It's Fun and Free!

Yesterday we had some free time and since the three grandkids were visiting with nothing to do, we herded them into the car and headed south to the Wellington Reservation, part of the Lorain County Metro Park system. We were the first in line to take out the 4 passenger pontoon paddle boats to go exploring the 21 plus acre lake. And the best part, this activity was absolutely FREE! Yes, you read that correctly - it was FREE!

It was a pretty warm and sunny day but the boats have a canopy which helped to keep the sun at bay. To back out of the dock, we had to pedal backwards and then turn the rudder to get us going on the straight and narrow. The kids, ages 9 and 11, managed to get this done rather quickly, wanting to do it all on their own, no help from the grownups! And as kids will do, they went full steam ahead, pedaling as fast as their little legs would go. Of course, this led to a quick burnout and Nans and Pops had to take over. During our 2 hour journey, we spotted many bird varieties, a few snakes, frogs, toads, bugs, and of course, lots of fish. We paddled the inlets and journied from one end of the lake to the other. The kids switched from pilot to passenger and back to pilot but it was the adults who had to navigate back into the dock. As we turned in our PFD's, our legs were saying thank you for the great workout! We really worked up a sweat!

Now if you have your own row boat, canoe, or small fishing boat, you can use the boat ramp as your launching pad. Fishing is allowed with the proper license, so come prepared!

Now if pedaling the boat leaves you wanting still more exercise, then you can hike or bike the more than 4 miles of trails while you enjoy the changing vistas, the prairie flowers, and the wildlife.
Choose your trail and your distance. There is also a beautiful visitors center building a
vailable by reservation for families, parties, showers, etc. For more information about the Wellington Reservation, check out their website at: http://www.loraincountymetroparks.com/wellington.htm.

Lorain County is THE place for a great
"STAYCATION!' We have some of the best Metro Parks in the state of Ohio! Check out some past Blog articles for places to go and things to do or come back often to see a new post about exploring Lorain County. Come and visit us! You know you want to!!