A Free Horse Parade Worth the Drive North
About 90 minutes from Dayton and closer to two hours from Cincinnati, the city of Delaware, Ohio hosts one of the region’s more unusual free family outings: a parade made up almost entirely of horses. The All Horse Parade steps off at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, from the main gate of the Delaware County Fairgrounds, kicking off the week leading into the Delaware County Fair.
The lineup includes horses, ponies, wagons, carriages, marching bands and riders in Western dress, moving through downtown Delaware before looping back to the fairgrounds. Admission is free, and no tickets or reservations are required to watch.
What Families Will See
The parade leaves the fairgrounds main gate onto Pennsylvania Avenue, then works through a loop of downtown Delaware streets, including North Sandusky Street, West Winter Street, North Liberty Street, Lincoln Avenue and Euclid Avenue, before re-entering the fairgrounds through the Euclid Avenue gate. According to the fair’s website, the parade is among the largest annual horse parade gatherings east of the Mississippi, though that claim comes from the fair itself rather than an independent count.
The full loop is 2.3 miles, so families should plan for a route that takes some time to pass a given viewing spot.
Good to Know Before You Go
Because the parade is circular, families can pick a spot anywhere along the route rather than needing to be near the fairgrounds gate. Bringing lawn chairs is common practice for a parade this size, and arriving before 3 p.m. is worth doing since good curbside spots along a downtown route tend to fill in ahead of the actual start time. The parade route closes area streets to traffic during the event, so families driving in should build in extra time to park and walk to their viewing spot.
Why It’s Worth the Trip
The All Horse Parade opens the run-up to the Delaware County Fair, which runs Sept. 19-26, 2026, and includes the Little Brown Jug, one of harness racing’s marquee events, on Sept. 24. Families making the drive north for the parade could reasonably extend the trip into fair week itself, though the parade stands on its own as a single-afternoon outing that doesn’t require fair admission.
Plan Your Visit
- What: All Horse Parade
- When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026
- Where: Steps off from the Delaware County Fairgrounds main gate, 236 Pennsylvania Ave., Delaware, OH 43015
- Admission: Free
- Official site: delawarecountyfair.com/all-horse-parade
