Weekend Trip – Land o’Lakes (Chautaqua and Conneaut to be exact) Part 1

We live in a land where we are super accessible via road trip to tons of exciting adventures. Sometimes on a summer weekend we just can’t decide what to do and we have the travel bug too much to stay at home. On about a Wednesday we started to get the itch, so we started looking at places close by. We are lucky to live close to some great resort areas such as the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, The Greenbrier Resort, Stonewall Jackson Resort, Deep Creek Lake, etc… Because is was such short notice we were having a hard time finding accommodations. We then thought about taking day trip up to Conneaut Lake, PA.

Conneaut Lake is a special place for Rebekah. Her mom grew up in the area, her grandparents lived there for 60 years, and her aunt who our daughter is named after is buried there. As Rebekah discussed this trip with her mom, she also suggested we check out Chautauqua Lake, NY. It is not too far from Conneaut Lake and mom mentioned that Rebekah’s Aunt Roseanne loved it there, so we were sold! A short Google search led us to the Harbor Hotel on Chautauqua Lake and we booked a room just two days before we left.

Rebekah and Roseanne picked me up from work on Friday afternoon and we were off. The drive to NY took less than 4 hours. Check-in at the hotel was easy and we headed up to our room. The hotel was new and right on the lake. It was clean, very nicely decorated and had amazing views. The outdoor space was perfect for some outdoor sitting on a weekend night. A separate blog will share more detail on our hotel experience but suffice it to say, we definitely recommend this hotel.

After a great dinner and a good nights sleep we were up and headed out to breakfast. Based on TripAdvisor reviews (check us out at willowvacay) we picked the Bemus Point Inn. It was a great little diner and very crowded. It seems to be know for its, “Jumbo Cinnamon Roll.” The roll was indeed JUMBO, however, I did not really care for it. Rebekah and Roseanne both liked it. The rest of the food was great! Below are pictures of the menu, our food, and the restaurant. I liked that they offered free coffee in the entrance of the restaurant. Definitely worth checking out.

Bemus Point Inn Breakfast – Jumbo Cinnamon Roll

After a good breakfast, we headed south to Conneaut Lake, PA. We stopped by Rebekah’s family’s old farm with plans to get a few pictures but the current owners were outside and we didn’t want to seem like creeps so we moved on 😂. On our way to see Conneaut Lake and its recently re-opened Conneaut Lake park, we stopped to pay respects to Rebekah’s grandparents and aunt, Rosanne (who our Roseanne is named after).

From there it was on to the lake. Last time we where here (probably in 2011), The Hotel Conneaut was in rough shape and the amusement park was closed. We were excited to report the hotel looks great on the outside, the amusement park is open again and was packed, and there were tons of people out enjoying the lake. We ate lunch at the little restaurant at the hotel. They have some limited outdoor seating on the front porch with a great lake view. The food was much better than expected and the atmosphere was nice.

Of course we took a short detour to check out the lobby of the hotel. Unsurprisingly, it was old and kinda had “Shining-esque” feel. The staff were friendly and they were setting up for a wedding and cocktail reception on the front lawn.

After lunch we took a short walk over to check out Conneaut Lake Park. It is a small amusement park with many rides for little kids. The park has a carousel, a old traditional dark ride called the Devil’s Den, a small water park and lazy river, and lastly the crown jewel of the park the Historic Blue Streak Roller Coaster. It was built in 1938 and was one of the first dedicated ACE Roller Coaster Landmarks. Rebekah has rode this ride, many times, so she waited back with Roseanne. (Plus it looked a little shaky after all these years, LOL). After a short wait, it was my turn. It was fun, but a little rough, traditional wooden coaster. I would highly recommend it for coaster enthusiast.

After riding the Blue Streak, we walked back though the park to the lake and back to our car. The park is interesting because you can just walk in and out of it, there is no admission charge. You can pay for a ride band or purchase individual rides if you choose. It’s a nice way to ride a few rides and do some cool people watching without paying a hefty admission price.

We had one more stop on our way back to our hotel. It is a legend in Rebekah’s family – “Where the Ducks Walk on the Fish”… The Linesville Spillway in Linesville, PA. The spillway is a quick drive from Conneaut Lake Park. Maybe a 10 minute drive through some small towns and beautiful rural countryside. The spillway is part of Pymatuning State Park and Reservoir. From my understanding, fish will naturally accumulate at spillways as a source for food. Since sometime in the 1930s, people have been feeding fish loaves of bread at the Linesville Spillway. Needless to say the Carp have figured this out and the sight is something to see. If you forget to bring your own loaf of bread, it is sold at the little concession stand at the spillway. On the day we were there, there were probably a 100 people feeding the fish. Roseanne was not as impressed with this as Rebekah and I. She was more interested in eating her bread than feeding it to the fish. While this might seem like something weird to check out, I would say this is a can’t miss activity, especially if you have kids!