This place is pure nostalgia - family owned and operated…read more They have special nights and events for special skating events and the concession stand is stocked with fun drinks and food options including blueberry boba lemonade and soft pretzels. They also have an arcade as well as skate rental but the place could use an update since the lockers are the same as when I was a kid in the 90's. All in all a fun date or family night and not too expensive either.

Great place to take the kids to learn to skate...so much fun for all ages! The snack bar is also a…read morenice area to sit and watch the kids skate.

First, the bad: As a recreation center for adults, it's not…read moregreat. The fitness room is small and contains a handful of weights, ellipticals, treadmills and bikes that have seen better days. If you're looking for a replacement for your Urban Fitness membership, look elsewhere. But... The good: First, THEY HAVE AN AMAZING ROLLERSKATING RINK. Seriously, this thing is so 70s, but in a cool retro way (not in an outdated way) - I'm talking a disco ball, primary colors and everything. It's totally underutilized - they have tons of adult skates and a projector to throw videos on the blank wall in the rink...you could really pull together an awesome event in the space. Secondly, adult memberships are crazy cheap. Adult memberships are only $25 for a whole year and apply to all 26 Cincinnati Rec Centers and most city pools. Plus, all the money directly benefits the greater OTR community. I mean, as a community resource, it's invaluable. They provide a safe environment for kids in the neighborhood - they offer a drop-in after school program, field trips, a game room and extracurricular classes for kids ages 5-18. The thing is, even if you don't have a particular interest in using the resources, buying a membership sends a clear message that you support that these recreation opportunities remain strong and viable in as many places as possible. On the other hand, if memberships go down, it sends a message to the city and the City Council that their services are not valued and therefore puts the center's budget higher up on the chopping block.

Who knew there was a rollerskating rink in the middle of OTR? Here I thought those only existed in…read morethe 'burbs! Even more impressive, the skating rink here is in much better condition than the more notable places in the area. The skates are made from plastic and come in bright neon colors. Elsewhere you're stuck with dingy suede skates. During Final Fridays, the rec center opens its doors to all adults for three hours of roller skating for only $2.00, which includes skate rental. http://www.yelp.com/biz/otr-skate-cincinnati Tired of skating? Just head out to the lounge for some pool or ping pong. There are rooms with couches and televisions, as well as your traditional gym equipment. Membership to the OTR Rec Center is $25.00 a year, and applies to all 26 Rec Centers in Cincinnati, as well as the city pools. The money goes right back into the OTR community, which keeps the rec center open to provide after-school opportunities to youth. The OTR Rec Center is tucked away on Republic Street, which is near Findlay Market's Race Street entrance. If you're looking for a great place to stay active, or more so, to rollerskate, OTR Rec Center has you covered!

Concrete floor rink located right on the water within Sawyer Point park. Floor needs some repairs…read morebut the parks board recently approved the spending of money to make the floor more smooth and safe for skaters. Bring your skates and your headphones or a speaker and enjoy the rink! There is a collective of skaters, along with the parks, working to fundraise for a multi-million dollar renovation that will make this rink be a world wide skating attraction. Come skate it now and be a part of the history of a rink revival!

A great little neighborhood bowling alley! It was clean, employees were friendly, and we had a…read moregreat time. The place is large and family friendly. I'd definitely return!

The lanes here are usually pretty well maintained and kept nice. The staff is super friendly and…read morewelcoming. Bowling league here is organized and a great time. I like the older feel to the alley, although some refreshes wouldn't hurt in some areas like bathrooms, carpets, or ceiling tiles. I'm not certain about the food, but it seems like basic bowling alley food. Overall, a nice place to bowl with very reasonable prices.

I think this place keeps disappearing from Yelp, but I promise that not only does it exist, but…read moreit's totally worth a visit! There are at least three other playgrounds in the neighborhood. While it's proximity is one of its perks, I also prefer it just because it's got a lot of options for my two little ones. It's suits them both very well - one a wild four year old boy and the other only a recently walking 23 month old. They offer the parent-baby joint swing, the large plastics swings meant for toddlers, multiple climbing structures of various sizes, a little "elevator" as we've called it, a few slides a large structure that spins around. Very cool! Perfect place to come with a picnic and play. Afterwards, walk down the street for a scoop of ice cream!

This is a fun community park for families with children to come to when the weather is nice and the…read morekids need to run off some excess energy. Or just for some family fun! It is well maintained with beautiful landscaping. I have seen the neighbors helping to keep it that way by weeding the flower beds and picking up any trash. Not that I ever see much trash. It has a charming old fashion water fountain. This past Saturday my grandkids age 2 and 4 years old really needed a drink of water. We filled the bottle up several times. There is a metal picnic table. You are surrounded by flowers as this park has so many flowerbeds. There's a long swing set with swings for everyone old & young and small and large. There are 2 jungle gyms with multiple slides, several ways to climb up and interactive activities like a telescope and metallic beads on a spinning wheel. The small curving foot pad staircase is a favorite of my granddaughter. With bars for swinging on, a beam to walk across and 2 domes for climbing on top of this park can keep the children happy for hours. The only problem might be getting them to head back home! There is only one issue with the equipment. The footpad elevator ride from the platform of the larger jungle gym to the ground is broken. The neighborhood is always nice and peaceful. Also #udf is just up the street for a treat of #icecream. I more than highly recommend this park in #northside. Until next time be kind to each other. @yelpcincy #playgrounds #cincinnati

The bowling ally itself could use some upgrades- like the ceiling tiles all have water damage and…read morebathrooms are not clean. Otherwise they have nice tables for everyone and the staff is always super friendly. Also I got a burger and it was super good. Overall i've been going here since I was a kid, it's fun!

My Mr. wanted to play bowling this weekend and he mentioned Cherry Grove Lanes was near his work. I…read moredefinitely wanted to check it out since it was in this area near our home. Like every bowling joint, this also had nostalgia. The lanes to the building inside down to the carpeting. There was enough bowling balls for everyone. From lightweight to extra large. They had an open bar and snack bar. We played 4 games and also had some brews (Coors Light on draft). The lanes was super smooth and pricing was reasonable. We ended up paying $7.00 a game with rented shoes. The only thing that I didn't like that there was a time limit. We got there at 2:00 pm and we had until 4:00 pm to bowl. The whole experience was fun and will definitely come back again.

Great park 5 years ago. Now it's dangerous for toddlers and kinda sucks. No shade, terribly unsafe…read moreclimbing structure because of low sides on a little bridge. I'm surprised no toddlers have fallen over the side and gotten hurt yet. The fields always look waterlogged, even after only light rain. This is such a shame because I remember it being such a great park for toddlers and school aged kids alike when my oldest kids were little. There used to be a ton of big shade trees, which made it a great spot for picnic or relaxing while the kids played. Now there is Astroturf under the play area, and it gets really hot in the summertime. We used to come weekly. Now maybe once or twice per year with my youngest (a toddler). Such a loss.

This park is clean and has plenty of gym sets for the kids to play with. The place seemed to be…read morewell kept. This is located in the middle of apartments making it convenient for parents to bring their children for an outdoor activity or exercise. I noticed plenty of benches for adults to sit and relax while watching their child/ children play. There's also a water fountain and bathroom within walking distance from the play area.

This place is great. A classic bowling alley with 20 or so lanes. Offers lighter balls, bumpers,…read moreand ramp assists for kids. Bumpers are manual while the score keeping is electronic. Pizza is delicious- highly recommend ordering one while you're there. Prices are fair and they offer a kids bowl free program during the summer months. Restrooms are a bit small but work just fine. They have an arcade area with a half a dozen games - only 1-2 worked last time we were there. Overall, it's a good spot.

It's kind of a throwback location, in that the style, furniture and equipment is likely from the…read more80s. It's a dark and dank bowling alley, which some folks may find appealing. I attended a children's birthday party with my two kids, and an overall party of about 16. These young kids were sitting and crawling on the floor as kids tend to do, and I was mortified because the carpet is very gross and unkept. I have a bad feeling it hasn't been cleaned in years. The equipment is dated, no animations or anything to hold the kids' attention on the screens like some of the more modern alleys. There is clutter everywhere, with folding tables, packages, supplies and equipment crammed in wherever open space had been found. The lanes were pretty full during this Sunday afternoon. We had two lanes with little kids (3-6 yo) and adults playing. I saw the ramps that kids can use to roll the ball, stacked in their lounge/bar area. There were two employees behind the counter, very busy serving drinks, food, assigning lanes, shoes, etc. I waited in line to ask about the ramps, and since they were so busy, simply asked if I could grab a ramp for the kids to use. The gentleman that answered me said, "Yeah, go ahead". I went in to get a ramp (about 3 feet tall, large plastic dinosaurs) and a couple were pretty beat up, so I was rearranging them to look for one with no cracks or holes in it. During this I noticed and odd stare from an elderly gentleman wearing an overcoat from about 20 feet away. As I carry the ramp out from their bar/lounge/storage area, his glare intensifies toward me, and I just look at him confused. He said something about knocking people over, but it as loud and I couldn't tell what exactly he said. I looked at him confused and just walked past him to head toward my lane, when he raised his voice and repeated himself (which again, I couldn't hear with pins being knocked down and the ambient noise). I turned and walked back toward him so I could hear what he was saying, then he very sternly announced "I'm the owner!". I said, OK, what's going on? He mumbled something about his staff would take the ramps to us, and I shouldn't move them myself because they don't want anyone knocked over. I'm just more confused because, I didn't knock anyone over, and why's he being so rude. He didn't say "Hi, let me help you with that." Or "Let me get someone to move that for you". Now I'm getting defensive, so I told him I waited in line and asked if I could get this, and was told, go ahead. He asked who told me that, and then said "I'll go talk to him" as if he believed I would appreciate this kid being yelled at or something. He went over and started talking down to the employee, so I followed and just said, I appreciated the staffer's help, and I can move the ramp myself, or if one of them wanted to, great, but I didn't see any problem. The owner gave me another quick explanation that they didn't want anyone to get knocked over, then both stared at me for a couple seconds before I just walked off, still carrying this ramp. I take it the owner doesn't really care about safety, he likely just saw me in the area and wanted to play tough-guy owner. I was annoyed and uncomfortable the rest of the time there, and of course, now all I can see are all several things around the business that the owner should concern himself with instead of worrying about me doing an employee's task after asking to do so politely. Tears in the dirty carpet, rusted ball racks, broken mirror, bathroom in disrepair, no trash can to be found, reset pins button not working on one of our two lanes, and clutter in various places including heavily in the arcade area, where the games have faded screens and are in disrepair. If you want that old, bowling alley atmosphere, try Madison Bowl near Oakley or Stone's Lanes in Norwood.