Things to do & places to visit in Youngstown, Ohio, United States

Once a thriving steel town, Youngstown suffered an economic decline immortalized in song by Bruce Springsteen. However, the innovative city has made a comeback, spawning a surge in industry, from software to food to the arts. Dozens of galleries, museums, performance venues and historic sites celebrate the culture of the area. Miles of hiking trails and green spaces offer energetic activities to active travelers. Sports are also highly valued, Youngstown being home to a host of pro athletes.

Youngstown municipality in Ohio, United States. Timezone: America/New_York, current date and time: Saturday, May 04, 2024, 21:19.

Top things to do (23)

Top places to visit (30 attractions) view more »

5.0 Mill Creek Park (322 reviews)
- What a gem!
Parks

Ohio's First Park District, established in 1891 by Volney Rogers. From the casual visitor to the local explorer, Mill Creek MetroParks offers a natural escape and recreational activities for the enjoyment of all ages. Come see for yourself. Our mission is to provide park, recreational, and open space facilities of regional significance. In fulfilling this mission our objectives are: To be responsive to community needs, to be environmentally sound, to be adaptable, and to be economically feasible. See more..
5.0 Fellows Riverside Gardens (254 reviews)
- Excellent park; could use more signage
Saturday: 5:00 AM - 9:00 PM Spent 1-2 hours Gardens

Fellows Riverside Gardens is a free public garden located at the northern end of Mill Creek Park. This twelve-acre display garden features a landscape of remarkable beauty with diverse and colorful plant displays, roses of all classes, seasonal displays of annuals, perennials, flowering bulbs, and scenic vistas. The magnificent D.D. and Velma Davis Education & Visitor Center makes the Gardens a destination for all seasons. Fellows Riverside Gardens is one of Ohio’s finest public gardens and attracts over 400,000 visitors a year. See more..
5.0 The Butler Institute of American Art (201 reviews)
- World Class!
Saturday: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM Art Museums

WOW!! World class art museum!! One of the best I have been to. This place has a little of everything, surprises around every corner. I highly recommend visiting this museum if you are anywhere near Youngstown! See more..
5.0 Stambaugh Auditorium (27 reviews)
- Old Style Auditorium
Theaters

Older architecture with a nice acoustical sound decor. Nice sized so as to offer great seating just about anywhere. See more..
5.0 Biker Brewhouse (9 reviews)
- Yes! Must go!!!
Saturday: 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM Breweries

Great place! If you’re staying in the area or out for a drive/ride you must stop at the Biker Brewhouse. The atmosphere was totally different from anything else in the area. Terrific beer (Ball Bearing Blond was my favorite!) Great food from the food truck. The day we went they had a smoker going and a band! The service was friendly. Must stop!!! See more..
5.0 Home Again Consignment Furniture Store (3 reviews)
- Awesome shop!
Saturday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Antique Shops

Amazing shop with a huge inventory of fantastic pieces! The arrangements are awesome and really showcase the furniture in a home type setting. Even the signs are beautiful! Great spot whether you need a dining room table or some cool new art. 5 stars! See more..
5.0 MetroParks Farm (2 reviews)
- Great place for Little Ones!
Farms

I only recently discovered Mill Creek Metroparks Farm. I knew about it, but it's not located inside the main park. I wish I knew about this interactive farm when my daughter was little. Toddler and preschool age to be exact. We would have spent hours in the playroom. I took two tweens with me in early June. The girls had a good time. I think their favorite part of the farm was seeing all the baby animals that had been born a month or two prior. Everything is free and it's a great boredom buster when the kids are out of school. See more..
5.0 St Mark's Victory Lutheran Church (1 review)
- Lutheran Tradtition still holds
Saturday: Spent 1-2 hours Architectural Buildings • Scenic Walking Areas • Churches & Cathedrals
My wife used to talk about her Lutheran Upbringing in the 70s. This was the first church that we had found which still held with the traditional Lutheran Call and Response format. The church is small but very welcoming. Over half the church families greeted my wife when we stopped in at the church. There is a strong love of God here and Deacon delivered a powerful message. If you would like to see how Church was in the past or miss the old style of service, I strongly encourage you to come and visit St Marks. And stay for the after service fellowship of cookies and coffee. See more..
4.5 White House Fruit Farm Inc. (272 reviews)
- apple cider time
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Speciality & Gift Shops

What a great place. If you like apple cider, lunchmeat, baked goods and fresh doughnuts, Whitehouse is the place for you. They have the best doughnuts in Northeast Ohio. Fresh made daily. Great freshmade peanut butter and fudge and pies. Everything here is wonderful. In the fall, great apple cider and many weekend activities. See more..
4.5 Lanterman's Mill (167 reviews)
- Photography Favorite.
Historic Sites

- Temporarily closed See more..
4.5 OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science & Technology (61 reviews)
- Glad i had granchild, as excuse to go
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Spent 1-2 hours Children's Museums

OH WOW!TM’s colorful, hands-on environment encourages independent thinking through interactive STEM-based exhibits and EDUtaining programs.” See more..
4.5 Boardman Park (59 reviews)
- Huge park with lots of options for fun
Saturday: 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM Parks

Playgrounds, sand volleyball courts, softball fields, picnic areas, nature trails, disc golf and probably a lot more, but we only stayed for two hours. A great escape from lights and sounds and the busy life. See more..
4.5 Mr. Darby's Antique & Collectible Emporium (34 reviews)
- Like walking into wonderland
Spent 2-3 hours Antique Shops

Had an incredible experience on my day off at Mr Darby's. So many items ranging from vintage to retro to antique I was fascinated for over an hour. Was especially in love with his selection of real turquoise and gemstone jewelry. Prices were ridiculously Fair I don't think there's another place like it on this planet. We will definitely be back See more..
4.5 Youngstown Museum Of industry And Labor (31 reviews)
- Interesting
Saturday: 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM History Museums

I have always found a certain coolness about rust belt cities. This museum provides a GREAT history of the steel industry. These former mills built America. The workers stood up for themselves and demanded better wages and working conditions. There is a model train/Steel mill. My photo is of a vintage Buick, they still make GREAT American cars today. See more..
4.5 Arms Family Museum (31 reviews)
- Christmas Nostalgia
Speciality Museums

We make this a yearly trip, as the displays change yearly. The displays were of ornaments of past days bringing back the fond memories of our childhood Christmas. There are also displays of Youngstown history. Take your time and enjoy the flood of memories this place brings! See more..
4.5 De Yor Performing Arts Center (24 reviews)
- Christmas Concert
Theaters

This restored theater is remarkable - with awesome acoustics for enjoying the music. We had dinner at the restaurant adjoining the theater and the food and service were great. See more..
4.5 Paladin Brewing (9 reviews)
- Great beer and great atmosphere!!
Saturday: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM Breweries

Paladin is a great local craft brewery with 16 delicious beers on tap. I have tasted them all and they are all great beers! The bar is a nice relaxing place to actually be able to talk to someone without really loud music. I high recommend stopping in for a beer! See more..
4.5 Ward Beecher Planetarium (9 reviews)
- Science Lover's Free Dream Attraction
Saturday: Observatories & Planetariums
During the school year, the Planetarium puts on free shows for the public, usually on Friday and Saturday nights. You have to arrive on time as they lock the doors when the show is scheduled to start. The shows are really very good, and the planetarium at YSU is one of the only in NE Ohio. It has also been recently updated with new seats and a new star projector. If you decide to attend YSU, if you take Astronomy 1504 or the lab, you get to use the planetarium for some of your classes, which is really pretty neat. See more..
4.5 Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (7 reviews)
- Nice place
Spent < 1 hour Churches & Cathedrals

The Basilica was very pretty and well maintained. We didn't get to go inside. The Outside grounds are well worth a sunny afternoon stroll for an hour. See more..
4.0 Covelli Centre (39 reviews)
- Good and the bad
Spent 2-3 hours Civic Centres

Covelli Centre is a hockey arena in Youngstown Ohio. The parking lot is large with easy to enter. We attended a Marshall Tucker Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert. The seating was good as it's a small venue. Lots of beer and alcohol stands and snacks. The concert was fantastic. I highly advise everyone to attend a Skynyrd Concert at least once in their life. We had a fantastic time. No we the bad. Leaving the parking lot is a traffic nightmare. It took us 1 hour to just get to the main road. Plan ahead or look for parking elsewhere. See more..
4.0 Four Seasons Flea Market (21 reviews)
- Love it!!!!
Flea & Street Markets
Great selection - close to our home but yet far enough away for it to be a fun day trip!! Not a rutted up field but paved parking lot with wide open walking/strolling/meandering as compared to the other large flea market on the Eastern side of the state. Great vendors inside and out and THEY HAVE MODERN BATHROOMS!!!! I would rather go here than any of the others in the region (75-80 miles) See more..
4.0 Vintage VanBlair Antiques and Oddities (6 reviews)
- One of a kind shop and a must-stop!
Spent < 1 hour Antique Shops

Vintage VanBlair Antiques and Oddities has an eclectic mix of quality items ranging from mid century, industrial and oddities to primitives and antiques. We feature nine curated vendors each with their own unique aesthetic. We also carry Heirloom Traditions paint and hand-painted furniture. See more..
4.0 James L. Wick, Jr. Recreation Area (2 reviews)
- Nice playground
Parks • Playgrounds
My kids (1&3) really enjoyed the splash pad! It's a nice park with lots to do. We stayed on the playground side, so I'm not really sure what else was there. But the playground and splash pad were awesome! See more..
4.0 The Soap Gallery (1 review)
- Local art with attitude
Art Galleries
This out of the way little gallery has much to offer. Best to go when they're also hosting a special (often music) event. As with many galleries, what you see depends on who's stuff is being displayed at any given time. See more..
4.0 The Melnick Medical Museum (1 review)
- Intriguing Medical Memorabilia
Spent < 1 hour Speciality Museums

If you are a healthcare provider looking for a really neat medical museum in the area, I definitely recommend stopping by YSU to view their displays. The main website dedicated to the medical museum does not list that it has closed, but if you click on the "Visit" tab it informs you that the main museum has closed but suitcase tours are still available, so unfortunately my sister-in-law (she is a surgeon, I am a nurse) and I couldn't view the Iron Lung, but we still found the displays interesting enough to add this attraction to tripadvisor. When you walk into the entrance of Cushwa Hall facing Lincoln Ave, you will be in the basement, and the displays start at the first staircase, and continue on both sides of the main hall. Then there are several more fascinating displays on the 2nd and 3rd floor. We found the morphine sugar syrup and cocaine lozenges to sooth your child's irritability most amusing. Viewing and reading all of the displays only takes about 45 minutes, but since the campus is easy to find with metered parking right outside, a nice coffee shop right across the street, and we felt they put together this collection very nicely, we highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area or passing through. See more..
3.5 Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Valley Racecourse (170 reviews)
- Clean and well organized.
Casinos
All in all it was a good time. Probably less than half the machines were available due to social distancing but we had no problem finding one to play. The girl at the bar was continuously cleaning/sanitizing the bar area in between customers. See more..
3.5 Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Valley Race Course (79 reviews)
- A fun place to spend some time
Casinos • Horse Tracks

Although we left some of our money there, we had a great time. We previously left with some so it actually evened out. We met up with some family there and they also liked it. Smoke free and plenty of machines. See more..
3.5 Chuck E. Cheese's (12 reviews)
- Fun time for little kids!!
Saturday: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM Amusement & Theme Parks

We love that they still have the characters that move. The kids love climbing in the play area. It is great that this location still has this for kids and aren't focused on only having games that make money. However, it would be great if this location would invest in a shoe holder while kids are climbing so people are not tripping over shoes. The best change they have made is the all you can play. This option allows kids to play/ride more and get more tickets for a decent price. I highly recommend going to their website and printing out coupons to get the all you can play cards cheaper. See more..
3.5 Youngstown Steel Heritage Museum (6 reviews)
- Small but nice place to visit
Spent < 1 hour History Museums

Youngstown Steel Heritage is a volunteer run non profit organization dedicated to preserving various pieces of steelmaking and railroad equipment. The facility is a work in progress and while we welcome visitors please be aware that this is not a formal museum, but rather a collection of equipment in an industrial setting. We do not have regular hours at this time so we recommend that you call or email ahead of time to make sure that our people are on site for your visit. Thanks! See more..
Blazed and Bedazzled (0 review)
Art Galleries
See more..