I was looking for a short hike. The trails by the lakeside were a bit overgrown on my visit; not so…read moremuch as to be impossible but enough to needlessly increase the tick and poison ivy risk. The activity du jour seemed to be boating, and there were plenty of people taking a dip in various parts of the lake as well. It's probably good for that, but the sights weren't amazing and I wasn't convinced that the calories burned were worth the trouble.

I've hiked Lake Vesuvius many times and it is always quiet, clean and well kept. You have to be…read moreaware of conditions, but I live close by, si no worries. Love this lake hike!

This state park has so much to offer! The trails are well maintained and easily accessible, the…read morelodge is beautiful with a delicious restaurant inside, and there are even cave tours! Some caves only run seasonally, but I took two tours on a Sunday, and it felt like a good amount at a time. Tickets for tours are purchased at the Welcome Center, day of. There's a self explore cave, too, but you need two adults minimum in your party and each with a flashlight. The arches and natural bridges in this park were amazing sites, scattered along the park. I took on the challenge of hitting each arch / bridge, and it was doable in under 5 miles if you move between accesses.

I started visiting Carter Caves State Park when I was young. Fast forward to 2024. I planned a…read morevisit with my nieces and their kids when I was in town. None of my great nieces and nephews had been inside a cave. We arrived at roughly 11:15 AM. I purchased tickets at the Welcome Center for everyone to tour Saltpetre (AKA Saltpeter) Cave at 11:30 AM. It was $54 for three adults and four children. We followed our tour guide across the street, up a hill, then down the stairs and into the earth we went. This cave was used in the War of 1812 to make gunpowder. We got a history lesson from our tour guide who was so patient with the kids. This cave was the driest of all the caves at the park, so no stalactites hanging from the ceiling. But bonus was, no water on our shoes. If you want to see bats, this is not the cave. The cave used to have thousands of bats. The park conservationists are working to increase bat living in this cave. After the tour, we had to turn up our feet, one at a time, so the tour guide could spray the bottom of our shoes with soap and water. He told us this was done to prevent carrying germs/bacteria out of the cave that could harm the bat population at the park. The tour lasted roughly 45 minutes. It was worth the time and money! The kids had a blast. Only one was scared when the lights were turned off momentarily so we could experience total darkness and silence. My nephew Cooper lasted about 3 minutes, then, in his little whimpering voice, he asked if the lights could be turned back on. I can't say enough great things about our cave guide. We left the Welcome Center and headed to the public pool. The pool was free for those camping and staying in cabins. We went on a Monday, so everyone was $3. Pretty good deal! The pool was clean. Only light snacks available, icecream, chips and soda. I highly recommend you add Carter Caves to your summer fun list!

One of Nitro's best kept secrets, conveniently close to town but far enough out to be the perfect…read moreway to escape the hustle and bustle for a little while. Beautiful and peaceful place to relax, spend time with the family (including the canine members of the family), fish, hike (with a mix of clear gravel trails or rougher dirt trails), or even take a canoe or kayak out on the lake. Also great for group picnics, community events, weddings, birthday parties, or just gathering with friends for a relaxing day by the lake.

Nice walk around the lake and (if you like) through the woods. Picnic areas. Gazebo. Dog run. I go…read morethere in all seasons.

We hiked the fern valley trail. It was pretty easy. Well suited for little ones and adults. There's…read morea few spots near the lake where you might have to help smaller kids but our daughter and her friend managed well enough. Saw a lot of little toads on the trail. Lots of butterflies and squirrels. We managed to see a Heron fishing and flying. That made the trip in my opinion. We walked around the lodge. Not too much to see in there. Looks like a decent enough place to stay. Staff wasn't very friendly but I guess you can't expect much out of government employees having to work a holiday.

We had lunch at Anglers Cove today. The buffet was delicious and our waitress, Jayden, was…read morewonderful!

The good is that the hike through the beautiful woods was great, and the pool area well kept. The…read morepool table area needs improvement. I really enjoyed my hike.

Cedar Trails is a nice secluded park! Family friendly. We were there just as it's annual kids week…read morehad wrapped up and there were a couple families still hanging around. Plenty of hiking / walking trails. The pool is not heated and we were there early in the season so it was still too cold for us. The hot tub was great, but could use a little TLC. It is plenty big (made by the residents themselves!). I had to rewrite the brakes in our trailer while there and not one person complained, in fact one of the residents lent me some tools! It's a little rustic and could use an infusion of money to improve the maintenance; however all-in-all a great place. Check out the nearby Serpent Mound park! We will definitely stay there again!

This park looks wildly different from anything else in Huntington, with various stone features, an…read moreample playground, paths running along a stream, and some roses. Not many roses, mind you, but you can get some cool views. The aesthetic is much more upscale than the waterfront parks, and this area is usually crowded on a nice day. While there's some parking inside the park itself, the surrounding streets are free as well. And there's really no reason not to head on over if you're in the area.

Good community park, only could use more connected trails to even more of the city, for cross city…read morehooks that can help connect to a mobile-city feel. Some maintenance issues and reinvestment in older space rehabilitation also needed, and curation tied to local entities to expand and do more with some of the open space that is aged out. Great updates to the kid park a few years ago, now they just need to keep it going.

Explored the lovely Alexandria Point Park on the west side of Portsmouth, OH. This hidden gem is on…read morethe Ohio riverbank. You can see two bridges from the corner of the park. Amazing view! The grounds were very well manicured with lots of beautiful flowers and plants. There were many benches and a few shaded picnic tables. There were stairs leading to the riverbank. The park is nestled at the end of a residential street. You can't see it from the main road. If you would like a peaceful place to eat lunch or just relax, check out the river and meditate this is a great place!

Unfortunately, it's a dive. Splash pad doesn't work and the grounds are poorly maintained. Giving…read moreit one star is too much

This is a pretty fun place that my family and I went and visited while we were on our adventure…read morethrough 14 different states. First date that we went through with West Virginia so we decided to stop at this Magic Island Park. It was raining that day so we did not get to spend too much time here unfortunately but the little amount of time that we didn't get to spend while the sun was out my children have fun and it was nice to see