Hidden in plain sight: How Hamilton, OH can be your next one-day escape

The secret charm of a small historic gem you’ve been overlooking

NOTE: Before reading this blog, plan this excursion ahead of time. The Salty Dog Car Museum is by appointment only on Thursdays or Saturdays, so call first.

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When you have an empty nester day to explore Greater Cincinnati’s environs, give Hamilton, OH a try. You won’t regret it. This underrated small town, only 20 miles from Cincinnati, has so much to offer. What we outline here is a one-day excursion, but you can easily come back for a second or third day and fit in other things, too. We’ll leave that for another blog. On this trip we focused on Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, Billy Yanks Restaurant and Bourbon Bar, Venice Pavilion Antiques and Salty Dog Car Museum (in Shandon).

Start your day with a drive through Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park

A rare treasure in the middle of Hamilton, you’ll find a 470-acre park filled with an array of outdoor sculptures. This unique collection of crazy sculptures started when Harry T. Wilkes bought land to build his ‘Pyramid House’ in 1987. Over time, he bought more parcels of land thinking he would build a golf course that never materialized. Instead, he started bringing in random large outdoor sculptures. Most sculptures are visible by car, or by rentable golf cart, but some have to be viewed by walking down offshoot pathways. From abstract pieces to Disney-style iterations, there is something for everyone to ponder.

When you get to the Pyramid house, make sure you get out of your car or cart and go inside. Part home, part museum, you’ll find authentic sarcophagi, mosaics from ancient Pompeii, and Egyptian coffins. It turns out Mr. Wilks had a fond appreciation for ancient Rome and Egypt. You don’t see this kind of thing every day in the Midwest, so take the time to peruse the artifacts.

Plan on an hour and a half or two if you want to see every sculpture and go inside the Pyramid house. If you want to skip lunch at Billy Yanks (next entry), you may want to bring lunch and picnic in the park.

File this park away under the ‘bizarre, but interesting.’

We’re not yanking your chain, Billy Yanks’ menu ranks near the top

So, you’ve worked up an appetite after Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park. What’s for lunch, you ask? Located on Main Street, Billy Yanks seems like an unassuming corner restaurant from the outside. Step inside though, take a gander at their menu and you’ll instantly understand that this is no normal eating locale. Your taste buds will do flips just reading the menu. Will you order the homemade mac and cheese topped with Grippo’s BBQ chips--are you even Cincinnatian if this doesn’t tickle a taste bud or two? Or will you tempt your taste buds with the Cavalry burger--pepper jack, bacon, crispy jalapenos and jalapeno ranch, intertwined in a delicate dance together? Or can you even resist Billy’s Filet-O-Fish made with fresh fried fish topped with a slice of American cheese, oozing with bespoke tartar sauce? This is the kind of food sure to bring Guy Fieri to his knees, or at least make him take two bites. IYKYK. Make this a stop on today’s route.

Put the day in overdrive with a visit to the Salty Dog Car Museum

Put the pedal to the metal. Drive the 20 minutes from Billy Yanks, and find the Salty Dog Car Museum in Shandon, OH. This will be the best part of the day. When you walk in, you’ll get Detroit Ford Piquette Plant or Henry Ford Museum vibes.

And that’s not all, they even have an Ohio fire truck museum, too. This place is literally on fire! All the fire trucks but a couple are restored with working engines. They have a group of volunteer engineers and current/retired firefighters working together to restore these large engine trucks. Quite impressive!

We don’t want to spoil the entire surprise here as we want you to discover this hidden gem for yourself, but this is quite obviously a huge labor of love for the two people who started this legacy--Ron Miller and Mark Radtke. In short, Ron has been restoring 100-150 model ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘T’ engines per year for 35 years, while Mark was a mechanical engineer with an antique car hobby since he was 14. They had a dream to race a car in the Bonneville Salt Flats in Salt Lake City, AZ…and it lead to this amazing museum.

We were lucky enough to meet Mark the day we went and he radiated passion. It was such a pleasure to speak with him, learn about how he and Ron birthed this idea and how they arrived at today’s non-profit museum. You could just feel his drive. It made all the cars roar!

Do pay Salty Dog Car Museum a visit, do bring a $7 donation and DON’T forget to make an appointment.

Venice Pavilion Antique Shop

On your way home, stop at this corner antique store. You may just find that old cast iron corn bread pan you’ve been looking for or an old pair of ice skates that makes your ankles bleed just looking at them. I happened to find an old Dynamite Magazine circa 1976 with an article about how rubber ducks got associated with Jeep. ‘Pig Pen, this here is Rubber Duck. I’m about to put the hammer down.’ The stop was totally worth it for us just for this one find. Another one of our mantras: never pass up an antique store.

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Hamilton, OH isn’t just another dot on the map. It’s a charming story. Come for the sculpture park, uncover the car museum, stay for good eats. And there’s so much more to explore, too. Skip it and you’ll miss a best-kept secret!