Mentor, OH Outdoor Activities

More than 120,000 species of trees, wildflowers, and native plants take root across The Holden Arboretum’s 3,600 acres of themed gardens and natural terrain. As birds chirp overhead and butterflies binge on nectar plants, visitors make their way across 12 gardens on guided tours or leisurely strolls. The most intrepid wanderers can spend a full day attempting to navigate more than 20 miles of trails that wind through a rhododendron garden, a mature beech-maple forest, and a waterfowl observation blind. Guides facilitate a more focused experience during forest explorations and home landscaping sessions, the latter of which demonstrate how to add a lifelike smile to topiary sculptures of the mailman. The arboretum also hosts numerous lecture series, youth programs, and special events such as Fridays in the Garden, where light refreshments accompany presentations or walks with horticultural experts.

In the woods of Geauga County sits Ma & Pa’s, a dismantled and resurrected log cabin originally built in the 1820s. There, customers will find a menagerie of seasonal delights, such as maple syrup, maple coffee, jewelry, and clothing. In March, the cabin hosts maple tours, as horses whisk guests through the woods for collection and sampling of maple treats. During winter, soft snows welcome the treads of horse-drawn sleigh-rides, followed by cozy fires and hot drinks.

Securely fastened into a tandem-parachute system, an instructor and a pupil tumble from a Skylane Cessna 182, a floating sensation running through their bodies for the 45- to 60-second plummet. Shortly thereafter, a more experienced jumper takes the leap from 10,500–13,500 feet as an instructor falls separately alongside to ensure that nothing goes awry between the departure of the aircraft and the opening of the chute.

Back on solid ground, a 25-acre drop zone reunites divers post-free-fall, and in the distance, Skydive Pennsylvania's pilots shuttle other divers skyward in a fleet of aircrafts that includes a Super Pilatus Porter, which can ascend 13,500 feet in 15 minutes. The on-ground personnel photograph and videotape all tandem and instruction-assisted-free-fall dives, converting their footage into professionally edited videos, DVDs of stills, and screensavers for skydiving-prone laptops.

Hearing a cacophony of three-shots burst into the air but unable to see where it's coming from, a player decides to force his foes to reveal their positions by waiting patiently in the roots of an uprooted tree. Such natural cover lies throughout the backwoods field at Valley City Paintball, where combatants traverse terrain from wooded hills to a creek bed to stacks of fallen timber. The referees maintain safe conditions for all levels of players, showing guests a safety video and leading a field briefing before supervising games such as Defend the Tree and two-team Card Collector with re-spawn. Overseen by veteran Brian Gunkelman––who served four years in the 82nd Airborne and currently continues service through the Ohio Air National Guard––Valley City's team members allow up to 28 players on the field at a time. They also encourage visitors to take advantage of the natural cover, whether by wearing ghillie suits or painting a watercolor still life during the thick of battle.

The crisscrossed emerald landscape south of Cleveland slips silently beneath up to eight passengers in a balloon’s large basket. A skilled pilot adds or releases pressure to the vessel, punctuating the otherwise still air over the stunning panoramas and placid scenes of sprawling greenery. Guests can also opt to charter private flights, allowing them to experience romantic moments or ask embarrassing questions about where clouds come from. All of HiLife Ballooning’s flights take off in the early morning or evening when winds are at their gentlest, allowing the captain to set the balloons down gently.

All year long, Ohio ATV World hands over the keys to a stable of well-maintained Suzuki, Yamaha, and Polaris all-terrain vehicles that purr beneath riders as they wind down through 12 miles of trails in Hocking Hills Nature Trails. In rain, sleet, snow, or sun, attentive staff members provide helmets before indoctrinating off-road skills into beginners and experts, who can zip through trail barrels and ramps atop their four-wheelers. Off the beaten path, Ohio ATV World arranges group outings and birthday-party activities, such as scavenger hunts set amid the park’s scenic foliage and natural wildlife.