This post was part of an invited trip. Photos and opinions are our own.
Ashtabula County, tucked along Lake Erie in northeast Ohio, offers a delightful mix of activities for families, groups of adults, a friends’ getaway, or a couples escape. We got to spend a weekend there this summer as a family, and it was pretty easy to put together a list of our 10 favorite things to do in Ashtabula County!
The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake is one of the region’s premiere hotels for any visit. The beautiful property looks over Lake Erie, features in-house restaurants and bars, and hosts event spaces. It sits next to Lake Erie Canopy Tours, and offers golf cart rentals and free bikes. You can easily pick up a bike or cart and follow the trails to Breakwater Beach or into downtown Geneva-on-the-Lake.
We found the accommodations to be very comfortable, and The Lodge serves as a perfect home base for exploring the region. We saw multiple shuttle busses bring groups to and from the area’s many wineries.
Of course, you might find that you just want to relax at The Lodge itself! It features multiple outdoor pools with expansive patio spaces, and a full outdoor bar so you can kick back with drinks. You can later wind down the day by hanging out around the firepit and roasting the perfect s’more.
It’s wonderfully convenient that The Lodge offers free bike rentals! You can hop a couple bikes to get around town, but one of the best destinations is Breakwater Beach just west of The Lodge. It’s part of Geneva State Park, and features public facilities, plenty of space to spread out, and designated swimming areas.
We swam during the day and caught a beautiful sunset one night. And during the day there was a cart there that let you rent kayaks by the hour!
Lake Erie Canopy Tours is open seasonally and is situated next to The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake! It makes for an exciting outdoor adventure that’s great for all ages.
You can sail over the treetops with views of Lake Erie on their zip line course or try one of their Adventure Courses for different ages. We loved that different zip lines covered varying lengths, and that some let you race side-by-side!
One of our favorite activities was exploring downtown Geneva-on-the-Lake. The main drag features a huge collection of food stands, bars, restaurants, and live music venues. It’s easy to take a golf cart and drive up and down looking for fun stuff to do.
One of our favorite stops was for burgers and fries at Eddie’s Grill. Eddie’s has been serving Geneva-on-the-Lake since 1950. You walk up to the window, place your order, wait for your number to be called, then find a spot inside or on the huge back patio. We loved our taste of classic cheeseburgers, crispy fries, cold root beer, and fried fish.
There’s plenty more to do in Geneva-on-the-Lake. You can pick out sweets at Pucker Up Candy Shoppe, where you can even spin your own ball of cotton candy.
And we spent loads of time at Adventure Zone, a big complex of arcade games, go karts, bumper boats, climbing walls, batting cages, a zip line, and much more!
You better believe I’m going to recommend a local breakfast to start your day! All across Ashtabula County you’ll find everything, from easygoing, down-home cooking to elegant brunches.
Judging by the crowds waiting patiently outside the door, Mary’s Kitchen in Geneva-on-the-Lake is a popular spot for the morning meal. They dish up colorful breakfasts like avocado toast with eggs, cinnamon rolls, pancakes topped with fruit, breakfast burritos, biscuits and gravy, and much more.
Becker’s Restaurant in Ashtabula is known for its home-style cooking. Its weekend brunch buffet is especially popular!
Yes, Madsen Donuts deserves it’s own slot on our list! The beloved donut shop has been serving visitors to Geneva-on-the-Lake since 1938. From their tiny storefront they make everything from scratch daily, and customers line up for longjohns, frosted cake donuts, and glazed yeast donuts.
