Events Calendar
Covered Bridges
Location: Athens County
Contact: Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Phone: 1-800-878-9767
Living History
America’s covered bridges are one of the nation’s most treasured architectural achievements, and Athens County is proud to claim three of the eighteen covered bridges in the Hocking Hills region.
Popular in the late 1800s, covered bridges served two purposes: their barn-like appearance made it easier to transport cattle across them; and builders discovered that protecting a bridge’s underpinnings with a roof meant the bridge could stand for seventy to eighty years, as opposed to an uncovered bridge's lifespan of ten to fifteen years.
The back roads of Athens County are home to:
Blackwood Covered Bridge
Blackwood Road (Co. Rd. 46)
Built in 1881, the Blackwood Bridge spans Shade Creek.
Kidwell Covered Bridge
Township Rd. 332, spanning Sunday Creek
photo by Steve Mather
Palos Covered Bridge
Township Rd. 347, spanning Sunday Creek
