Ohio Road Trip: Geneva-on-the-Lake

A visit to family friendly Geneva-on-the-Lake makes for a great family vacation in Ohio this summer!

This post was written in partnership with The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake and Lake Erie Canopy Tours.

I continue to be surprised by the variety of getaways there are to be found in Ohio! {Read 5 of the Best Things About Ohio} Ohio is underrated, as far as I am concerned, and recently we took a trip that proved that point to me yet again!

We were invited to spend the night at The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake, a beautiful resort with great lakeside views, fine dining and it’s own adventurous attraction: Lake Erie Canopy Tours.

Here are a Few of the Best Things to do with Your Family at Geneva-on-the-Lake in Ohio:

1. The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake

We arrived at the Lodge on a Friday afternoon and the boys enjoyed exploring our hotel rooms.

We’ve only recently just begun to re-try hotels with kids (after one scarring experience with our then 2 year old)! I’m happy to report that hotel experiences have since improved, so if you’re in that “oh my gosh no one gets any sleep staying in a hotel room with our kids is the worst I’ll never do this again” phase, there’s hope. 😉

The Lodge generously provided us with adjoining hotel rooms, so that was a huge plus, I’ll admit! But the rooms with a sitting area are a great size on their own!

• Related: 6 Easy Day Trips from Columbus, Ohio that are Perfect for Families

2. Horizons Restaurant

We had dinner at Horizons Restaurant, located inside The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake, which has a kids menu, and a great view. There is a dress code for the restaurant but it doesn’t have to be super fancy. I was relieved to find that were not the only ones eating there with kids, either.

The Lodge has an indoor and an outdoor pool, outdoor fire pits and a rec room with board games and a few arcade games. My kids enjoyed playing checkers in the lobby and exploring the gift shop! The grounds are beautiful and provide opportunity for walking along the water or sitting outside to relax.

In the morning, Horizons Restaurant hosts a really great breakfast buffet.

We had our choice of eggs, bacon, sausage, quiche, potatoes, oatmeal, stuffed pancakes, french toast plus all the usuals of a continental breakfast: cold cereal, pastries, toast and bagels, etc. There was also an omelet station with a designated chef!

3. Lake Erie Canopy Tours at Geneva-on-the-Lake

On Saturday morning, the kids took to the trees for the Kids Adventure Course at Lake Erie Canopy Tours, which is owned by The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake and, conveniently, on the same property.

I’ll admit when I was booking this trip I had my doubts. My kids are a little bit on the young end for this course and they can both be pretty cautious at times.

But both of my kids jumped into this, proving me wrong! The kids go through a course of ropes, bridges, balance beams and at the end, a zip line! We had some struggles along the way with our 3 year old but he made it through!

They were pretty proud of themselves for making it through the course, however we couldn’t get them to conquer the zip line and both had to be rescued at the end!

The course is geared for ages 4 to 10. I’d say it totally depends on the kid, but I think kids 6 and up would enjoy it the most.

There is an Adventure Course for adults available for older kids and adults. It looked amazing. I’ll admit I would have been scared, but my husband was itching to do it! Also available for adults is the Canopy Tour – a 2.5 hour guided zip line tour!

The adult Adventure Course is a two hour course, so it wasn’t possible for us to do it while we had the kids there. If you’d like to do the adult course, this would be an obstacle to consider, so maybe going with another family or having grandpa and grandma along on the trip could be a solution. (And honestly a trip to The Lodge at Geneva would make a great couples getaway!)

• Related: 24 Super Fun Things to do in Ohio with Kids

4. The Strip at Geneva-on-the Lake

After completing the kids course, we headed down the strip at Geneva-on-the-Lake. We were there before Memorial Day when things really open up for the season, but it was still a fun outing!

I could just imagine how the strip comes alive during the summer!

One stop that was highly recommended to us was Madsen Donuts – we stopped in for a yummy glazed donut. We also hit up Sports Center Arcade.

Also along the strip is a ferris wheel, restaurants, mini golf, shopping, ice cream and Adventure Zone Family Fun Center!

This would make such a fun Ohio getaway this summer! Geneva-on-the-Lake is a 3 hour drive from Columbus. You could easily spend one or two nights at the Lodge and have a fun family getaway.

Need more ideas? Check out this list of Lake Erie Beaches or 7 Lake Erie Vacation Ideas That Are Perfect for Families!

Know Before You Go:

The Lodge at Geneva-on-the Lake
4888 North Broadway (State Route 534)
Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio 44041
866-806-8066

Lake Erie Canopy Tours
4888 North Broadway (SR 534)
Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH 44041
Open weekends in May and daily May 25 – October 31.
Hours: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
866-601-1973