Discover Morrow County

Morrow County Between Motor Racing and Nature

Morrow County brings together motorsports, nature experiences and local history. Your choice of destination may depend on whether you’re planning a trip around a motor racing event, spending time on trails or exploring historic sites in Mount Gilead. These themes are distinct: the racetrack and driving courses sit alongside natural areas with designated trails and several historic points of interest.

Motor Racing and Driving Courses

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road racing circuit in Morrow County near the village of Lexington. It hosts racing series such as IndyCar, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, as well as other club events. If you want to plan your trip around a particular race, check the event dates before making plans.

The permanent racetrack has two main configurations: 2.4 miles with 15 turns or 2.258 miles with 13 turns. The longer configuration also has two more turns. Mid-Ohio School is also part of the racing scene: it offers professional driving and motorcycle courses for participants of all experience levels.

Trails and Natural Areas

Picnicking, fishing and hiking are available year-round at Mt. Gilead State Park. The park has 6.5 miles of trails, including a two-mile multi-use trail for hikers and horseback riders. Alongside the total mileage, this provides a clearly specified trail option for both activities.

Flying Squirrel Preserve offers more than four miles of scenic trails through a landscape of forests, ravines and ponds. Fishing is permitted on a catch-and-release basis in a designated area of the north pond. The trail figures therefore differ from those for the state park: the preserve has more than four miles of trails, while the park has 6.5 miles, including a separately specified multi-use trail.

At Gleason Family Nature Preserve, plant and animal life is considered relatively healthy based on preliminary assessments. A specific change to the landscape occurred in 2017, when beaver-caused backwater flooding affected nearly 20 acres of previously wet forest and increased the diversity of aquatic plants and animals. This time frame makes the change a distinct aspect of the county’s natural areas.

Local History in Mount Gilead

Cross House was built in 1829 and is the last of five timber-frame houses from that period still standing in the village of Mount Gilead. Morrow County Courthouse was built in 1854 and designed by David Auld. The two dates provide a brief timeline for these buildings.

Morrow County Historical Society History Center is located at the southwest corner of the square in Mount Gilead. Victory Shaft stands in North Square. A small memorial cemetery at Headwaters Outdoor Education Center is across from the old County Home Barn. These places complement the architectural history with a monument and a memorial site, without implying that they must be visited as part of a single route.

Getting Around and Planning Your Trip

For geographic orientation, Interstate 71 runs from Morrow County’s southern border through its eastern edge. The Interstate 71 corridor in the county has two interchanges that provide, among other connections, routes to Cleveland and Louisville. This information places the county geographically; it does not indicate specific driving times between the named places and individual destinations.

Explore more destinations: Mount Gilead, Fulton County, Crawford County, Hardin County, Lorain, Scioto County, Lawrence, Mahoning

For the broader travel overview: Ohio.