clifton mill

There're 1.5 million Christmas lights, and a beautiful light show, but lots more to see. There are displays in the buildings--old antique toys, a post office, airport, hospital, library, drive in theater, balloons and even an Ohio State football field with a marching band. Santa's workshop, lots and lots of "Santa dolls, Santa ceramics', etc. You'll definitely come away with some Christmas spirit.:)

We visited Clifton Mill for the first time this Christmas season. We were in the area and decided to stop. It is very pretty at night. However, I don't feel that it is worth a special trip and it certainly isn't worth $10 per person if you've already seen it. It IS worth going once though.

1.5 million Christmas lights around the mill. There is a mini village with everything you can imagine from hospital, library, post office, drive in theater, airport, balloons and even an Ohio State football field with a marching band. It was so beautiful to see Santa's workshop and a real Santa working there, and a museum. It was simply worth every penny. Great for the whole family.

Very nice light display, albeit VERY very crowded, overpriced and muddy. It's $10/person, be prepared wait in long dark lines - standing in mud and lots of traffic. All this for a "side view" of a major light display. Nice display but its a weird layout. There is no perfect place to see the lights. The better spots are popular - many people deep. All of the lights turn on at 6:00. Prior to that it is dark, weirdly very dark...Even with all of their lights turned on, its still quite dark where you walk around(like cattle...)...For the best overall view (in the paid area), do yourself a favor and get to the gorge railing at least a 1/2 hour before the lights start...and don't leave your spot until after the "bridge light show" - one song. From the railing, you'll have a good view of the bridge & gorge lights but only a side view of the mill. From inside the mill's restaurant, there is a perfect view of the bridge & gorge only. There would have been a perfect view of the mill from the covered bridge's windows but they are partially blocked by the windows' rails and more ruined by metal fencing(hardware cloth) covering all of the windows on the mill side. I take it, this is for liability purposes, but the other side has no metal fencing obstructing those views... Plexi glass would have been a more viewer friendly option. Judging by the huge crowd, they can afford it...Fortunately, everyone shared & limited their time at the railing & bridge windows, so we could all, literally, sneak a peak. I wish I'd brought a mono pod to hold up my action cam over the crowd.Upon leaving, we discovered that the best overall view was(would have been..) free - on the road bridge. We only spent 15 minutes at the mill/light area once the lights were turned on - just too crowed for us. We spent two hours driving round trip, from Cincinnati. Thanks to our GPS, we avoided most of the traffic by the mill. Overall, very cool, very crowed and wouldn't do it again. On the fence whether it was worth our time & expense but its now off the bucket list. It we had better access to views, I'd rate this 5 stars.

We visted the Christmas light display at clifton mill on a Monday. We got there at 6 and the parking lot was already full. Best to park along the street and walk. The light display is nice and they have a show every 30 minutes. The minature village was good. The santa display and toy display are both in need of some TLC.

A friend took me to see the lights last Christmas 2013. What a spectacular display! Everywhere you look is another charming scenario. There was a very large crowd, but everyone was polite, making room for short people like me towards the front. The only thing we couldn't do was eat in the restaurant as it was extremely crowded. Will go back again and again. A new Christmas tradition.

The lights really are extraordinary! $10 per adult is a bit pricey though... Try to go on a week night, if you can. It took over an hour to move one mile on Sat, Dec. 13!Park in Clifton and walk, if you can. The Mill is very close to the town center, and you will save lots of time parking!Wear boots! It hasn't been particularly rainy lately, but the ground was super muddy!Make sure you enjoy the view from the balcony! Go thru the restaurant to get there. This is the best place to watch the covered bridge light show!

We visited the Clifton Mill Christmas light show for the first time and were really impressed! We arrived a short while before the lights came on and it was an amazing experience! They also have a covered bridge musical light show every hour that was really neat. Everything was beautiful and the miniature village was perfect down to every little detail. It was a very cold night and we dressed warmly, but it was so nice to be able to go inside the warm gift shop! The beverages and snacks were way overpriced (there were coffee grounds in the bottom of my coffee cup and the pretzels were cold), but the atmosphere and warmth was worth it! You could also go inside and view a vintage toy display and see an incredible collection of Santas. We saw Santa in his workshop, but couldn't go in & there was also a mailbox for kids to put their Santa letters in. (Wish we'd known that beforehand!) My 2 young children and everyone with us really enjoyed it, but $10 admission fees & cold temps dampened the experience just a little! We do plan to go back in the future unless we find something better.

Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to shop in Columbus and after hearing about the Clifton Mill lighting display, we decided to see it. There is a $10 admission fee. There is a wonderful Santa Claus museum, an old toy display and a working grist mill. At 6:00 the lights are lit and there is a covered bridge display that coincides with Christmas music. There is a huge miniature display of the town and a train that goes around...all lit up. Overall, there are almost 4 million lights. It is awe inspiring. We went on a Sunday and the restaurant was closed, but there are snacks and a small gift shop. Allow an hour.

If you love old mills, and restored historic structures, set in an amazing natural setting, then the Clifton Mill is for you! You can wander the premises, walk through an old covered bridge, explore the old-style general store in the Mill, observe the restored mill workings, and enjoy yummy food at the restaurant. The Clifton Mill offers seasonal favorites, like fresh fruit pies in summer, and the Christmas lights show there is legendary! My visits to the Clifton Mill have been in summer, with spectacular hiking in the nearby Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve and John Bryan State Park. If you like Old Man's Cave and the Hocking Hills, you will find the cliffs, rocks, caves, and waterfalls here unrivaled! Truly a hidden treasure! The hikes are best saved for good weather conditions, as the trails are rustic and dangerous in slippery condition. Be sure to bring your camera for great photo ops! Happy exploring!

After enjoying a great meal, with large portions, you can walk it off on their property by walking across an old covered bridge, viewing several historic buildings, and the water wheel.

The food was good- pancakes were enormous!!!! The views of the waterfalls & river was truly the standout to the visit.

Stopped with a Harley MC group during a ride. Unfortunately our stop was too short to get anything to eat. However we walked the grounds met some of the very friendly workers there.I would love to go back and see more of it. There is an reconstructed log cabin on the property amongst other historical items.

Very scenic and historic setting. Huge window you can look out and see the mill and the water race right under you.

We have been to Clifton Mill several times for brunch...it was one of our go-to spots. Decent service, good food and pancakes the size of hub caps. Never had a bad meal there, plus its not a bad place to walk around...oftentimes my wife and I will hike off breakfast there by going through Clifton Gorge...not real strenuous, but very pretty...