When Covid started and we had to stop traveling internationally, we decided to start exploring Ohio and the neighboring states. We camped a lot, we road tripped a lot and, most importantly, we discovered so many incredible places, most of the them close to home. This list compiles the most unique places we’ve been to in the past year.
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Otherworld (Columbus, OH)
2. Driftwood Beach, (Edisto Island, SC)
3. The Forest Giants (Clermont, KY)
4. Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo (Bowling Green, KY)
5. Kayaking in a cave at the Gorge Underground (Stanton, KY)
6. Elkmont Ghost town (Gatlinburg, TN)
1. OTHERWORLD (Columbus, OH)
Eerie. Creepy. Our of this world. A psychedelic experience. Magical. Whimsical. These are some words that can only being to describe what Otherworld feels like. An immersive multi art experience, Otherworld is hard to describe in words and it definitely deserves to be number 1 on my list of unique places.
Otherworld stimulates all of your senses from visual, to audio and tactile. There is a multitude of rooms that you can walk (or crawl) in and out of, and they all seem to have a different theme. Lots of tunnels and crawl spaces. Walking through the building takes about 2.5 – 3 hrs and I advise you to take your time. We walked through the rooms several times and every time we noticed or discovered another detail. A word of advice: keep on eye on your young children. With all the tunnels and crawl spaces, it is easy to lose track of them.
2. DRIFTWOOD BEACH (Edisto Island, SC)
Number 2 on my list of unique places in the US is the most astonishing beach I’ve ever been to – Driftwood Beach, on Edisto Island.
Last year, I read a book called ”The time between”. The action took place in Charleston and Edisto Island, SC. The author did such a beautiful job describing the island, that it left me wanting to visit it. So naturally, when we road tripped through the Lowcountry last summer, I made sure to take a day trip from Charleston to Edisto Island. Little did I know that on that island I was going to find one of my favorite places in the world: Driftwood Beach.
Getting to the beach is an experience on its own. You drive underneath a gorgeous tree tunnel and after you park, you walk half a mile through saltwater marshes, with hundreds of fiddler and hermit crabs scurrying about everywhere.
Once you get to the beach, you are taken aback by the raw beauty of this spot. There aren’t many places where nature hasn’t been spoiled by man, but this one is one of them. The beach is completely covered in shells (due to people not being allowed to take any with them) and the fallen trees, bleached by the sun and the water, make you feel like you are in another world. The feeling I got when I was there was that of peacefulness and modesty, in the face of the immensity of Mother Nature. I remember my dad just sitting on a log for two whole hours, just staring at the ocean and the beach. He told me it had been many, many years since he had felt so much peace.
The beach is free to access and there are local volunteers in the parking lot, who are happy to assist you with information about the beach and the island.
3. THE FOREST GIANTS (Clermont, KY)
These forest giants can be found at the Bernheim Arboretum in Clermont, KY. They are the perfect spot to visit if you are in the Louisville area or you are driving along I-65. We stopped on our way back home from Alabama and we spent about 3 hours walking the 2 mile loop and looking for the giants. Using repurposed materials, the three giants, Mama Loumari and her two kids, Little Nis and Little Elina, were constructed by the Danish artist, Thomas Dambo, to celebrate the arboretum’s 90th anniversary.
The arboretum is accessible for a suggested donation of $10/car. We didn’t get to see the whole place, as we still had 4 hrs left to drive to get home, but according to the website, there is also a canopy tree boardwalk and a children’s play garden, so you could easily spend a whole day there with your kids.
4. KENTUCKY DOWN UNDER ADVENTURE ZOO (Bowling Green, KY)
I have been to many zoos in my life, but none is like Kentucky Down Under. I don’t know of any other place in the US where you can pet and feed kangaroos and emus (if you are brave enough!), or hold a snake and an Australian thorny devil. We got to do all these and more last summer at Kentucky Down Under, which is the reason this zoo got to be on my list of unique places in the US.
For $45, we rented a gold cart and drove around the different enclosures several times. You have the option to walk, but the property is hilly and the enclosures are far from each other. Plus, we really love golf carts, so that made the experience even more fun for us.
We got to see a presentation on animals from Australia, look at birds from different parts of the world and feed lorries, which can be a bit overwhelming for the person holding the nectar. At one point, there were over 20 birds on top of my son’s head, shoulders and arms, but he managed to hold his ground and let the lorries finish the nectar.
My kids’ favorite part was the outback enclosure. They still talk about the baby joeys sticking out of their mommas’ pouches and how they got to pet some of them. They were a bit wary of the intimidating emus at first, but they did end up feeding them eventually.
Price: $25.95/adult, $15.95/child 4 and older. They have several discounts available, including military and senior.
5. THE GORGE UNDERGROUND (Stanton, KY)
Apparently, Kentucky holds the title for the state with the most extraordinary experiences, because number 5 on our list of unique places is, once again, in KY. The Gorge Underground offers people the chance to kayak in an old, flooded mine. You have different options for touring the cave, from kayaking to a boat tour. We chose to do the crystal kayak tour, so we could see the trout swimming underneath us. We were provided with life jackets, helmets and headlamps and we had two guides with us at all times. The cave stays at around 50 degrees all year long and the kayaks get a bit wet inside, so prepare for that, preferably with waterproof socks, since shoes need to be removed prior to getting in the kayaks. No previous kayaking experience is needed and since there are no waves and no current in the cave, the ride is very smooth. My favorite part was looking at the quartz pyrite on the ceiling of the cave – it looked like a million little star in the night sky.
The tour took about 2 hrs and the guides had a lot of cool information about the history of the mine.
Price: $75/adult, $25/child riding with adult.
6. ELKMONT GHOST TOWN (Gatlinburg, TN)
A ghost town is definitely not the first attraction that pops into people’s minds when they think about Gatlinburg, TN. But when we found out that there was an old, abandoned town, with rich history, close to Gatlinburg, we knew we had to add to our list of unique places to visit.
And because it is a ghost town after all, finding it was no easy feat. To begin with, you can’t just pop in into your maps and let Google do its magic. Nope, you have to follow these directions: take US-411 from Gatlinburg to the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Drive toward Cades Cove for about 7 miles until you see a sign for Elkmont Campground. You’ll turn here until you see the ranger station about 4 miles down the road. Take a left at the sign for Elkmont Nature Trail, where you’ll find a parking lot. The lot is within walking distance of the historic structures in Elkmont. Good luck!
Now a bit about the history of Elkmont: people settled into Elkmont in the 19th century, into what was primarily a logging community throughout the 19th and early 20th century. A railroad line, a school, a church and plenty of homes were added to the community. Around 1910, the Little River Lumber Company, who owned Elkmont, sold some of the land to individuals who created the Appalachian Clubhouse. This property expanded to allow members to build vacation cottages. When the National Park started buying land previously owned by the Little River Lumber Company, the owners of the cottages were asked to sell their properties, in exchange for lifetime leases. The last existing leases expired in 1992, leaving 70 buildings in the park with nobody to maintain them. In 2018, all but 19 cottages were demolished. The remaining buildings are now on a protected list and need to be preserved and restored to their original state.
When we visited, they were in the process of restoring the cottages, which took away a bit of the eerie feeling. However, it was still amazing to step back into time and get a glimpse of what life looked like a century ago. And it was still pretty creepy!
For other ideas of what to do in Gatlinburg, TN with kids, please check out my post on the best kid-friendly activities in the area.
We are always looking for interesting and unique places to visit in the US (and beyond). I would love to hear from other people who enjoy out of the ordinary experiences, so if you have been to other unique places, please drop a comment bellow, to inspire us.