4 Fun Things to Do in Delaware County, Ohio for Animal & Nature Lovers

From kayaking to hands-on farms & nature preserves, Delaware County is definitely a must-visit in Ohio for animal & nature lovers...

This post was created in partnership with Destination Delaware County Ohio. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

Located less than an hour north of Columbus is the quaint town of Delaware, Ohio. Having been a Columbus resident for almost 8 years, I must admit that Delaware County was not an area I explored much when I lived in the area. And boy, had I been missing out, you all!

From a growing local foods & brewery scene to a historic downtown filled with small town charm & plenty of shopping, the city of Delaware has grown quite a bit in the past decade. But perhaps what I was most impressed by was just how much there is to do in the county for outdoors & nature lovers like myself & my kiddos. From kayaking to hands-on farms & nature preserves, Delaware County is definitely a must-visit in Ohio for animal & nature lovers.

While we didn't get to explore everything that Delaware County had to offer in our 3 day stay, we did get to experience 4 of the best things to do in the area if you happen to be the outdoorsy type. Whether you & your family love animals, or are into gardening, or love to hike, this county in Ohio needs to be on your family travel list this summer...

Hiking the Endless Wall Trail

Hugging the rim of the New River Gorge for about 2 miles, the Endless Wall Trail in West Virginia provides hikers with breathtaking vistas by way of its many rocky overlooks and steep cliffs...

My son & I's latest hiking adventures brought us to to the New River Gorge area of West Virginia. Hiking the Endless Wall Trail was actually my son's idea as he first heard about it when he went white water rafting on the New River with his dad earlier this fall. He came home from his weekend of zip lining and rafting all excited about the hiking trails he had also been told about in the area. We finally made the drive down on a beautiful Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago once his high school cross country season had officially ended.

The Endless Wall Trail is about 2 1/2 miles long total if you do the entire loop. But some hikers opt to make it into a moderate in and out 2 mile hike from the Fern Creek or Nutall Trailhead parking lots to the Diamond Point Overlook and back. This is what my son and I opted to do even though we went off the main marked trail a handful of times making our total hike closer to the 3 mile mark. 

Hiking the Maryland Heights Trail

The Maryland Heights Trail, a 4 mile hike just off from the Appalachian Trail, is a challenging hike with rewarding views of Harpers Ferry and the Potomac & Shenandoah Rivers...

Since my son & I's visit to Harpers Ferry last fall, we have been talking about hiking the Maryland Heights trail that takes you across the Potomac River and up rocky & steep paths to Overlook Cliff in Maryland. 

Harpers Ferry in West Virginia is to not only mere minutes from the Maryland and Virginia borders, but it also happens to be at almost the halfway point of the Appalachian Trail that spans 14 states between Maine and Georgia.

We are about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Harpers Ferry, so my son & I decided to drive in the day before our hike and stay overnight at a local bed & breakfast on the hillside just above Lower Town. The photo below was taken on the deck of the B&B right before my son & I left on our trek. 

Our destination? The cliff you see above and just to the right of my head...