Ohio's state park lodges offer wealth of winter getaway options

For travelers looking for a Valentine’s Day or mid-winter getaway, Ohio has many cozy bed and breakfasts, quaint inns and classy hotels.

But don’t forget Ohio’s 10 state park lodges. The lodges, found throughout the state, all have delightful natural settings, and each has its own special features that make each a winter destination worth discovering.

Ohio’s newest state park lodge, Hocking Hills Lodge, opened last fall in one of Ohio’s most popular tourist destinations.

The beautiful new lodge has all the amenities that winter travelers could wish, including massive twin stone fireplaces in the gorgeous lobby.

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And the lodge is conveniently located near all the popular Hocking Hills attractions (explorehockinghills.com), including the state park trails – absolutely stunning in winter, especially when the adjacent stream, seeps and small waterfalls freeze – and the shops, museums and restaurants of nearby Logan.

Burr Oak Lodge is set in an isolated corner of Morgan County where the hush of winter emphasizes the peace and quiet found there all year.

The fireplace in the lobby is a great place to warm your toes and watch the snow fall, with a coffee or hot chocolate from the lodge’s Cardinal Dining Room and Bar.

Deer Creek Lodge is the closest state park lodge to Columbus, just 30 miles from downtown near Mount Sterling. So, it’s an easy jaunt, even if the roads are a bit wintry.

If you want to recreate your own bit of dodgy Ohio history, you can even stay in the historic Harding Cabin, a retreat where President Warren Harding and his “Ohio Gang” cronies once stayed to fish and play poker.

And after your getaway, when you’re ready to get back to business, remember that the lodge offers more than 12,000 feet of meeting space and a professional catering service, making it an ideal spot for private and corporate events and retreats.

If quiet is what you’re looking for, you and your sweetie might consider Salt Fork Lodge in Guernsey County. The lodge is surrounded by the biggest state park in Ohio, covering more than 17,000 acres.

And if you and sweetie get tired of all the quiet, keep in mind that such a large wild area is, some say, the perfect habitat for Bigfoot. Sightings and the creatures’ distinctive call have been reported in the area. And with all the leaves off the trees, who knows what you might see or hear?

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Looking for some supernatural company this Valentine’s season? Then Punderson Manor Lodge, which is reputedly haunted, could be the place for you.

I’ve stayed in many supposedly haunted lodgings, but Punderson, originally built as a private home, is the only one where I’ve actually experienced any weird phenomena – i.e. a television with a mind of its own and a slightly ominous Ouija board.

But even if you, like me, don’t believe in ghosts (sorry TV/Ouija spirit), Punderson, about 40 miles east of Cleveland, is a comfortable, classy and unusual getaway.

If winter hiking (romantic or otherwise) is your thing, Mohican Lodge near Loudonville is a great base camp. Guests at the comfy lodge have access to 13 miles of trails in the park and another 32 miles of trails in adjacent Mohican Memorial State Forest.

Afterward, warm up in one of the rocking chairs surrounding the lovely circular fireplace in the lobby.

And if you’re in the mood for some mouth-watering pie, award-winning cheese, or lovely quilts, furniture or crafts, the lodge is just a short drive from Ohio’s famous Amish country (visitamishcountry.com/faq).

What better to pair with Valentine’s Day, or any day, really, than a good bottle of wine?

The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake, adjacent to Geneva State Park in Ashtabula County, is located at the heart of Ohio’s underappreciated Lake Erie wine region (visitashtabulacounty.com/things-to-do/wineries/).

The lodge certainly knows its wine, with its own wine tastings and a winery shuttle to and from nearby popular winery tasting rooms.

The sugar maple trees surrounding Hueston Woods Lodge in Preble County start to offer up their precious sap in February in advance of the park’s annual Maple Syrup Festival on the first two weekends of March.

Guests can also drive by the park’s own lovely covered bridge and visit the Hueston Woods Nature Center, which hosts a raptor rehabilitation facility.

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A stay at Maumee Bay Lodge, about 20 miles east of Toledo, is a great way to experience the Lake Erie shoreline in the winter, when the summer crowds are gone but the lake becomes ever more dramatic with winter winds pushing the icy waves that break on the shore.

Guests can watch the excitement from the comfort of their own rooms or at the lodge’s Water’s Edge restaurant. And the lodge is just 20 miles from Toledo (visittoledo.org) and great attractions like the Toledo Museum of Art and the Great Lakes Maritime Museum.

To really get away from it all, few Ohio destinations can top Shawnee Lodge in Scioto County. The comfortable lodge is surrounded by or near tens of thousands of acres of wilderness and wild lands including 63,000-acre Shawnee State Forest and the 20,000-acre Edge of Appalachia Preserve (cincymuseum.org/nature/) managed by the Nature Conservancy and the Cincinnati Museum Center.

For reservations or more information about The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake, visit thelodgeatgeneva.com.

For reservation or more information about the other Ohio State Park lodges, visit greatohiolodges.com.

Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at sjstephensjr@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 10 Ohio state park lodges offer mid-winter getaways