Ravenna, OH
Northeast Ohio GA reliever, between Akron and Youngstown. Ravenna sits near Brady's Leap on the Cuyahoga River — a 22-foot-wide gap where Captain Samuel Brady allegedly leapt across the river in 1780 to escape pursuing Native Americans. Local Cuyahoga Valley scenery from low altitude is excellent.
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University; four students were killed and nine wounded. The 17-acre site of that day — the Commons, Taylor Hall, the Victory Bell, the Pagoda, and the markers where the four fell — was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2017, placing it alongside sites like Pearl Harbor and the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The May 4 Visitors Center in Taylor Hall tells the story, and a self-guided walk traces the events of that day. It is a place of memory, visited with care.
The only national park between the Mississippi and the Atlantic in this region. The Cuyahoga River winds through 33,000 acres of forested valley between Cleveland and Akron — once so polluted it caught fire in 1969 (an event that helped launch the modern environmental movement), now restored to a thriving river. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad runs through the park. Brandywine Falls (65 feet) is the visual highlight. Beautiful from above, especially in fall.
The 1929 Goodyear Airdock in Akron — once the largest building in the world without interior supports — was built to house the USS Akron and USS Macon, the largest helium-filled airships ever built (785 feet long). Akron was the airship capital of America. Today the Goodyear blimp fleet still operates from the Wingfoot Lake hangar nearby — Wingfoot One, Two, and Three are the modern semi-rigid airships used at NFL games and major sporting events. From the air, the Airdock is one of the most distinctive industrial structures you'll ever see — a massive curved roof that looks like an upturned ship hull.
Military Aviation Preservation Society — a hands-on warbird museum and restoration shop right at Akron-Canton Regional. The collection includes a Martin B-26 Marauder, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, an F-101 Voodoo, F-105 Thunderchief, and dozens of others. Many aircraft are accessible for cockpit visits — kids and pilots alike love climbing in. The MAPS volunteers actively restore aircraft, so visits often include watching welders and mechanics at work. Less famous than the Air Force Museum but absolutely worth the stop on a Cleveland-area trip.