Ohio Amish Country Travel Guide
Ohio Amish Country Travel Guide
Plan Your Trip
Ohio's Amish Country stretches across Holmes, Wayne, and Tuscarawas counties, where horse-drawn buggies still share the road with cars.
The best Amish Country Ohio attractions are family businesses with real stories behind them—cheese houses, bakeries, auctions, and farms that started because neighbors needed something. Most Amish-owned shops close on Sundays, so plan your visit for Monday through Saturday.
Tickets aren't needed for most stops, but book the Age of Steam Roundhouse ahead, since it's open by guided tour only. Parking is free at most shops and farms, and Berlin gets busy on weekends, so park once and walk.
Bring a cooler for cheese, cash for small farm stands, and comfortable shoes for Yoder's Amish Home. And here's the tip people wish they'd known: Miller's Bakery closes around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, so go early.
Top Things to Do
These are the top Amish Country Ohio attractions to put on your list.
1. Tour Yoder's Amish Home—Walk through a real Amish house, barn, and one-room school, then take a buggy ride.
2. See David Warther Carvings—Lean in close to tiny ivory ships carved by the grandson of famous Ohio carver Ernest "Mooney" Warther.
3. Watch the Sugarcreek Cuckoo Clock—Meet the 23-foot clock once promoted by Guinness as the world's largest, right on Main Street.
4. Taste Baby Swiss at Guggisberg Cheese—Try the cheese that was born in this valley, and watch it being made on weekday mornings.
5. Shop Lehman's in Kidron—Browse oil lamps, wood stoves, and hand tools at the hardware store that started out serving Amish neighbors.
6. Visit the Mount Hope Auction—Watch livestock and hay sell on Wednesdays, with a flea market and farmers market opening at 7 in the morning.
7. Tour the Age of Steam Roundhouse—Step inside an 18-stall brick roundhouse full of steam engines, by guided tour only.
8. Grab Pie at Boyd and Wurthmann—Eat at a Berlin diner that started as a grocery store in 1938 and is now famous for pie.
Download the Complete Travel Guide
Includes:
-
✓ Complete travel guide
-
✓ Printable map
-
✓ One-day itinerary
-
✓ Hidden gems
-
✓ Travel tips
-
✓ Offline access
-
✓ Bonus recommendations not included on this page
Our Self Guided Tour
Ohio's Amish Country Byway Driving Tour connects the top Amish Country Ohio attractions in one GPS-triggered audio tour, starting at Lehman's in Kidron and ending at Yoder's Amish Home near Walnut Creek. Your guide, Greg, tells the true stories behind the cheese houses, bakeries, and farms as you drive. Without stopping, the drive takes about 90 minutes. Most visitors make a full day of it.
Free Things to Do
1. Lehman's—Wander a hardware store packed with old-fashioned tools that work without electricity.
2. Mount Hope Auction—Watch the Wednesday livestock and hay sales for free.
3. Guggisberg Cheese—Visit the home of Baby Swiss and watch cheese being made on weekday mornings.
4. Alpine Hills Historical Museum—Learn about Sugarcreek's Swiss and Amish history, with donations welcome.
5. Sugarcreek Cuckoo Clock—Wait for the chime on Main Street, right across from the museum.
6. German Culture Museum—See things that belonged to Jonas Stutzman, Walnut Creek's first Amish settler, May through October.
7. Stutzman Crossing Covered Bridge—Drive past a covered bridge in Walnut Creek that looks old but was built in 2009.
THINGS WITH ADMISSION FEES:
1. Yoder's Amish Home—$15 for adults for the complete tour, open May through late October.
2. David Warther Carvings—$10 for adults, closed on Sundays.
3. Hershberger's Farm and Bakery—$8 per person for the petting area, plus buggy, pony, and horseback rides.
4. Age of Steam Roundhouse—Guided tour tickets, Thursday through Saturday, April through November. Book ahead.
Food!
Boyd and Wurthmann
A classic Berlin diner since 1938, known for home-style cooking and pie.
Der Dutchman
A family restaurant in Walnut Creek that started in 1969 inside an old hardware store, serving big home-style meals.
Mudd Valley Cafe and Creamery
A cafe and ice cream counter inside the Walnut Creek Cheese market, perfect for lunch between stops.
Where to Stay
In Berlin
Berlin Grande Hotel, Comfort Suites Berlin, Lodging on the Square—walkable to Berlin's shops or just outside town. Roughly 130-250/night.
In Walnut Creek
The Wallhouse Hotel, Carlisle Inn Walnut Creek, The Inn at Walnut Creek—close to the end of the tour and Yoder's Amish Home. Roughly 140-280/night.
Cabins and Unique Stays
Amish Country Lodging and Pine Cove Lodging—cabins, lodges, and even treehouses tucked into the farm country. Roughly 150-350/night.
1 Day Itinerary
1-DAY ITINERARY:
Morning: Start at Lehman's in Kidron, then follow the Amish Country Byway Driving Tour through Mount Hope and into Berlin. Grab breakfast or pie at Boyd and Wurthmann.
Afternoon: Taste Baby Swiss at Guggisberg Cheese, stop in Charm, then roll into Sugarcreek for the giant cuckoo clock. Visit David Warther Carvings and shop Walnut Creek Cheese.
Evening: Finish at Yoder's Amish Home if you still have time, then end the day with dinner at Der Dutchman.
2-DAY ITINERARY:
Day 2: Book a morning tour at the Age of Steam Roundhouse (Thursday through Saturday), then spend the afternoon at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery and Miller's Bakery. If it's a Wednesday, start at the Mount Hope Auction instead.
Extra Time: Drive about 20 miles east of Sugarcreek to the Gnadenhutten Museum and Historical Park and Schoenbrunn Village to learn the story of the Lenape and Moravian mission towns.
FAQ's
1. Where is Ohio's Amish Country?
It's in northeast-central Ohio, mostly in Holmes, Wayne, and Tuscarawas counties. The main villages are Berlin, Walnut Creek, Charm, Mount Hope, Sugarcreek, and Kidron.
2. Is it free to drive the Amish Country Byway?
Yes. The byway is a set of public roads, not a park, so there's no gate or entrance fee. Some stops charge their own admission.
3. Are things open on Sundays?
Most Amish-owned shops, bakeries, and restaurants close on Sundays. Plan your trip for Monday through Saturday to see the most.
4. Do I need to buy tickets in advance?
Most stops don't need tickets. Book the Age of Steam Roundhouse ahead, since it's guided tour only. Groups of 20 or more should call Yoder's Amish Home before visiting.
5. Where should I park?
Most shops, cheese houses, and farms have free parking lots. Berlin gets busy on weekends, so park once and walk between shops.
6. What should I bring?
Bring a cooler for cheese, cash for small farm stands, comfortable shoes, and a full gas tank, since the back roads are long and quiet.
7. How should I drive around horse-drawn buggies?
Buggies move about 5 to 8 miles per hour. Slow down, give them plenty of room, never pass on a hill or blind curve, and don't honk.
8. Can I take photos of Amish people?
Please ask first. Many Amish people prefer not to be photographed, especially their faces. Farms, barns, and shops make great photos instead.
9. When is the best time to visit?
Late spring through fall, when most Amish Country Ohio attractions are open. Yoder's Amish Home is open May through late October, and fall brings colorful hills and harvest season.
10. What's the difference between Amish and Mennonite?
Both groups come from the same Anabaptist roots and believe in adult baptism. In the 1690s, a leader named Jakob Ammann pushed for stricter rules, and his followers became the Amish.
Recommended Tours
More Resources
