Buckeye Treat Trail in Columbus, Ohio

Experience Columbus, the Columbus Ohio Visitors Bureau, launched the Buckeye Treat Trail in August. As soon as I saw an article about it, I wanted to do it. A buckeye candy is a peanut butter ball dipped in chocolate. They resemble the nut from the Buckeye tree, which is the state tree of Ohio. Brutus Buckeye is also the mascot of Ohio State, so buckeye candies are very big around here.

The first recipes for buckeyes started appearing in the 1960’s. They are not hard to make and John and I have made them together several times. The fudgy peanut butter center surrounded by semi-sweet chocolate is delicious fresh. The Anthony-Thomas Candy Company jumped on the buckeye bandwagon early, and buckeyes are their #1 seller.

The Buckeye Treat Trail has 17 locations all over Columbus. If you visit four of them, you can get a t-shirt. The Yard Milkshake Bar was the first place we went that is on the Buckeye Treat Trail. The second place we went is the Buckeye Candy Company in Gahanna. It was a beautiful afternoon for a drive, so Tom and I decided to check out some places in Gahanna.

I expected the Buckeye Candy Company to be a place that made candies. I was wrong. Instead, they have a wonderful collection of vintage, modern, and foreign candies. It was fun to walk around the shop and talk to Tom about memories that different candies bring up.

When I was little, we used to go watch my father playing softball. One of the fields we went to had a concession booth with all kinds of penny candies. Mom would each of us kids a nickel that we could spend however we wanted. My sister liked Pixy Stix, which was a way to get pure sugar into her system as quickly as possible. My brother liked those little wax bottles filled with fruit flavored syrup. I usually got Turkish Taffy because it lasted a long, long time.

Buckeye Candy Company had all those treats. They also had fudge and buckeyes that were, disappointingly, made outside of Columbus. The Waggoner buckeyes are made in North Canton, so at least they are made in Ohio. The fudge was made in Indiana. In addition, the candy company had McVities Digestives, so we were able to replenish our stock.

It was really fun to look around the Buckeye Candy Company. We bought some buckeyes, some digestives, and a few other candies to share.

After checking out this stop along the Buckeye Treat Trail, Tom and I headed to Creekside Park in downtown Gahanna. We were on a scouting trip to be sure that Café Creekside was handicapped accessible for my dad. But we also wanted to walk the trails along Big Walnut Creek. The park is absolutely beautiful, with wonderful landscaping set next to fountains and apartment buildings and shops. Lots of people were out enjoying the beautiful day.