Covered Bridge Trail in Marysville and Union County, Ohio

Explore a northwestern part of Central Ohio in an fun and adventurous way this Summer – and through the rest of the year with the Covered Bridge Trail in Marysville and Union County, Ohio.

There are 24 stops on this fun trail, including the central feature – seven instagrammable historic covered bridges in Marysville and Union County, Ohio.

The trail also leads travelers to 16 other stops that make this a special place to visit, including, great food, locally made craft beer and wine, sweet treats, cool shops and even a mural celebrating local bridge building history. Some of these other stops have a creative connection to the region’s covered bridges.

Use the GPS-enabled Cover Bridge Trail at Go.visitunioncounty.org to check in when you’re at the stops. Visit nine or more of the stops to be registered to win great prizes, including monthly giveaways of local goodies and a year-end grand prize gift basket with a Union County Getaway.

After nine stops, every participant also earns a fun pair of covered bridge-shaped sunglasses. You’ll get a text to pick up your prize at the Visitors Center at Union Station 1820, located at 109 E. Fifth St. in historic uptown Marysville.

Spain Creek Covered Bridge

In addition to bridges, the trail features more than a dozen other stops, including breweries, restaurants and more that feature special offerings inspired by local covered bridge history.

Get a limited-edition bottle of Covered Bridge Red, featuring Pottersburg Covered Bridge on the label at Dalton Union Winery & Brewery. Order a two-layered strawberry lemon Covered Bridge Wine Slushy at Bokes Creek Winery or the Ice Chocolate-Covered Cherry Bridge Strato at Eda’s Italian. Both aim to imitate the multi-layer structure of covered bridges .

Other fun themed suggestions on the stop include:

Benny’s Pizza Buck Run Italian Sub
1487 Brewery’s Griddled Buck Run Bologna sandwich
Union County Beer Barrel Pizza & Grill’s Bigelow cocktail
Rhetoric Brewing Company’s Partridge Truss, a blackberry hard cider that pays homage to famed bridge builder Reuben L. Partridge

A Massive mural honoring Partridge that graces Uptown Marysville is yet another stop on the trail.

Want more covered bridge experiences? There are are a few Dine on a Covered Bridge experiences, which feature twinkling lights, live music, and local food, wine and craft beer. Tickets for these lunch and dinner events are very limited and available at DineonaCoveredBridge.com.

Covered Bridges in Marysville and Union County

Big Darby Creek Covered Bridge

Bigelow Covered Bridge (1873) Named for Eliphas Bigelow, whose family founded Plain City, this 102-foot-long bridge underwent extensive renovation in 1990, including a new arch system to carry the weight of traffic across Little Darby Creek.

Buck Run Covered Bridge (2006) The longest single-span wooden bridge in Ohio, this is the third bridge to be built on this site. The first was a covered bridge; the second a steel truss bridge. Now, this modern two-lane covered bridge crosses the Big Darby Creek and is 160 feet long.

Culbertson Covered Bridge (1868) Originally located on State Route 4, the Cuthbertson Bridge was moved to this spot prior to 1922. In 1977, a runaround was constructed so farm equipment and other heavy vehicles can bypass the bridge. With an original price tag of $1,375, this 94-foot-long bridge spans the Treacle Creek.

North Lewisburg Covered Bridge (2006) This bridge replaced the historic Pottersburg Bridge, which was moved to make room for a new bridge with modified Pratt truss with substructures built out of the creek at a cost of $1.6 million. Spanning the Big Darby Creek, this bridge is 135 feet long.

Pottersburg Covered Bridge (1868) Replaced when its vintage one-lane bridge could no longer handle increasing traffic when Honda built their North American Headquarters in Marysville, Pottersburg Bridge is now available for special events and is part of a 1.9-mile paved multi-purpose Rails-to-Trails path spanning the old rail bed at 94 feet long.

Spain Creek Covered Bridge (1870s) This quaint bridge is one of Union County’s smallest, housing a “bridge-within-a-bridge” concept that allows the covered bridge to rest, while the bridge inside carries the weight of the traffic. This bridge has been rehabilitated after heavy machinery damaged the overhead braces in 2008 and 2016. This bridge spans Spain Creek and is 64 feet long.

Streng Road Bridge (1914) Built to replace the covered bridge that was destroyed in the great 1913 flood, Union County received special recognition in 1993 for renovating this beauty. Its original ornamentation and decorative are elements all still in place. This 200-footer crosses Big Darby Creek and is the only non-covered bridge to be listed on the official Ohio Historic Bridge registry.

Thompson Road Covered Bridge (2010) Originally built in 1881, the first covered bridge built on this location was destroyed by a devastating flood in 1913. Inspired by the architecture of local farm buildings, this beautiful modern-day bridge is much different from its predecessor in that it has two lanes and can carry today’s heavy traffic loads 125 feet across Mill Creek.

All images courtesy of Marysville & Union County Convention & Visitors Bureau.