Things to Do in Cuyahoga Falls

Set in the rolling hills of Cuyahoga Falls, the Blossom Festival summer series welcomes the Cleveland Orchestra on August 28, yielding center stage for a night of world-class classical music. Settle into a pavilion seat and treat ears to a cochlear night out as conductor James Feddeck leads the orchestra through a series of heartstring-plucking pieces, such as Britten’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes, and Elgar’s In the South. Relax as the music and breeze wash over the crowd, letting the smooth rhythms and swaying melodies fight for ears’ adoration and the last stick of gum.

Stocked with know-how and all the necessary tools, the staffers at Gone Fishin' Bait and Tackle guide fishing trips on the Cuyahoga River and beyond. The store equips crews with bait, lures, and fishing poles, ready to aid in an angling expedition or plucking the toupee off of a villainous middle-school vice principal. After stocking up, fishermen go solo or join up with one of Gone Fishin's guided pontoon tours that traverse sparkling waters, taking in views of the surrounding foliage.

Admission for students and senior citizens is $5. Children aged 12 and younger can enter for free with an adult.

In 1961, Peter Scimone and his wife Rosalie converted a humble patch of farmland into an epicenter for recreation, starting small with only 16 bowling lanes. Over the years, Roseland Lanes—which was named after Rosalie—was enhanced with a café and grill, pizza parlor, and pub all named for Pete. Today their daughter carries on the family tradition, warmly welcoming guests into a modern, 50-lane alley that features a game room, automatic scoring, 36-inch LCD TVs above every lane, and behemoth 47-inch screens scattered intermittently throughout the space. Roseland Lanes acts as home base for leagues and summer camps, and really flares to life during cosmic bowling on weekend and Wednesday evenings, when a DJ from Rock the House Entertainment steals the spotlight playing requested tunes through a 10,000-watt sound system.

When bowlers have exhausted themselves out on the lanes, they invade Papa Pete's Pizza for slices and wings or Pete's Cafe for burgers and ice cream. At Pete's Pub, liquor, beer, and wine quench thirsts and patrons compete for glory or the final seat on city council at the pool table, dartboards, or karaoke mike. Nearby, the Rose Room hosts up to 70 partygoers and the adjacent La Casa Bella Party Center sets the stage for fancy affairs.

Inside Legend Lanes, pins scatter across 24 bowling lanes that pave synthetic avenues to legendary scores and equally impressive celebratory high-fives. Leagues, tournaments, families, and friends gather weekly to participate in the pin-pulverizing action, including on Friday and Saturday evenings, when cosmic bowling morphs each frame into an intergalactic experience. Bumpers barricade gutters upon request and, perched throughout the facility, 35 flat-screen TVs flicker with off-the-lane entertainment, ensuring players don’t get stuck talking to a retired ball about its oddly shaped scuffs in between turns. After games, competitors can celebrate real victories or moral victories inside the new Legend Lounge.

Lasers flash across a 4,000-square-foot arena. Bumper boats splash against each other in a 135,000-gallon lake. An elastic EuroBungy harness flings bouncers skyward for death-defying flips. These are just a few of the attractions and activities at Fun 'n' Stuff, where families can also fill their days by racing go-karts, climbing a rock wall, or gliding around a rink on rented roller skates. Guests who want to breathe in fresh air can putt through two 18-hole mini golf courses, whack balls in five hardball and four softball cages, and slide down a 24-foot inflatable slide. The littlest visitors play in a ball pit, whereas the Extreme Looping Bikes send older ones soaring through the air, just like the majestic eagle they rode to their middle-school graduation.