Sugarcreek is a small town in northeast Ohio where rolling, green hills dive into flat valleys and beech-tree woods comprise the surrounding Appalachian Plateau region. Amish families saw Sugarcreek’s secluded hills and valleys as ideal farm grounds for crops like corn and alfalfa and members of the community continue to live and farm here.

The area’s dozens of wineries have Germanic roots, as German settlers brought over their winemaking heritage, and the Sugarcreek area produces some of Ohio’s most-loved white wines, from crisp riesling to chardonnay and pinot grigio.

If you’re looking to get outdoors, there are dense woods ready to be explored at nearby park grounds including Malabar Farm State Park. The park’s Butternut Trail is covered in a tunnel of beech and maple trees, where you can look for resident foxes and barred owls. In town, traditional taverns make welcoming pit stops, while sweet treats on offer include handcrafted donuts.

Summers in Sugarcreek are warm and humid, making this a great time to try a cold, refreshing white wine from a local producer. Winter is very cold, and snow is common. Renting a cabin in Sugarcreek at this time of year allows for toasty nights around the fireplace. A visit to the Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market with its dozens of vendors is a popular way to beat the cold — you’ll find homemade jams, hand-painted ceramics, and other locally-made goods.

Heading out into Ohio’s hill country during the cooler weather in spring offers a chance to see the season’s blooming wildflowers, including wild geraniums and purple cress flowers. Fall transitions from cool days to colder, humid weather. You can see spectacular local fall foliage by hiking through sections of the 20-mile Holmes County Trail, a wide paved area with bushy red and orange-leafed maple trees lining the pathway.

The Norma Johnson Center Hiking Trail

Flat, green meadows and blackberry bushes fill the 300-acre Norma Johnson Center Hiking Trail, which offers three different trail options 10 minutes from town. The 1.3-mile conservation loop trail leads you through open fields and small ponds, eventually arriving at a wooden suspension bridge where you can spot colorful wildlife including bluebirds and tree and barn swallows.

Beach City Wildlife Reserve

Fifteen minutes north of Sugarcreek lies the Beach City Wildlife Reserve. At the entrance, you can take the unmarked trail on your right for a two-mile hike to Dundee Falls. Tall beech trees run alongside the walking path as you pass rock-filled creeks, eventually leading to Dundee Falls, where creek water cascades over a tall rock ledge. Woodland residents including foxes, beavers, and deer are known to make an appearance.

Alpine Hills Museum

The three-story Alpine Hills Museum in downtown Sugarcreek highlights the town’s mix of Amish, Swiss, and German heritage through antique exhibits and traditional clothes representing each background. The collection covers much of Switzerland’s influence in the region, from the Swiss architecture left in Sugarcreek to cheese chalets that still form part of an important industry in Ohio today.