Exploring Eastern Ohio

Now that we’re back from all our planned out of state trips, we wanted to do some exploring in Ohio. We enjoy these little day trips because there’s still so much we haven’t seen! Eastern Ohio is an area that’s pretty much undiscovered for us, so we drove to Mahoning and Columbiana counties to check it out.

***Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Ohio. Find It Here. and Ohio Proud. As always, all opinions are 100% our own***

We learned so much about the Ohio Proud program while in eastern Ohio. Started in 1993 by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Proud is an easy, quick way for people to identify Ohio-made and grown goods (just look for the label). This selection includes produce, dairy products, meats and more. Every place we visited during this trip carried or uses products from Ohio Proud partners. To learn more about what Ohio Proud is and its partners, head to their website!

White House Fruit Farm
We started our day at White House Fruit Farm in Canfield. The farm is known homegrown produce, with apples being their signature crop. But there is so much more like strawberries, sweet corn, asparagus and pumpkins. The produce is sold in a really amazing 1881 renovated barn farm market. In addition to produce, there is a sliced to order deli; Ohio-made foods, pickles and sauces; homemade fudge and a bakery featuring the farm’s blueberry doughnuts. We got a dozen doughnuts and yes, the blueberry doughnuts were absolutely amazing! After enjoying some donuts by the water, we took a stroll through the sunflower field.

The farm is open all year round and there are different events hosted for each season. During the summer you can enjoy the lake view and their summer music series. There is a fall festival in September/October and a spring festival in April, and you can’t miss Christmas on the farm. One of our favorite things about Ohio is how different the seasons are and you can a truly unique experience at the farm during each of the seasons!

Birdfish Brewing Co.
After the morning on the farm, we worked up a thirst so we drove to a brewery we’ve been really wanting to try: Birdfish Brewing Co. There are 12 rotating craft beers on tap and you can buy cans to go. There is a wide selection of everything from light beers, to hoppy beers and also sours. Whenever possible, the beers are made with not only Ohio-grown grains, but Ohio-grown hops as well.  We shared a flight and sampled a few more. We honestly wish we could have tried all the beers! Our favorite beers we tried are the Coal Miner’s Floozie lemongrass grisette and the Greenford Grown IPA.

Birdfish was founded in 2015 with the motto is “righteous beer for the righteous kind.” A huge part of the brewery’s mission is giving back to the community. The brewery often collaborates with local farmers, charities, artists and entrepreneurs. You can sit in the brewery or on their expansive patio. You can also head on over to their game room to play one of their 20+ old school pinball games! We were lucky enough to snag a tour around the facility and learn about the beers. If you’re hungry while you’re there, then try the rotating schedule of food trucks.

The Vineyards at Pine Lake
After our afternoon beers at Birdfish we went over to The Vineyards at Pine Lake for lunch. The Tasting Room restaurant is connected to the wine production facility and overlooks the lake. You can sit inside in the dining room, on the covered outdoor patio or outside on the seasonal lower patio. Of course, you can enjoy the wines made onsite or beers from The Pine Lake Brewing Company.

The food menu features an array of items made with fresh ingredients found locally and features weekly specials created by Chef David Gabbert. The Vineyards at Pine Lake also have a beautiful event center perfect for weddings or other special events. We sat on the covered patio and enjoyed the hot peppers in oil, chicken tenders and the mushroom flatbread. We also had the chardonnay and syrah. It was so peaceful sitting on the patio, staring out at the gorgeous lake and enjoying delicious wines. We haven’t experienced a view like this in Ohio and we’re so happy we got to have this experience while it was still warm. The Vineyards at Pine Lake is the perfect place for a long, leisurely lunch.

We were so happy with our trip to eastern Ohio, and we highly recommend taking the time to venture out to that part of our state. We’ll be thinking about those blueberry doughnuts, delicious beers and delectable wine for quite a long time.