By: Isabella Baker '26

Over my sophomore year, I made it a mission to visit all 75 Ohio State Parks. I knew it would be a hefty goal, but I was determined to complete it!

My experience, both the journey and destination, was not only humbling but full of adventure, fun, spontaneity, memories. Each area was unique. Northeast had a bit of everything geographical-wise, Southeast was full of woodlands and hills (and lost wifi), Southwest was mostly farmland, Northwest was flat and more about Lake Erie, and Central Ohio was centered around Columbus with a mix of lakes and fields. Overall, there was so much to see in Ohio from each region so when people say that Ohio is boring or that there’s nothing to do, I believe it's because they didn’t look hard enough!

Baker admiring Tinker's Creek State Park

My favorite State Parks were Hocking Hills, Mohican, Tinker’s Creek, Kelley’s Island, South Bass, Pymatuning, and Salt Fork. I’m biased towards Lake Milton as my grandparents live there. I watched the sunset over Salt Fork Lake after visiting Hosek’s Cave and that was my favorite sunset overall. Tinker’s Creek was the most peaceful with it’s many ponds. Hocking Hills was where I was most adventurous with second being Nelson Kennedy Ledges State Park. The Erie Islands was a trip all on its own as I divided the region up into two: non-Erie Islands and Islands. I also loved the non-parks I visited: Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron, Yellow Springs, Marietta, Lakeside Chautauqua, among many others.

My love of travel and travel stories from my family and friends inspired me to use my sophomore year to visit each park. Inspired to one day make it into a career, I blogged and made a two-part video series about my experience. After reaching out to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) about my travels, I’ll be partnering with them to make a videos talking about some Northeast State Parks! Without God, my family, friends, and those at Mount Union, I wouldn't have achieved this goal, so I thank them for continuing to lift me up.

Baker exploring Kelley's Island State Park

This summer I plan to visit the newly opened 76^th State Park, Great Council, as well as hopefully go to somewhere in Pennsylvania as I have my eyes on those state parks and also a vacation to Bermuda. This Fall Break, I hope to check out Washington D.C., and its neighborhoods.

I learned A LOT from my travels. Firstly, you’ll experience a lot more if you dig deeper into the surface. People say Ohio’s boring and don’t decide to look into it. I did and truly Ohio is wonderful. Secondly (but not lastly), follow your passion. No matter how difficult life gets keep pushing because you never know what may happen, who you’ll meet, where you may end up. I’m truly blessed with all the experiences I had during this whole adventure. Soon, I’ll release my Ohio: In Summer video as the third installment and I’m excited for it.

There’s many State Parks near Alliance, for example, West Branch and Wingfoot Lake plus many more that you should check out when you're near campus! Happy Trails!