By far one of the prettiest college towns in the country, Bowling Green offers a picture-perfect downtown, complete with beautiful historic architecture, brick-paved walkways, planters filled with colorful flowers, period lighting, the prerequisite art-deco movie theater, and even a lively mural or two. Bowling Green is home to Bowling Green State University, one of the country’s top-ranking universities. It is located about 22 miles south of Toledo and about two hours west of Cleveland.

The city’s parks include the Black Swamp Preserve, a park that reflects the city’s beginnings as part of the Great Black Swamp that once covered much of Northwestern Ohio. Wintergarden Woods, another terrific park, offers hiking, wildlife viewing, and a nature center. During winter, Conneaut Haskins Park is popular for its sledding hill, one of the largest in the city.

First settled in 1832, Bowling Green began as a small farming community. It was slow to grow — by the time in incorporated in 1855, there were only 160 residents living here. Today, that number is over 30,000. But while the landscape has grown and changed considerably, Bowling Green retains its small-town, historic charm. Bowling Green is home to the Black Swamp Arts Festival, the National Tractor Pull, and the Wood County Fair.