Posted in Hiking

Ohio Lodges Reopen – Trip to Shawnee Lodge

When Deb and I learned that Ohio's lodges were reopening our immediate reaction was "Let's go!". The lodges reopened on June 5th. We made reservations for Shawnee Lodge starting on June 7th. This was our first big trip away from home since the COVID lockdown commenced in March. On the way we stopped at Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve. We've visited Lake Katharine before and it's a favorite - featuring a pristine lake, hills, rare magnolia trees, a waterfall, cliffs, and rock outcroppings. Read more ➜
Posted in Hiking, Park visit

Shawnee Forest Day Hike Trail

This past weekend we decided to hike the 7.2-mile Day Hike Trail in Shawnee State Forest. The Shawnee State Forest is sometimes referred to as the "The Little Smokies of Ohio" because of its hilly terrain. Although much of the trail followed ridgelines along the top of hills, there was a lot of uphill/downhill hiking to get to those ridgelines. The trailhead for the Day Hike Trail is just off SR-125 on the opposite side of the road from the Nature Center in Shawnee State Park. There Read more ➜
Posted in Northeastern Ohio

Punderson Manor Lodge & Conference Center

In May we stayed at Punderson Manor - an English Tudor style lodge located Punderson State Park. The lodge was comfortable and convenient to a variety of natural venues. Oh yes, and it is reputed to be haunted by a dozen ghosts. Haunted Punderson For those living outside Ohio, the following chart is a simple decision tree for determining if a given locale is haunted. Punderson Manor is located next to Punderson Lake - a natural glacial kettle lake that is unusually deep. Read more ➜
Posted in Park visit

Lake Hope Dining Lodge

The dining lodge is one of the attractions of Lake Hope State Park. Originally built in 1950, the lodge burned to the ground in 2006. We visited Lake Hope State Parke several times after the lodge was destroyed, and it was a long drive to find a meal. Happily the lodge was rebuilt last year, and it has resumed serving those visiting and camping in the park as well as the local people of Vinton County. People can hire portions of the lodge for gatherings of all sorts, including conferences, weddings, Read more ➜