An America 250-Ohio Program
The Ohio Creativity Trail ignites the spark of creativity by linking travelers to places of artistic impression and inspiration. It highlights stories of how Ohioans have contributed to literature, music, visual arts, and more. The experience invites visitors to pause and explore their imagination. To showcase these stories and promote tourism, America 250-Ohio has curated a driving trail called the Ohio Creativity Trail. This trail offers visitors the chance to experience the stories of Ohioans who have left their creative imprint on the nation by introducing them to sites across Ohio.
Timeline:
The Ohio Creativity Trail launched February 2025. Additional sites were added through a submission process in October 2025. Submissions can be completed at any time. We will review submissions again in early spring 2026.
Before you Submit:
The scope of the Ohio Creativity Trail is to create a driving trail connecting the places where visitors can learn more about Ohio’s contributions to artistic expression. It is not to tell the overall story, but to be a tourism-based project that can meet and exceed guest expectations. Do you want people dropping into your site? Are you prepared to warmly welcome groups of people to walk in expecting to be entertained and to learn something?
Submissions are evaluated based on their ability to meet the expectations below:
- Accessibility – Is the site open to walk-in visitors regular hours? Is there parking? Is the schedule posted? If you are relying on tours, they must be open to the public and posted on the website with an easy booking process.
- Relevancy – Does the site interpret a story that directly relates to creativity themes as expressed by how an Ohioan or an Ohio place has made a significant contribution to creativity on a national level.
- Visitor Experience – Is that story told on-site either through regular tours open to the public or exhibits one can easily find when stopping by the site? Is there signage directing visitors to where they can experience the story? The scope of this project is to create a trail where visitors to and through Ohio can stop and spend an hour or two, learning more while being entertained.