I Spent Years Driving Past Fairlawn, Ohio—Here's What I Wish I'd Known About This Hidden Northeast Gem
- The 18 Corridor
- Jan 6
- 8 min read
I'll be honest with you.
When people ask me about Northeast Ohio, Fairlawn doesn't usually make my first list. Cleveland gets the spotlight. Akron gets the history points. And Fairlawn? It sits quietly between them, holding secrets that took me years to discover.
But here's what changed my mind: Fairlawn is the access point to some of the most surprising experiences in Ohio—and most people drive right past them without looking twice.
After spending months exploring this area, I've mapped out the ten things that make Fairlawn and its surroundings worth your time. No tourist traps. No overblown promises. Just real places that deliver.
The Only National Park in Ohio Is Closer Than You Think
Cuyahoga Valley National Park sprawls across 50 square miles between Cleveland and Akron, and you can reach it from Fairlawn in minutes.
Here's what makes it different: This park has over 125 miles of hiking trails, free entrance year-round, and something no other national park in America can claim—a working heritage railroad that runs through the valley.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad isn't just transportation. It's a moving observation deck through deciduous forests, wetlands, and rock formations that have been here longer than the state itself.
Start with Brandywine Falls. The 65-foot waterfall is accessible via a short boardwalk trail, and you'll understand why this park pulls in visitors from across the country. Blue Hen Falls offers a quieter alternative when you want solitude instead of crowds.
For something more challenging, the Virginia Kendall Ledges trail takes you through 2.2 miles of limestone boulders and moss-covered cliffs. The terrain shifts from easy walking to moderate scrambling, and the views reward the effort.
Insider move: The 101-mile Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail works for both biking and hiking. You don't need to tackle the whole thing—pick a section and go.
Summit Mall Survived When Others Didn't (There's a Reason)
Summit County used to have three major malls. Chapel Hill closed. Rolling Acres closed.
Summit Mall is still standing—and thriving—because it adapted while others stagnated.
This 850,000-square-foot shopping center anchors itself with Macy's and Dillard's, but the real draw is the mix of over 100 specialty shops that you won't find clustered together elsewhere in the county. Apple, lululemon, Sephora, and Vera Bradley share space with J. Crew Factory and Pandora.
What surprised me most? The food situation.
Most malls give you a sad food court and call it done. Summit Mall has actual sit-down restaurants: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, Dewey's Pizza, First Watch, P.F. Chang's, and The Rail. You can make a full evening out of shopping and dinner without feeling like you're settling for mall food.
The Akron Zoo Punches Above Its Weight Class
I've visited zoos across the country, and I'll tell you this: The Akron Zoo earned both AZA and World Conservation Zoo accreditation—a distinction only 10 percent of American zoos achieve.
This isn't a small operation pretending to be big. The zoo spans 50 acres, houses over 1,000 animals representing more than 100 species, and draws around 400,000 visitors annually. That makes it the most visited attraction in Summit County.
The exhibits tell the story. Lehner Family Foundation Wild Asia opened in 2021 with Sumatran tigers and red pandas. Mike and Mary Stark Grizzly Ridge covers 4.2 acres and gives the bears actual space to move. Landon and Cynthia Knight Pride of Africa brought lions, zebras, and African painted dogs to Ohio in 2019.
Visit during December, and the whole zoo transforms for Wild Lights—holiday decorations and light displays that turn the animal exhibits into something completely different after dark.
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens: Ohio's Sixth-Largest Historic Home Hides in Plain Sight
I walked past the gate on West Market Street a dozen times before I actually went inside.
That was a mistake.
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is the sixth-largest historic home in America—a 65-room Tudor Revival manor house sitting on 70 acres of breathtaking gardens, and most people driving through Akron have no idea it exists.
F.A. Seiberling built this estate between 1912 and 1915. Yes, that Seiberling—the co-founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The man who created the nature realm also created this masterpiece, and both properties show his vision for how spaces should feel.
The mansion itself is staggering. 64,500 square feet. Original furnishings. A music room with a ceiling modeled after a medieval English manor. A library that holds more books than most people read in a lifetime. But here's what surprised me: The house doesn't feel like a museum where you shuffle through roped-off rooms—it feels like you're stepping into 1915 when the Seiberling family actually lived here.
Then you walk outside, and the gardens hit differently.
The Birch Tree Allee frames your entrance with white bark that glows in morning light. The English Garden explodes with color from April through October. The Great Garden spreads across terraces with geometric precision that landscape architects study. And the Japanese Garden offers exactly what you need when the world gets too loud—silence, water features, and careful design that invites contemplation.
Stan Hywet hosts seasonal events that transform the estate throughout the year. Holidays at Stan Hywet turns the mansion into something from a period film, with decorations that took months to plan and execute. Summer concerts on the lawn bring music to gardens designed for exactly this kind of gathering. And the estate offers behind-the-scenes tours that show you rooms and stories the standard tour doesn't cover.
Insider move: Visit during spring when the gardens wake up, or catch the estate during December holidays. Both experiences justify the admission price and then some.
Winter Sports That Don't Require Driving to Pennsylvania
Most people in Northeast Ohio think they need to drive hours for decent skiing. They're wrong.
Boston Mills and Brandywine Ski Resorts operate as a connected network right inside Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Together, they cover more than 100 acres with a vertical drop of 235 feet.
The snow season runs from mid-December through early March. The resorts maintain a 90 percent snowmaking coverage rate and groom the slopes daily, which means you're not gambling on natural snowfall in unpredictable Ohio weather.
Here's the setup that impressed me: The resorts are five minutes apart by car, and your ticket works at both locations. You can ski one in the morning, drive over for a different experience in the afternoon, and use all the facilities without buying separate passes.
The ski school operates inside a fully transparent dome equipped with motion capture analyzers. You can watch your form in real-time and fix problems before they become habits.
F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm Delivers What Metro Parks Should
This metro park holds a 4.9 out of 5 star rating, and after walking the trails, I understand why.
F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm gives you the nature experience without the crowds, noise, or parking nightmares that plague more popular spots. The trails wind through environments perfect for photography and wildlife observation.
Chipmunks are everywhere. I mean everywhere. Bring a camera with a decent zoom, find a quiet spot, and wait. The wildlife will come to you.
Families love this place because the trails offer enough variety to keep kids interested without being so challenging that small legs give out halfway through. You can do a quick 30-minute loop or spend half a day exploring different paths.
X-Golf Fairlawn Solved the Ohio Winter Problem
Ohio winters kill outdoor activities for months. Golf courses close. Driving ranges shut down. And golfers either hibernate or drive to indoor facilities that feel like warehouses with nets.
X-Golf Fairlawn changed that equation.
The indoor golf simulation technology lets you play full rounds on famous courses while Ohio weather does whatever Ohio weather does outside. The facility runs winter and summer leagues, so you can maintain your game year-round instead of starting from scratch every spring.
But here's what makes it more than just a golf simulator: The food and drinks are actually good. You can set up friendly competitions with food and beverages that don't taste like afterthoughts, which turns practice sessions into social events.
Painting with a Twist Proves Art Doesn't Require Talent
I'm not an artist. I can barely draw stick figures that look like humans.
But Painting with a Twist doesn't care about your skill level. The paint-and-sip concept works because instructors walk you through each step while you work at your own pace.
The 4.6 out of 5 star rating comes from people who showed up nervous and left with something they're proud to hang on their walls. You bring friends, order drinks, follow instructions, and somehow end up with a painting that looks intentional.
The social aspect matters more than the art. You're creating something while talking, laughing, and occasionally messing up in ways that make better stories than perfect paintings would.
Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park Burns Energy Fast
Parents know the struggle: Kids have energy that needs burning, especially during months when outdoor play isn't practical.
Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park solves this with go-carts, ropes courses, trampolines, and rock climbing all under one roof. The variety matters because kids (and adults) can switch activities when they get bored instead of doing the same thing until the fun dies.
The facility handles birthday parties and group events, but you can also show up on a random Tuesday afternoon when cabin fever hits. The equipment is maintained well, the staff watches for safety issues, and the space is large enough that it doesn't feel claustrophobic even when busy.
Szalay's Sweet Corn Farm Connects You to Seasonal Rhythms
Something about Szalay's Sweet Corn Farm pulls people back season after season.
This roadside farm store sells fresh produce, seasonal decorations, and hosts family activities that change throughout the year. You're not buying vegetables from a grocery store that shipped them from three states away. You're getting produce that was growing in the ground yesterday.
The seasonal aspect creates reasons to return. Spring brings different offerings than fall. Summer has its own rhythm. And the decorations shift to match whatever's happening in the calendar.
It's simple, direct, and rooted in the land around Fairlawn in ways that most commercial experiences aren't.
Twenty Hidden Gems Wait for People Who Look
The Fairlawn area hides approximately 20 lesser-known attractions that most visitors never find. These aren't secret because they're bad—they're secret because they don't advertise, don't appear on standard tourist lists, and require local knowledge or deliberate searching to discover.
Hiking and cycling routes take you through areas that feel remote despite being minutes from suburban development. Small parks offer specific experiences—bird watching spots, quiet reading benches, trail connections that link larger systems together.
You won't find these by following signs or checking tourism websites. You find them by talking to locals, exploring side roads, and paying attention when something looks interesting off the main path.
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me Earlier
Fairlawn works as a base camp, as well as a destination.
The town itself is beautiful and vibrant—suburban, practical, well-located. It sits right on The 18 Corridor, a stretch of State Route 18 that connects shopping, dining, and entertainment from Medina to the Cuyahoga Valley. This corridor became the retail and restaurant backbone of Summit County, and Fairlawn positioned itself right in the middle of it.
But the real value comes from what you can reach within a 15-minute drive. National parks, ski resorts, zoos, nature preserves, and entertainment venues cluster around this area in ways that make it easy to pack multiple experiences into a single day.
I spent years driving past Fairlawn on my way to somewhere else. I wish I'd stopped sooner.
The experiences aren't hidden because they're hard to find. They're hidden because most people assume there's nothing here worth finding. That assumption is wrong.
Start with one item from this list. Pick whatever matches your interests—outdoor adventure, shopping, wildlife, winter sports, or quiet nature time. Try it. See what you think.
Then come back and try another.
The more time you spend exploring what's actually here instead of what you assumed was here, the more Fairlawn starts making sense as something other than a place between other places.
It's the access point to experiences that surprised me, and I've been exploring Ohio for years.
Imagine what you'll find when you start looking.
Comments