, you know how important the pool is! It is an indoor pool but they open up the patio doors at night time, leading to the outdoor patio and fire pits. The scene is lively in the evening and filled with friendly families! In the summer months The Wallhouse Hotel hosts outdoor movie nights, isn’t that awesome?!

Oh hey, is that a free washer and dryer? Obviously, no one really wants to do laundry on vacation, but sometimes it’s necessary, especially when traveling with kids. How wonderful is it to have this!?

The gym. I’m not going to pretend that I actually used the gym on this trip, but I do love working out and I’m a little bit of a gym snob. Not pictured in this photo is the other area of the gym with a full rack of free weights! This gym was very spacious, clean, and had great equipment to use!

I haven’t even started talking about the ROOM! Our premium corner suite offered a small kitchenette with a microwave, fridge, and sink. As a mom I appreciate having a fridge to store milk and juice for the kiddos! The room was vary spacious and beds were very comfortable, which meant lots of cuddling! The feathery pillows were also perfect for pillow fights. It just dawned on me that we didn’t even turn on the TV during our entire trip. Why? We were busy having fun as a family!

Y’all, the BATHROBES are amazing! I don’t mean to sound crazy right now, it really was the most comfortable robe I’ve ever worn. I need to ask The Wallhouse Hotel where I can buy one?!

We did encounter a small problem with the plumbing in our bathroom-the toilet needed to be snaked because it was so clogged (not from us, lol!) The hotel called the contract mechanic to come out at 11pm at night and he was at our room within 10 minutes, and he was able to quickly fix the problem. Talk about prompt service!

In summary, we loved this hotel and HIGHLY recommend it for your accommodation on your next trip to Amish Country. To book your stay, visit The Wallhouse Hotel website, here.

Moving on to our itinerary…

I’ve listed out each thing we did by city to make it easier for your planning purposes.

Millersburg

Amish Country Farmers Market 

{June 1-October 26, 2019}

This is only open on Saturdays from 8am-noon, but be sure to visit if you happen to be there on the weekend. You’ll find a variety of things from baked goods, flowers, fresh produce, cheese, honey, natural cleaners and soaps, and more! Since we were traveling with 3 kids, we especially appreciated the coffee!

Millersburg Brewing Company

We’ve been wanting to come here for years. Chris loves craft beers, and I’m beginning to grow an appreciation for them too. The restaurant has board games to take to your table, a kids menu, and tv’s… so even if your kids are super tired from exploring Amish Country, they can be amused in many ways while you enjoy your brews. Also, make sure you get the warm pretzels with beer cheese! Omg. Our kiddos also enjoyed root beer floats. Chris got a little frisky, he can be such an ass . 

Check out their selection of brews and yummy food on their website here.

Hershberger’s Farm and Bakery

I will just begin by stating that this was a family favorite experience in Amish Country. The farm store sells farm fresh produce and baked goods, but we spent all our time at the petting zoo! It was like Noah’s Ark in there: alpacas, a ginormous (19 hands) horse named “Big Buck,” pigs, a longhorn, sheep, cows, goats, chickens, birds, bunnies… even a peacock! Some are in pens and some animals just run around chasing each other or being chased by kids, it’s a riot! Our kids were squealing with excitement the entire time, especially when the girls got to hold fluffy bunnies. We also were able to feed goats that were up on the roof of the barn!

Petting Zoo tickets are only $3/person and ages 2 and under are free. I recommend purchasing the (inexpensive) grain and carrots to feed the animals for the full experience. Hershberger’s Farm also offers pony, horse, and buggy rides for very reasonable prices.

Hershberger’s is open year round, with seasonal hours January-April. The store is open Monday-Saturday from 8am-5pm, and the farm is open Monday-Saturday from 10am-5pm. This is a great family friendly experience that provides fun for everyone! I would suggest planning at least 2 hours to enjoy this place.

Berlin

Millie Dindot’s

Millie Dindot’s is a great place to stop, take a break, and enjoy some refreshments like ice cream, snacks, old fashioned drinks and candies. They have a cute outdoor seating area too! 

One thing we enjoyed on this trip was doing the Amish Country Ohio 2019 Buggy Trail tour. We collected stamps from vendors and places on our Amish Country map, and collected a prize afterwards! Our kiddos love to do activities like this and it helped them look forward to the next stop! 

Walnut Creek

Hillcrest Orchard

Hillcrest Orchard sells farm fresh produce, apples (obviously), flowers, and more. In the fall months, you can sample fresh pressed apple cider. Inside the store, we enjoyed watching apples being loaded into the “apple cleaning machine.” I have no idea what the official name of the machine was, so I’m going with that. The staff even let Eli load some apples into the machine.

We were surprised that we were able to pick apples. The very friendly Amish girl handed us a bag to go down the orchard and pick apples ourselves! There was one apple variety that was ripe for picking in early August, and we picked a peck for only $7! What a deal. If flying hens picked a peck of pickled pepp….. nevermind!

Out the back of the store is a lookout area that has the most incredible views of Amish Country. I can’t even imagine what it would look like in the fall with all the colors! In the fall they also have a large selection of flowers and pumpkins!

Hillcrest Orchard is open August through March, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm. Closed Sunday.

Yoder’s Amish Home

Okay, I know I said the petting zoo was our favorite activity, but this experience ties for first. If you want a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Amish culture and way of life, I highly recommend a visit to Yoder’s Amish Home. The tour was FANTASTIC.

Be sure to buy the package for all 3 tours: the house, school house, and buggy ride. YES! A buggy ride! Admission to the house tour also includes the barn and petting zoo area.

I don’t want to give too much away, as I think you should experience these tours for yourself. The home tour takes you through the typical life of an Amish family. I will tell you a couple basics. The Amish willingly choose their simple lifestyle in order to be apart from the world to focus on their faith, family, and community. They are very humble people so that they can give glory to God in everything, hence there are no photos of any Amish people in our posts. This ties back to the 2nd Commandment (no graven images). 

There are early spring and summer gardens surrounding the home. They can their produce to last them until the next growing season.

Inside the home you’ll find the kitchen area, wood burning stove, and even lamps powered by either car batteries or gas. The tour takes you through various bedrooms and offers fascinating information about their clothing, traditions, and church community life. I found it so interesting that the older teenage daughters will usually have their own bedroom in the home, and are free to decorate and paint it how they want. The last part of the home tour takes you to the kitchen where you’ll be able to buy fresh baked cookies and other goods.

Next, we went to the barn where there were plenty of animals to see, pet and hold! This is always a hit with the kids! (and a nice reward for them making it through the home tour.)

The tour of the schoolhouse offers a glimpse into the day of an Amish student. In Amish country, there are 6,000 students attending about 200 Parochial Schools. The Amish speak Pennsylvanian Dutch, except during school hours where they must speak English, with the exception of hymns and devotional time. Children will go to school until 8^th grade, and then they start working at home or in the family business.

This tour is an absolute must when visiting Amish Country. We left with full hearts, and a deep appreciation and understanding for the Amish way of living. Be sure to visit the Yoder’s Home website to find out more information and hours, click here.

Rebecca’s Bistro

Rebecca’s Bistro is centrally located in Walnut Creek, Ohio, in the heart of Amish Country. It’s a perfect way to start your day (or have a mid-day pick-me-up!) while exploring the area. The café has charming cottage décor and a very welcoming atmosphere.

There was a sign hanging over our table that had the verse “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Act 2:46. I loved this so much because it really captured the essence of the heart of Amish values: gathering together. And that’s exactly the vibe of Rebecca’s Bistro.

I ordered the turkey berry sandwich with tomato basil soup, and Chris ordered the bistro burger. Both were delicious! I thought my soup was the best tomato soup I’ve ever had. We were delighted that they had a kid’s menu too! We heard amazing things about their desserts, so we had to try some out. We ordered a cinnamon roll cookie and the chocolate spoon cake to share. Oh. My. Word. That cake was to die for! We may or may not have licked the plate…

Be sure to check out Rebecaa’s Bistro website and drool over the menu before you visit… click here.

Sugarcreek

David Warther Carvings

I was pretty nervous to take 3 young children on a tour through an art gallery, especially when they were pretty tired from all the fun we had up until this point.

This place is unbelievable. David Warther is a master ivory carver, and has completed nearly 90 beautifully detailed ships from ivory. All of his collection can be seen at this location, through a tour. Don’t worry, the ivory he collects for his carvings are estate-owned, pre-ban ivory.

Our tour brought us through various galleries with glass encased ships and vessels, our tour guide was so knowledgeable of each piece and it’s history. David uses a very intricate technique called “scrimshaw” to color fine detailed lines in his carvings.

And how did the kids do? Well, not great! Our tour guide was so wonderful and patient when Lily was crying as I rocked her to sleep. There was a period of about 15 minutes where she just screamed and cried uncontrollably, and I had some major doubts as to why I would’ve brought a toddler in an art gallery in the first place. Lily DID calm down eventually. Our guide brought our older kids a step stool to bring along the tour so they could climb up and see each ship. The tour was very informative and educational!

David even came out from his workshop to show our kids some of his carving techniques. Overall, we HIGHLY recommend this tour. We were blown away at the skill and beauty of David’s work. You can visit the website for details, tour hours and pricing here.

Honey Bee Café

The Honey Bee Café is located in Sugarcreek, and offers breakfast and lunch! A perfect place to stop while out exploring Amish Country, this cute café will certainly satisfy everyone’s taste buds.

Our kids loved the scratch off coloring pages, and any place with mac and cheese for the kids is a winner in our book (and it wasn’t from a blue box either!) I ordered the peach white cheddar grilled cheese, which was honestly the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever tasted in my life. Chris had the bacon apple cheddar grilled cheese and I kind of also wanted to eat his too. We were SO FULL after our meal that only the kids had a scoop of ice cream for dessert. That’s saying a lot because I never pass an opportunity to have dessert!

The Honey Bee Café has some really cute seating out front if you want to sit outside with a nice cup of coffee and chat (doesn’t that sound awesome?!) BUT since we had some tired kiddos with us, we settled for just a photo!

Make sure you visit The Honey Bee Café’s website to dream about what food you will order when you visit… click here.

World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock

Did you know? The World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock is located in the village of Sugarcreek, Ohio. The town itself is as charming as can be, with Alpine styled buildings and folk music playing in the streets. At the top and bottom of every hour, a small crowd gathers to watch as the clock goes. It truly is a marvel to see, and this is a must see while visiting Amish Country!

Age of Steam Museum

Last on our list, but certainly not least, The Age of Steam Museum. Oh. My. Gosh. This attraction is NOT to be missed! Ummm, even though we kind of did…more on that later. Don’t be like us and be sure to make a reservation.

The Age of Steam Museum is the world’s largest private collection of steam engines. I thought this attraction would be a cool experience, especially since my son loves trains, but I wasn’t expecting THIS. The tour brings you back in time to the glory days of railroading. Along the tour, visitors will see an 18-stall, reconstructed brick roundhouse with fully functioning turntable, an awe-inspiring collection of steam locomotive, and a back shop where highly skilled restoration specialists work to restore and preserve the work. There is even a roundhouse cat named Felix! He loves to take naps by the steam engines and is super friendly- our kids were very captivated by him. Felix has his own Instagram account, so go follow him!

Tours are only offered seasonally on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays with only 3 time slots.

With that being said, we arrived after the last tour of the day was finishing up. Our hearts sank. We did not know about the tour time slots or we would’ve made it a point to be there. However, this place was so wonderful that a few staff graciously gave us a condensed tour of the grounds. We were BLOWN away by the collection, the history and facts, and the grandeur of the place. Standing underneath the towering steam engines left us humbled and awestruck. We will certainly come back one day and do the full tour, and we’re kicking ourselves for not arriving earlier. I would say that The Age of Steam is THE hidden gem of visiting Amish Country!

You can purchase tickets and make your reservation online here.

Our time in Amish Country was very educational and a time of quality family time. It was also very busy, in a good way, and exhausting. I would love to say that we were able to relax and unwind, but when traveling with three kids, that is rarely the case!

What we took away from our visit is the importance of living more simply, with less distractions, in order to focus on what is most important in life: faith, family, and community. We captured a glimpse into this beautiful way of living and we left inspired and changed. We highly encourage those living within driving distance to take a trip to Amish Country, and especially to experience the fall color change coming soon! For more information about visiting Amish Country, please visit Ohio’s Amish Country website here.