Ohio Caverns in West LibertyThere are some interesting things to see less than an hour north of Yellow Springs on US 68 in the Urbana - West Liberty area. Just to the east of West Liberty are the Piatt Castles and the Ohio Caverns. The two Piatt Castles, Mac-A-Cheek and Mac-O-Chee, comprise a family-owned museum of 200 years of history of the surrounding area. Mac-A-Cheek is one mile east of West Liberty just off of St Rt 245. Mac-O-Chee is one mile farther east on St Rt 245 at the intersection of St Rt 287. You can visit one castle for $12.50 for an adult or both for $20.00. Although I have not been there for several years, I would recommend visiting just Mac-O-Chee, the larger of the two. For more information visit the Piatt Castles Website.
Just around the bend from Mac-O-Chee on SR 245 is the Ohio Caverns. With exquisite crystal-white stalactite and stalagmite formations, it is the largest of all Ohio Caves. A tour of the cave takes about 40 mins. Tickets are $12.50 for adults. For more information visit the Ohio Caverns Website.
On the drive back down US 68 about one mile north of Urbana, be sure and stop at Fresh Water Farms of Ohio. Feel free to walk around the property looking at the pools of coy, sturgeon, rainbow trout, Malaysian freshwater shrimp and other varieties. They even encourage you to pet the sturgeon, which seem to enjoy the experience. Sept. 19 - 20 this year they will hold a Fish & Shrimp Festival to celebrate the annual harvest of Malaysian Freshwater Shrimp. These are the only two days of the year when you can purchase this variety of shrimp fresh in our area. For more information visit the Freshwater Farms of Ohio Website.
On Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we took a drive up to the caverns, had lunch at The Gathering Place in West Liberty (two thumbs up for their vegetable soup), then stopped at Freshwater Farms on our way home. While driving through Urbana, we decided to veer off 68 to the west to take a look at the Urbana University Campus. The towns of Urbana, West Liberty and Bellefontaine to the north are some of the prettiest towns I have ever seen. The big old homes in the area of Urbana University are stunningly beautiful and well maintained. It was an excellent day out.
Virgil
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A fun lunch stop in Urbana is Mumford's Potato Chips and Deli. They make yummy crispy chips and serve tasty deli sandwiches. My kids are STILL talking about the time we stopped there on our way to Ohio Caverns. It's on Main St. in downtown Urbana.
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