ATHENS, HOCKING VALLEY
EATING AND SLEEPING
IN THE ATHENS AREA
In the Hocking Hills region, there are plentiful cabins, bed-and-breakfasts, and other amenities; for a guide to these visit the website at: www.hockinghills.com. In Nelsonville there is a fine restaurant on the square, Rhapsody (18 Public Square, 740-753-5740).
Overnight accomodations with character, apart from the nearby Hocking HIlls locations, are sparse: try the Ohio University Inn in Athens (331 Richland Avenue, 740-593-6661). Picturesque, small-scaled commerce stretches northward down Court Street in Athens, much of it oriented to the thousands of university students who have made Ohio U one of the nation’s top-rated “party” schools.
University students and faculty, in the 1970’s, also made Athens an early center of what is now known as the “locavore” movement. Today many restaurants follow the lead of the original, the Casa Nueva (still operating at 4 W State Street, 740-592-2016), in buying locally grown meat and produce and listing the sources in their menus. Excellent dining is available at Zoe (24 1/2 East State Street, 740-592-4443), or around the corner at Stephen’s (66 N Court Street, 740-594-7132).
This lively university town centers on Court Street, with its shops and bars, and a couple of fine, locavore restaurants.
