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My annual vacation trip with my relatives this year consisted of 9 adults, 3 kids, 2 toddlers, and a baby, so it was a bit difficult to find a cabin big enough to fit all of us. We finally ended up booking the Waccabuck Lodge in Rockbridge, Ohio, which proved to be relaxing and hidden as well as a short drive to some cool attractions. Most days, we chose one large activity to do and then spent the rest of the day/night at the lodge relaxing, reading, drawing, singing, running or walking on the very long driveway, playing cornhole, playing catch, enjoying the hot tub, and having bonfires.

Day 1

Waccabuck Lodge
Hiking Trail

On the first day, we arrived at the lodge around 5 pm (check-in time was at 4pm) and we mainly unpacked and relaxed. The lodge is large, beautiful, and surrounded on three sides by a wrap-around porch. Two of the rooms shared a queen sized bed with a bunk bed, so the kids had to share rooms with their parents, which wasn’t a big deal, but not ideal. The rooms didn’t have dressers or closets and the temperature was warm upstairs, fine on the main floor, and very cold on the bottom floor.

After unpacking, I took two of the older kids on the hiking trail that was part of the property. The trail was disappointingly short and not maintained, but it did lead to the bottom of a cool little cliff, with what looked like a little bit of a cave, so it was a nice addition to the lodge.

Day 2

Cantwell Cliffs

After breakfast on day 2, we drove a few miles to Cantwell Cliffs, which is one of the six major hiking trails within Hocking Hills State Park. I encourage going early in the morning and definitely before noon if you want to enjoy the quiet nature and don’t want to be surrounded by a lot of other tourists. This trail had some beautiful views and was a fun/slightly challenging hike (the grandparents stayed behind as it was a bit too much climbing for them). At the beginning of the trail, there’s a narrow downward staircase surrounded by rock walls that’s called the “fat woman’s squeeze”. This passage looked a bit daunting, but ended up not being as challenging as it looked and the cliff view it leads to is absolutely worth it. The trail on the bottom of the valley (after taking the staircase) is about 0.5 miles long, but it seemed a bit longer since it does involve a lot of climbing, especially towards the end when you climb back up to the top of the cliffs where you started. It was a little tiring (especially if you’re carrying a baby or toddler), but this hike was fun, beautiful, and a great way to get some exercise!

Day 3

Rock House

The Rock House is another one of the six major hiking trails in Hocking Hills State Park. This trail was also about 0.5 miles long, but was a much easier hike than the Cantwell Cliffs. We didn’t exactly know what a “Rock House” was, so we actually almost walked past it during the hike, but then we saw an entry into a large cave and once we were inside, we knew we had found it. The cave (Rock House) looked like a beautiful tunnel, with ceilings that were about 25 feet high and random large crevices in one of the sides as well as openings at both ends that allowed a little light to get in and provided a great opportunity to see some fantastic views.

Day 4

Hocking Hills Laser Tag
Broney’s Alumni Grill

We decided that a fun activity for the family on Day 4 would be to play some laser tag! We called Hocking Hills Laser Tag to make a reservation for that afternoon and were given the choice of two locations, near Old Man’s Cave or Mingo Park. We chose the Old Man’s Cave location, which had a rougher terrain, and we were told to wear long pants as we would be playing in long weeds/prickers (I didn’t follow the rules and wore Capri pants, which left me with many scratches on the bottom of my legs). We paid $20 each for 40 minutes of game time upfront (I believe he actually let us play for about an hour though). There were a few choices of timed games to choose from and the one we went with the most was two teams against each other. At the end of each game, we met up in the middle of the field to compare who shot who and how many times (the guns were each named something different and they had a screen that showed which guns had shot you during that game). The field itself was pretty big, with wooden walls and trees to hide behind. The weeds were pretty long and were filled with prickers and large insects, so I would recommend the other location if your family doesn’t do well with nature. Overall, this Laser Tag game/location was a blast!

Later that night, after dinner, the adults drove to Athens, Ohio to go to Broney’s Alumni Grill. The restaurant was nothing special (and extremely warm), but they are known for their slushies that are made with champagne or rum, depending on the slushie flavor. These drinks were delicious and were absurdly cheap (not too surprising since it’s a college town).

Day 5

Lake Logan

On the last day, we decided to go to Lake Logan for a swim. The beach area was small and mainly made of dirt instead of sand, but it did the job. If you don’t like swimming in lake water, this would not be a great place for you. However, if you don’t mind a little dirty lake water, I found it to be quite relaxing and had a nice view of the woods across the lake. It was a little cold that day since we went in May, so there weren’t many other people there, but I could see it getting busy in the summer months. This lake also has areas for fishing and boating, but we didn’t get around to these sections.

Year traveled: 2016

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Hocking Hills Family Vacation

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