Central

Central Ohio covers the broad agricultural-and-urban country surrounding Columbus, the rolling till plain that fills the middle of the state. The terrain is gently rolling — Wisconsin glaciation till in the north and west giving way to the unglaciated edge of the Appalachian Plateau in southern Knox and Licking counties. The Scioto, Olentangy, Mohican, and Hocking rivers cut through the region. Fifteen counties cover the region. Franklin holds Columbus (the state capital, the largest city in Ohio, and home to Ohio State University); Delaware holds Delaware (with Ohio Wesleyan); Licking holds Newark and the Newark Earthworks (a Hopewell-culture site); Fairfield holds Lancaster; Ashland and Richland cover the Mohican State Park country; Marion holds Marion (with the Warren G. Harding home). The Columbus Museum of Art, the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), the Ohio Statehouse, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and Mohican State Park anchor major attractions. Most trips here center on Columbus. Columbus handles the urban itinerary — the Short North arts district, the German Village historic neighborhood, OSU campus, COSI, the Statehouse; Mohican State Park draws hiking and canoeing; Newark’s earthworks anchor archaeological visits.