Hello, Bellefontaine!
We love getting to explore the many cities and towns of Ohio, and we’re never ones to do just one activity at a time, so when the folks from The Syndicate in Bellefontaine invited us out for brunch one Saturday, we turned it into a day trip.
We started the morning with eggs benedicts, boozy coffees, shrimp and grits on the front patio. Read all about brunch at The Syndicate here.
We lucked out with a wonderfully sunny early November day, which proved perfect for exploring downtown Bellefontaine. The city’s center has grown and changed dramatically in recent years, with significant investment in historic buildings and new businesses by groups like Downtown Bellefontaine.
You can see these new steps in large and small ways. One of the small ways, that still has a dramatic impact, is the use of signage on the corners to direct you to local businesses.
We spent some time visiting shops around the courthouse square, including a handful of antique stores, Four Acre Clothing Company, and The Fun Company.
I love quirky bits of trivia and odd historic or geographic sites, and in Bellefontaine you get three. The first is right next to the courthouse: the oldest paved street in the United States. Court Avenue was paved in 1893 by George Bartholomew, a pioneer in concrete. There’s a statue of him and a series of plaques to commemorate it. You can still see the original paved sections embedded with a square pattern to keep horse’s hooves from slipping on wet or icy pavement.
We always make coffee part of the itinerary, and already had Native Coffee Co. on our radar from brunch. We strolled down to the shop, ordered a cortado, and enjoyed a lovely chat with the barista.
Then we piled in the van and headed just south of downtown to the Bellefontaine Trailhead of the Simon Kenton Trail. A couple months back we rode portions of the trail around Springfield. The trail extends 32 miles north from Springfield to Urbana and all the way to Bellefontaine.
The trailhead is a funny little spot, a small parking lot in the middle of a neighborhood with a porta-potty in one corner. This portion of the trail (Bellefontaine -> Urbana) is paved in crushed limestone. We found it to be stable and compacted enough to still comfortably ride on, but realize that it’s better suited to bikes with wider tires.
The trail runs alongside unused railroad tracks, offering some very pretty views as you go. We rode a few miles south, then back toward Bellefontaine, spotting snakes and birds and farmland.
Back into town we refueled at City Sweets & Creamery, a long, narrow shopfront serving ice cream, donuts, and plenty of other sweets.
To finish with a slightly larger snack, we reserved a spot on the back patio of Brewfontaine, which is next door to The Syndicate and owned by the same folks. It’s a full service restaurant with an interesting beer list. We ordered up snacks like pretzels, a hummus plate, house-made pickles, and a flight of beers (for the adults).
On the way out of town we visited the last two bits of trivia in Bellefontaine. The first, just west of the courthouse square, is McKinley Street, the shortest street in the U.S. at 20 feet long.
And, just a couple miles northeast of downtown Bellefontaine sits Campbell Hill, the highest point in Ohio at 1550 feet above sea level. The actual high point is nestled on the grounds of a career center, next to some off-limits radar equipment and other buildings. There’s a very tiny park with a placard, a guest book you can sign, and a little certificate you can fill out to prove you stood there!
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