Tour of Covered Bridges of Northeastern Fairfield County, Ohio

Prepared by Jim & Cathy Reinoehl ("revised" 2006)

Tour length:  About 50 miles

Disclaimer: Both roads and bridges are subject to change.  If you find any needed changes to this tour, please notify author1  at jreinhl@aol.com.  The authors offer no guarantees to its current accuracy.

Start at the water tower located just south of OH256 at the east edge of Pickerington. The painting on the water tower might interest some photographers.

Go WEST on OH256 into Pickerington.  At the traffic signal at the Carnegie Library, turn LEFT on Lockville Road.  (Note that Lockville Road in Pickerington is known as C20=Pickerington Road in the county outside Pickerington.)  Near City Hall, turn LEFT on Covered Bridge Lane to Sycamore Creek Park and look for Zeller-Smith CB#35-23-19. The bridge use in the park is limited to pedestrians, providing access to an arboretum.

Go north on Lockville Road to OH256. At the traffic signal, jog LEFT and then RIGHT on North Center Street. Continue on C20=Pickerington Road past Refugee Road to a "T" at OH204. Turn right on OH204 for about ½ mile and right again on T225=Tollgate Road. Look for the PRIVATE Hizey CB#35-23-07 in a driveway at 12549 Tollgate Road. Remember trespassing laws when you visit bridges on private property.

Continue south on Tollgate Road. Turn left on C7=Refugee Road for ½ mile and turn right on T229=Saylor Road. Jog left on Stemen Road and right on T111=Doty Road. Continue across OH256 on C36=Carroll Northern Road.  Be sure to look for trains at the railroad crossing; the "YIELD" sign is called a Buckeye Crossbuck.  Turn left on C13=Basil Western Road. Look on the left side of the road for the PRIVATE Shryer CB#35-23-27 at 4750 Basil-Western Road.

Turn right on T251=Bader Road for ½ mile then left on T238=Leonard Road across the former site of McCleery CB (now a steel pony truss) and right on T265= McCleery Road. Turn left on C17= Pleasantville Road.  Five panels from the McCleery CB#35-23-25 were moved to a PRIVATE yard on the right, a short distance before the intersection with OH158.  These were moved again to a Lancaster High School campus during 2006. 

Turn right on OH158 to Lancaster. (Caution: one intersection involves a two-way stop.  Oncoming traffic does NOT stop.) Turn left on Fair Avenue to the fairgrounds main entrance opposite Broad Street. Turn left to see Roley School House CB#35-23-49.

Continue east on Fair Avenue past OH37 to Arbor Valley Drive.  Turn left along Fetters Run to the twice-moved McCleery CB#35-23-25.  

Turn left at a stop sign to OH37.  Turn RIGHT on OH37 to the Ohio University Lancaster Campus and turn right into the "South" parking lot to see Jon Bright#2 CB#35-23-10. Note its unusual inverted bowstring truss, which is similar to the all-iron Jon Bright#1 bridge nearby.

Continue north on OH37 and turn right on OH204 to Millersport. Where OH204 turns right in Millersport, turn right and then left on Chautauqua Blvd. to Lions Park (aka The Corn Festival Grounds). Turn right at the Lions Club into the park and go straight ahead on a park road until you see Charles Holliday CB#35-23-30 near the Life Members Grove of trees.

Return to Chautauqua Blvd. and OH204. Turn right on OH204 but where OH204 turns left, go straight ahead on C58=Millersport Road to OH79. Turn right on OH79 for ½ mile to the junction with OH360.

Where OH360 turns right, turn LEFT on Canal Road toward a fish hatchery, which is on the right side of the road. When Canal Road crosses a pony steel truss bridge, look for the Canal Greenway CB#35-45-160 on a Rails-to-Trails path to the left.  

If you go under I-70, you've gone past the covered bridge:  This covered bridge is visible from I-70 eastbound when you go from Columbus to Buckeye Lake. In late summer it may be partly hidden by a field of tall corn.

If you continue north on Canal Road for three miles you'll come to Hebron. In August marsh mallows may be blooming in the canal bed along the left side of the road.  

If you turn around and return to OH79, you can turn left on OH79 to Buckeye Lake or turn right on OH79 to OH37 near its interchange with I-70.

This tour was last edited 15 July 2006. 

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