If you are like us, your vacation plans may have changed a little this summer. Many people are opting for road trips over foreign travel, at least until things are a bit more settled with COVID-19.

When we started doing some travel planning, Sydney and I came across the idea of visiting Amish country. We have always had such a love of the Amish’s simple way of living (might be our small town living roots).

Holmes County, OH

We had never been to Holmes County, Ohio before so it seemed like the perfect choice. We worked with Holmes County CVB to set up our trip. They did a great job helping us with accommodations, activity suggestions, and foodie recommendations. We went with an inn to have fewer interactions during this very unsure time. We also wanted some fun (but also social-distance-safe) activities to do. Holmes County CVB truly helped us put together a safe, fun, and delicious road trip!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are our own and not influenced by the developing company and/or its affiliates in any way.

Carlisle Inn – Walnut Creek, OH

The Carlisle Inn located in Walnut Creek, OH was the perfect place to stay. Obviously things looked quite a bit different because of the safety precautions that were put in place. As you can see below, comforters and bed skirts had been removed to help keep the spread of the Corona Virus at bay.

Breakfast looked different also during this time. Instead of their normal beautiful spread, they opted for a much safer option. Each guest received a breakfast box. We greatly appreciated all the extra effort they went to so we could be safer.

They have the most beautiful staircase at the Carlisle Inn. Check it out!

The views all around the inn are just spectacular! We had such a peaceful and relaxing stay here.

Keim Lumber – Charm, OH

There are so many social distancing things to do here and delicious places to eat. We started our trip with a visit to Keim Lumber. Since we had just finished an 18 month whole house renovation on Sydney and Austin’s house, we really appreciated the unique offerings they have. Everything from very unusual wood and decking to wine making supplies and smokers can be found here. They have recently been adding to their home decor area because it has become so popular. Our tour guides, Bruce and Abe, were so informative and fun! Not sure how to describe a visit to a lumber store as fun, but Bruce and Abe made it entertaining.

Did I mention how huge this store is? It is massive! Now for the truly amazing part, they have a restaurant upstairs – Carpenter’s Cafe! This so spoke to our foodie hearts! Of course we had to stay for lunch and try it out. We ordered the taco salad, chicken fingers & fries and look at this Butterfinger Chiller available for dessert. Yum! Why can’t all home improvement stores have a restaurant in them? This is such a great idea!

Keim Lumber is located in the quaint little town of Charm, OH. It is a must stop on your trip, especially if you have any men with you!

Amish Door Village – Wilmot, OH

After spending an afternoon doing some furniture shopping in Holmes County’s large number of furniture stores it was time for dinner. We had an amazing meal at Amish Door Village in Wilmot, OH. Wow, the food was so delicious! Check out all of this deliciousness. Roast beef, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, noodles, and fresh cut french fries. Make sure to scroll down and see what we had for dessert!

The desserts were seiously way beyond amazing! Make sure and give Amish Door Village a visit.

Troyers Amish Tours

We went on a private tour of Amish country in Holmes County with Troyers Amish Tours. We loved the idea of taking a private tour just for the COVID-19 safety aspect. We ended up realizing how much more you learn and how many more questions you can ask when you take a private tour. Rich was so informative about the area and the culture of the Amish. He grew up in the area and knew so many of the locals. He was so much fun to talk with and learn from.

We found this tour to be invaluable. Troyers Amish Tours takes you on all the back roads and through all the small towns. There is such beautiful countryside here. We made several stops and visited at some different places. We highly, highly recommend that you take a tour with Troyers Amish Tours! You will be so glad you did!

Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen – Mount Hope, OH

Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen is another delicious Amish restaurant that you won’t want to miss. It is located in Mount Hope, Ohio. Fried chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, noodles, roast beef, and homemade dinner rolls were calling our names for this amazing meal. We had to pace ourselves though, everyone we spoke with kept saying you have to save room for their delicious pies. Boy are we glad we did! Check out these pies…strawberry and peanut butter. Wow!!

The food here is so delicious, but you have to make sure and save some room for their yummy pies!

The Farm at Walnut Creek

If you have children, The Farm at Walnut Creek is an absolute must visit. If you don’t have children it is still an absolute must visit. It is seriously that much fun, even if you don’t have children. Normally you could go on a horse-drawn wagon ride and feed the animals, but during COVID-19 they have everyone feed the animals from their own vehicles. So that makes this a great social distancing activity for the whole family.

Some of the animals like to eat right out of the bucket while others like to eat out of your hands. They are friendly and come right up to your car to be pet and fed. You slowly drive your car through the designated areas and stop and feed the animals as they approach your car. We can’t begin to tell you how much fun this was! The Farm at Walnut Creek is in the town of, you guessed it, Walnut Creek.

Bag’s Sports Pub – Millersburg, OH

If you happen to be staying for a few days in Holmes County and need a break from Amish food, may we suggest Bag’s Sports Pub in Millersburg, OH. We had heard that they have amazing appetizers. So Sydney and I decided to split their rib dinner so we could concentrate on a variety on scrumptious appetizers. We had absolutely no room left over for dessert. Check out the delicious array of appetizers and the rib dinner below.

The ribs seriously just fell off the bone! No utensils needed. We know we went a little (okay, alot) crazy on the appetizers, but we were so glad we did. They were all way beyond amazing! A must visit while you are in Holmes County!

Yoder’s Amish Home

If you want to get a little feel of how the Amish live then you most definitely will want to take a tour of Yoder’s Amish Home. The address is 6050 St Rt 515, Millersburg, OH. You can take a tour of two different homes and pet the animals in the barn. You can also see the school house, take a buggy ride and visit the bakery and gift shop.

If you take the guided tour you learn about the Amish way of life and have the opportunity to ask questions as you are going through the homes. It was very fascinating and informative. We learned so much on this tour. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go on the buggy ride because a strong storm blew in. I guess that means we will just have to plan another trip back so we can go on the buggy ride. 🙂

Der Dutchman – Walnut Creek

You can’t go wrong with lunch or dinner at Der Dutchman Restaurant. The restaurant as extremely large which makes it great for social distancing. The food was absolutely delicious. Since it was lunchtime, we opted for the delicious strawberry chicken salad. It was so crispy and refreshing. We also thought a salad was in order because we wanted to try their trio sampler. Choose any three of their large selection of desserts. The perfect way to try a little bit of your favorites! We loved that they had this great option. We sampled the raspberry cream pie, German chocolate cake, and lemon meringue pie. All three of them were pure heaven!

Der Dutchman Restaurant is right next door to Carlisle Inn, which is a nice bonus if you are staying at the inn.

As you can see we had an amazing trip to Holmes County! The Corona Virus doesn’t have to ruin your vacation plans. We had some really fun activities and tours we went on, delicious food, and a great inn to stay at…all while practicing safe distancing. Holmes County, Ohio is the perfect road trip that allows for social distancing while still having a great time! We hope you will consider this area for your next road trip. Have an amazing day!

Interested in some of our other road trips? Check these out:

• Southern Indiana Trip
• Louisville Family Activities
• Cincinnati Activities