Brown County

At some country getaways, “rustic” is code for mildew in the shower, “secluded” means covered in spider webs, and

I came to Brown County the way many of us who live here did—first for a day, then for a weekend, now for good. My husband

In one’s imagination, every twisty gravel road in Brown County leads to a log cabin like Lynn Smith’s: tidy and fetching, rustic yet polished, just right for a game of checkers on the porch.

Make no mistake: The hiking trails in Brown County State Park are among the finest in the country. Still, a walk around much-visited Ogle Lake on an October weekend

Sometimes David Bower, the Pine Room Tavern’s GM and executive chef, has to give directions to city-dwelling callers. Left at the McDonald’s, again at the

What makes this Columbus institution really sweet is the counter-side charm of Wilma Hare and her fellow soda jerks, who will pull you an ice cream soda the way it was in 1900 and serve it with a side of sass: “When that ice cream hits the carbonation, it will explode like a volcano. And I will laugh at the look of panic on your face.”