Covered Bridges in Ohio – Take a Scenic Driving Tour

If you’re looking for a reason to take a road trip, look no further than a covered bridges in Ohio driving tour.

With more than 100 covered bridges spanning the state, Ohio is a great place to admire these historic gems. You’ll find covered bridges dotting the landscape from north to south, east to west.

Ohio has big ones! We do, in fact, have the largest multi-span covered bridge in the United States (Ashtabula’s Smolen-Gulf Covered Bridge, 613′ long). And we have small ones too – just look at The West Liberty Covered Bridge (also in Ashtabula County), coming in at just 18 feet!

Our list includes bridges that are close enough (to one another) to provide for a fun driving route. Each of the selections listed below comes with a link for a self-guided tour.

Covered Bridges in Ohio, Listed by County

Covered Bridges in Fairfield County, Ohio

Fairfield County would be a great place to start your adventure. The county sits just a bit southeast of Columbus and lays claim to having the largest number of original covered bridges in Ohio with 17 bridges.

Fairfield County offers a printable great driving trail for the county’s covered bridges and lists more details on their website here.

Fairfield County bridges include:

1. Charles Holdiay Bridge, 96′ long and built in the late 1890s
2. George Hutchins Bridge, built in 1865 on one of the county’s first platted roads
3. Hanaway Bridge, 86′ long and one of only 4 bridges still on its original abutments
4. Hartman #2 Bridge, 48′ long and built in 1888
5. Hizey Bridge (private property), built in 1891, can be seen from the road
6. John Bridge #2 Bridge, buillt in 1881, a rare reverse bow string truss system
7. Johnston Bridge, 98′ long and in its original location
8. John Raab Bridge (private property), built in 1891
9. McCleery Bridge, built in 1883
10. Mink Hollow Bridge, built in 1887, rests on its original abutments
11. R.F. Baker Bridge, built in 1871 and 80′ long
12. Rock Mill Bridge, built in 1901, rests on its original abutments and is 30′ above the Hocking River Gorge
13. Shryer Bridge (private property), built in 1891
14. Stemen House Bridge, built in 1888, the only covered bridge in the county that is open to vehicular traffic
15. Zeller-Smith Bridge, built in 1906, now serves as the gateway to Sycamore Creek Park’s arboretum

Preble County, Your Bridge to Adventure

Preble County is home to eight covered bridges that are still standing, including the oldest covered bridge in Ohio.

6 of the remaining 8 bridges in Preble County were built by Everett S. Sherman (who was awarded a contract to build 15 bridges that were damaged in an 1886 storm).

You can find a map for your driving tour of Preble County here.

Preble County bridges include:

1. Warnke Covered Bridge, built in 1896, the last one built by Sherman
2. Dixon’s Covered Bridge, built in 1887
3. Getting Covered Bridge, built in 1894
4. Christman Covered Bridge, built in 1895
5. Roberts Covered Bridge, built in 1829, the oldest six double barreled bridge and the second oldest covered bridge of any kind in the United States
6. Brubaker Covered Bridge, built in 1887
7. Hueston Woods Covered Bridge, the newest addition, spans 108′, built in 2012
8. Harshman Covered Bridge, built in 1894

The Bridges of Ashtabula County

You can see a number of covered bridges in Ashtabula County, 19 to be exact. The county offers a Covered Bridges Tour Map that will help you find them all while you’re there. Look for the map legend and then find wineries, barn quilts, and the Ashtabula and Conneaut lighthouses too!

The northern and eastern covered bridges driving tour (see numbers 1-13, below) spans a total of 69 miles. The south and western bridges tour (see bridges 14-19, below) span 68 miles.

Ashtabula takes their love of covered bridges seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they have an entire festival centered around them. Their Covered Bridge Festival typically happens in October, a gorgeous time to also admire the fall foliage in Ohio!

Ashtabula County bridges include:

1. Netcher Covered Road Bridge, 110′ long, opened in 1999
2. South Denmark Road Covered Bridge, built in 1890, 81′ long
3. Caine Road Bridge, Ohio’s first Pratt truss bridge, built in 1986, 124′ long
4. Graham Road Bridge, built from remnants of a bridge was downstream from the 1913 flood
5. Root Road Bridge, 114′ long and built in 1868
6. Middle Road Covered Bridge, 136′ long Howe Truss bridge built in 1868
7. Conneaut Creek Covered Bridge, erected in 1983, 152′ long
8. Creek Road Covered Bridge, 125′ long, sits 25′ above Conneaut Creek
9. Benetka Road Bridge, 138′ long, built in 1900
10. Olins Bridge, built in 1873, 115′ long
11. Smolen-Gulf Bridge, the longest covered bridge in the United States, dedicated in 2008, 613′ long and it stands 93′ above the Ashtabula River
12. Riverview Bridge, 150′ long and dedicated in 2016, pedestrian traffic only
13. Giddings Road Covered Bridge, 107′ long and built in 1995
14. Doyle Road Bridge, built in 1868, 94′ long
15. West Liberty Covered Bridge, the shortest covered bridge in the United States, spans 18′,
16. Harpersfield Covered Bridge, 228′ long and the second longest covered bridge in Ohio
17. Mechanicsville Covered Bridge, the longest single-span covered bridge in Ashtabula, 156′ long and built in 1867
18. Riverdale Road Covered Bridge, 114′ long
19. Windsor Mills Bridge, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 120′ long and built in 1867

Washington County, OH and The Covered Bridge Scenic Byway

Washington County is home to six covered bridges and those are very close to a few more in The National Forest. We’re covering them together here.

You’ll want to research the details and history of the bridges in Washington County as their site gives you driving directions for bridges 1-6 (listed below) with just a tiny bit of detail on hte bridges themselves.

Montgomery County bridges include:

1. Harra Covered Bridge, built in 1871
2. Bellridge, circa 1888
3. Shinn Covered Bridge, circa 1886
4. Henry Covered Bridge
5. Root Covered Bridge, circa 1888
6. Mill Branch Covered Bridge, circa 1832

Continue on in southwest Ohio with a drive along The National Forest Covered Bridge Scenic Byway. You’ll follow State Route 26 from Marietta, Ohio to Woodsfield, Ohio. On this trek you’ll see four more covered bridges along with 35 miles of scenery and history.

You’ll find lots of details and stops along the way with the National Forest Covered Bridge Scenic Byway brochure (circa 2016). The brochure says it’s a guide for 35 miles of scenery and history along the Musckingham River. A larger map can be found here.

The National Forest Covered Bridge Scenic Byway tour includes these bridges:

1. Hills Covered Bridge, built in 1878
2. Hune Covered Bridge, built in 1879
3. Rinard Covered Bridge, built in 1875
4. Knowlton Bridge