COLLEGE CORNER — Hueston Woods hosted a celebration for the 50th anniversary of their lodge and conference center on Sunday, Aug. 27. The festivities featured a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by an open house and pool party.
The afternoon began with an open house before the ceremony, where attendees were encouraged to look around the lodge. Then Regional Manager Tom Arvan took the stage to say a few words about the lodge and park.
“The lodge was initially dedicated on July 8 in 1967,” he said. “Certainly things have changed over the years, but it has been a gathering place for many people. Generations of families come for family reunions and various reunions. It’s truly a spectacular building with this design. It’s really something beautiful and the entire park is a great place to bring your family. We have so much to do. It really is a wonderful place.”
He added, Hueston Woods covers 3,600 acres, Acton Lake has 625 acres, there are 12 miles of hiking trails in the park, there are 92 rooms and 37 cabins at the lodge, there is a camp ground with 381 sites, an 18 hole golf course, a marina, a beach, and many other things for visitors to do at the park.
The celebration featured a pool party, free burgers and hot dogs, a Jet Ski simulator in the parking lot, free pontoon boat rides at the dock, disc golf exhibitions, and other activities.
Arvan added, “We are so happy again that you are here. We want you to enjoy everything there is at the park. Please feel free to look around, we’ve just completed a lot of renovations here in the lodge and around the park. Even for those of you who have been coming for years, I’m sure you’ll see a lot of changes.”
Ohio Director of Natural Resources (ODNR) Jim Zehringer took the podium to speak about his experiences and relationship with Hueston Woods.
“On behalf of Governor John Kasich, I want to welcome you to this 50th anniversary here at Hueston Woods Lodge,” Zehringer said. “This is one of the most popular lodges that we have in the State of Ohio. Being from the western part of the state — I’m from Fort Recovery — this is a place that a lot of families come for reunions or gatherings or anniversaries.
“Our daughter went to Miami University. We would meet here for lunch to get away from Oxford for a while and listen to how her year was going. We would walk on the trails and the beach and have dinner at the lodge. So this is a great place that brings back a lot of memories.”
Then he spoke about improvements which are upcoming and recently completed for the park.
“We are continuing to improve our state parks. We appreciate the governor allowing all these state parks to be free. You can go to any of our 70 state parks throughout the State of Ohio,” Zehringer said.
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