The best family-friendly places to visit in Mansfield, Ohio

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This post is sponsored by Ohio. Find It Here. and Destination Mansfield. All words and opinions are completely my own.

Weekend trips have become one of our favorite things to do. With Jamie’s work schedule at the fire department, it’s easy for us to escape for two days before he has to be back for his shift. And since we’re not originally from Ohio, the list of places we have yet to visit is pretty long. We recently took the kids up to Mansfield, Ohio, for the weekend and we were pleased to discover that there were more than enough things for us to do. Mansfield is located about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus, making it the perfect getaway if you live in either city. Read below for some of our favorite family-friendly places to visit in Mansfield.

Things to do

Ohio Bird Sanctuary – Ever wonder what happens to wild birds that are injured? Sometimes they go to a bird rehabilitation center like the Ohio Bird Sanctuary. Here, injured and orphaned birds are provided with food, water, rest and medical care, if needed. Birds that are able to return to the wild are eventually released. Some of the birds that are unable to be released end up becoming an avian ambassador at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary. 

When you visit the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, you’ll get to meet all types of birds, including bald eagles, great horned owls and peregrine falcons, walk through a songbird aviary, and explore hiking trails on the sanctuary’s 90-acre preserve. We had a lot of fun reading the stories of each bird and learning about how they came to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary. 

Stop by the front desk inside the visitor’s center to purchase a small cup of mealworms to hand-feed the songbirds in the aviary. It was raining the morning we went, but we were still able to offer the birds a little treat! I also wanted to mention that they’re building a treehouse classroom (opening in fall 2021) that will be fully accessible! 

Richland B&O Trail – The Richland B&O Trail is a 18.4-mile paved bike trail that connects the cities of Mansfield, Lexington, Bellville and Butler. It’s a quiet, scenic trail that’s built on what used to be the Baltimore & Ohio Railway and it’s a fun way to visit different areas of Richland County. We rented bikes from Y-Not Cycling and Fitness in Lexington. They had bikes in the right sizes for the kids and a trailer for Hannah – all we needed to bring was our helmets. If biking’s not your thing, you can walk, jog or rollerblade. In the wintertime, you can cross-country ski too. 

Tip: If you’re renting bikes from Y-Not Cycling and Fitness, turn south onto the trail and head towards Bellville. We were able to do a few miles with the kids without needing to cross a road.

Blueberry picking at The Blueberry Patch – Berries are always the best when they’re freshly picked! The Blueberry Patch is our new go-to for all things blueberries. We were really impressed with how many blueberry bushes they had. The Blueberry Patch grows over 27 different varieties of blueberries, each with a different ripening time, so the u-pick blueberry season there typically runs from late June to September. It didn’t take us long to fill our buckets (and Hannah probably ate her weight in fresh blueberries too). 

They recently opened up a new facility that includes a restaurant, gift shop and a cafe. If you’re there in the morning, it’s the perfect place to grab a cup of coffee and a blueberry donut. 

Tip: Blueberry picking is from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Saturday and 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sundays. I recommend going as early as possible. Not only will it be cooler, but you’ll get first dibs on the ripe blueberries that day.

Kingwood Center Gardens – Kingwood Center had a little something for all of us. Located on a former estate, we wandered through the 47 acres of stunning gardens and even discovered a peacock. 

My personal favorite were the formal and terrace gardens, because it instantly feels like you’re transported through time to some faraway place. Jamie really enjoyed the herb and rose garden – I think it gave him some ideas for what he wants to plant on our property. The boys enjoyed it all, but their favorites were feeding the ducks at the duck pond and learning about carnivorous plants in the greenhouse. 

Tip: Head towards the back of Kingwood to discover the Storybook Trail! Go on a literary adventure as you walk the path through the woods – but bring bug spray.

Richland Carrousel Park – This was such a fun find! When the kids got out of the car in downtown Mansfield, they could already hear the music playing from the carousel. Richland Carrousel Park has been operating for 30 years and was the first new hand-carved carousel to be built and operated in the U.S. since the 1930s. It’s also handicap accessible. It costs $1 per ride or you can buy multiple tickets at a discount. 

Little Buckeye Children’s Museum – The Little Buckeye Children’s Museum is located in downtown Mansfield and it’s a great place to let the kids play and explore. They’ve got nearly 40 hands-on exhibits designed for open-ended play, many of which focus on real-life experiences. Our kids had so much fun delivering mail and packages, performing music on stage, collecting eggs from the farm and handing out speeding tickets to their dad. The water table was also a big hit. 

One thing I loved about Little Buckeye is that many of the exhibits are sponsored by different businesses or organizations in Mansfield. It’s awesome to see such great support from the community. Daily admission is $12 for adults and kids ages 2 and up (kids under 2 are free), or you can purchase an annual membership. 

The museum will be moving to a new location in the near future and they will have three times the amount of space that they have now. I can’t wait to see how they’ve expanded the next time we visit!

Places to eat

Buckeye Express Diner – The kids could barely contain themselves when they learned we were going to have lunch in a vintage train car. It was such a fun experience! Buckeye Express Diner is located in a steam engine, diner car and caboose and decorated on the inside with Ohio State memorabilia. The diner is well known for their burgers, but if you’re looking for something a little lighter, I definitely recommend the chicken salad croissant. 

Don’t miss the play area right out front – our kids loved climbing all over the wooden train. 

Ice cream at Munchies Dairy Bar – Ice cream is the perfect afternoon treat, especially on a hot summer afternoon. We were happy to discover that there is no shortage of great ice cream options in the Mansfield area, but Munchies Dairy Bar was our pick for the day. One of our kids can’t have dairy and we saw that Munchies had dole whip on the menu. Which, if you didn’t know, is dairy free! They also have soft serve and hand-dipped ice cream options, slushies and a whole food menu. 

Fun fact: I grew up ordering dole whip from my local ice cream shop as a kid, so I like to order it any chance I get. Brings me right back to my childhood!

1285 Winery – Located at The Blueberry Patch, 1285 Winery is a great place to grab a glass of wine and some baked brie. If you’re hungry for a meal, the winery’s menu features their wood-fired pizzas, which you can see being made while you wait. We enjoyed the Firenze pizza, which is made with capicola and salami, crimini mushrooms, baby arugula and basil, and a balsamic drizzle. The petit charcuterie board and pretzels & beer cheese were perfect appetizers for us too. 

Where to stay

Comfort Inn Splash Harbor – If you’re looking for a place to stay when you visit Mansfield, you should book a room at Comfort Inn Splash Harbor – especially if you have little ones like we do. The hotel + indoor waterpark is located in Bellville, so it’s close enough for all the things you want to do in Mansfield, but if you feel like hanging at the pool all day, you can do that too. Splash Harbor has a main pool area with a large water slide, basketball hoops and a kiddie pool area. There’s also a splash pad area (it was closed during our visit, but it definitely looked like fun) and two hot tubs – one for families and one that’s adults only. We all really enjoyed coming back to the hotel to swim after spending the day exploring Mansfield.

Have you ever been to Mansfield, Ohio? Check out Destination Mansfield to help you plan your next trip!