What are some things I should try to do when I visit Cleveland?

Question

I am trying to plan a trip for my 10 year old son and me. We will spend a couple days in/around Cleveland next spring.

Answer 1

Go to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. There's always a Hard Rock Cafe next to the Ritz Carlton (I think). If you're going in April or later, go to a baseball game at Jacob's Field. You could also drive down to Canton to go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If you're a fan of A Christmas Story, you could visit the house...I believe it's actually been turned into a museum now. There's plenty else to do as well.

Answer 2

Hellooooo?!?! Jacob's Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. You can also book on the internet to tour the field. There's the Natural History Musuem and the Health Musuem, which is geared towards children. They are right by each other. There's Cedar Point which is about an hour and half away from Cleveland. Dave and Busters on the west side of Cleveland. Cleveland after 8:00 pm is scary, so please be careful.

Answer 3

The Rock Hall is like a museum. I'm not sure a 10 year old boy would like it much. It has a lot of stuff from the 50-60's. Probably not his scene.

Cleveland has a great zoo. Jacob's field is a great place to see a ballgame. The Cav's might still be playing if you are here in early spring. There is a Dave and Buster's in Westlake for food and fun.

Cedar Point amusement park is about 2 hours west. It is the best coaster park in the world. Niagara Falls is 3 hours to the east. Check out www.ticketmaster.com for events during your stay and www.cleveland.com always has the latest event information.

Answer 4

Well just like the other people I say go to an Indians game, someone said check out the Football Hall of Fame in Canton. I think you might want to check out the zoo, they have a rain forest, I hear it is really nice. I don't think the Rock Hall is a good idea, but the Science Center right next door is. There are a lot of kid friendly activities. The Natural History Museum is another kid friendly place as well as the Children's Museum which located in the same area. I hope you have fun and I hope it isn't still snowing when you decide to come. Cedar Point opens in May that is another good place to check out.

Answer 5

Spring and a 10 year old boy, right?
Indians Game, Cavs Game, zoo, bike ride the trails in the MetroPark or down by the Canal.
Dave and Busters out in Westlake?
(maybe too early for Cedar Point)

Does he golf, lots of golf courses (and a driving range or batting cage) for him to play around, a couple a places with go-karts.

"educational" the art museum and the cultural gardens on the near east side
A lot depends on both of your interests.

Answer 6

there is a ton to do. he would really like the cleveland metropark zoo for sure. clemetzoo.com ummm yeah, of course the jacob's field. rock and roll hall of fame. the great lakes science center is really great, which is right up against the lake which is amazing! Tower city. if you are going in march, i would definately go to the St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown......it is just AMAZING! Cleveland is one of the only 3 cities in the US that hold a parade on St. pattys' day. Chicago and NYC also do.

Little Italy and chinatown are fun to do. dave and busters in westlake.

Answer 7

I went many years ago, but will always remember the Lake, Cedar Point and the Zoo. I was about 12 years went we was there. Enjoy your kid.

Answer 8

Fun n Stuff in Macedonia family fun center arcade, lazer tag if your staying downtown it's about 20 minutes away.

Swing n things in north Olmsted about a 20 min drive from Cleveland family fun center go carts, paintball, arcade
http://www.swings-n-things.com/

Lazerextreme in middleburg hts 20 min away from Cleveland largest lazer tag arena in the Cleveland area http://www.lazerxtreme.com/

Science center downtown Cleveland interactive museum

Angelo's pizza in Lakewood Ohio 10minutes away from Cleveland best pizza hands down in the city http://www.angelosonline.com/


Cheddar's a macaroni restaurant 20 different macaroni and cheese dinner a kid's dream.

Cuyahoga Scenic railroad good sightseeing daytrip takes you to Akron and huge metro park. http://www.cvsr.com/

Whirleyball a cross between lacrosse and basketball its pretty fun
http://www.whirlyball.net/

Firefly's mini golf glow in the dark minature golf pretty fun inside one of our largest malls in Cleveland area south park shopping center http://www.fireflysminigolf.com/

west side market w. 25th street www.westsidemarket.com
indoor or outdoor market largest in Cleveland good tourism spot get to sample all kinds of fruits/meats/sweets
anything else go to http://www.positvelycleveland.com/

Answer 9

Much of what the 10-year-old boys in my life most enjoyed in northern Ohio won't be available if your visit is before May.

1) Cedar Point, rated the top amusement park in the world for the 10th straight year, probably would be the number one attraction, but it in past years it hasn't opened until mid-May:

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/news/news.cfm

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/visit/schedule/index.cfm

If you do make it to Cedar Point, and haven't been there before, be advised that some kids (and many adults) are scared of the biggest coasters. All kids seem to love the Raptor, however, once they've braved it the first time. The Gemini also is a hit, and it has the added advantage of often having no lines. If you can ride the Gemini at night, when both of the racing coasters are running, it is something very special IMO.

The bravest of the young ones in my life loved the Mean Streak as soon as he was tall enough to ride it. The positive G's held him in his seat (the negative G's of the Magnum, however, were too much for him). Also, the waiting line for the Mean Streak snakes inside the Mean Streak, offering one of the most memorable and beautiful vistas in the park, as riders are dwarfed by the Mean Streak's wooden roller coaster hills. The Mean Streak creates life-long memories IMO.

Even if a kid is too short to ride the big coasters, there are plenty of other rides that kids love including the Wave Swinger and Thunder Canyon (on a warm day).

If your son is a football fan, be certain to take a walk along Cedar Point Beach, stop and tell him that he's standing where the forward pass was perfected in 1913, leading to the emergence of Notre Dame as a national football power.

<
Heretofore unacclaimed outside of the Midwest, Notre Dame by virtue of its stunning victory over Army became recognized universally. The Army game was the starting point toward a national schedule and a predestined meeting with fate....

Harper knew it was going to be a tough year, so before his players went away for their summer vacation, he gave a football to his quarterback Gus Dorais and end Knute Rockne and told them to throw it around in their leisure time. It turned out to be the best bit of strategy that Harper employed all year. Dorais and Rockne practiced the forward pass all summer at a beach resort in Cedar Point, Ohio.

"Perfection of the forward pass came to us only through daily, tedious practice," Rockne once said. "I'd run along the beach, Dorais would throw from all angles. People who didn't know we were two college seniors making painstaking preparations for our final season probably thought we were crazy. Once a bearded old gentleman took off his shoes to get in the fun, seizing the ball and kicking it merrily, with bare feet, too, until a friendly keeper came along to take him back where he belonged."

Dorais invented a better way to throw the ball that summer, and Rockne developed a better way to catch it. "Rockne continued to develop his deceptive, stop-and-go style of going down the field for a pass, a style used by nearly all good pass receivers," Dorais said. "I worked hard to increase the accuracy and length of my passes. A rule change that would become effective that fall had removed all restrictions on the length of a legal forward pass.">>

http://www.irishlegends.com/pages/reflections/reflections33.html

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/seniors/attractions.cfm

2) The U.S. Cod, which doesn't open until May 1, is an understandable thrill for young boys, and a great history lesson. The Cod is the only WWII submarine exhibit in the U.S. which hasn't been altered to provide easy access. So visitors must climb down the original hatchways and ladders. Some adults can't handle this, but kids love it.

http://www.usscod.org/aerialview.html

http://www.usscod.org/info.html

http://www.usscod.org/

http://www.usscod.org/hours.html

3) A cruise on the Goodtime III or the Nautica Queen offers not only a great experience for a land-locked 10-year-old, but also a great view of Cleveland, especially after dark. Both ships may have limited schedules prior to June.

http://cleveland.about.com/od/sightseeingtours/p/goodtimeIII.htm

http://cleveland.about.com/od/partyvenuesandcaterers/p/nauticaqueen.htm

If you plan to come before May, there still is much to do, especially during Maple Season in March.

As mentioned by others, catching an Indians game or Cavs game is a memorable event, especially if your son has never been to a professional baseball or basketball game.

I'm not a big fan of cold weather baseball, but if the Indians aren't at home when you want to visit Cleveland, you can get an up close and personal pro baseball experience at a Captains game in Eastlake, Ohio, or an Aeros game in Akron.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/schedule/page.jsp?ymd=20071004&content_id=309048&vkey=schedule_t437&fext=.jsp&sid=t437

http://www.akronaeros.com/schedule.html?mm=04&yyyy=2008

http://www.akronaeros.com/canal-facts.php

Both teams are minor league affiliates of the Indians.

The Captains play near Lake County Farmpark (see discussion below) and the Aeros, a AA affiliate, play in a much larger stadium near the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which has many interactive exhibits and might interest your son:

http://www.invent.org/about_invent_now/4_3_0_museum.asp

The opportunity to see the Cavs' King James, a legend in the making, shouldn't be passed up. The Q also offers professional hockey in addition to the Cavs, and many other events. Check out the events calendar as the spring calendar is firmed up:

http://www.theqarena.com/publish/events/index.php

Additionally, you might want to check the schedule at the CSU Wolstein Center once spring events are firmed up. This is a great place to catch a circus or other event of interest:

http://www.csuohio.edu/wolsteincenter/

Don't miss the Great Lakes Science Center, especially if your son hasn't ever been to a major science museum or to an Imax theater.

http://www.glsc.org/visit/omnimax.php

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo can be quite enjoyable on a nice spring day (no rain). Many of the exhibits are enclosed, so it's just a matter of walking between buildings. If you're son hasn't been to a major zoo, this would be a highly recommended place to visit.

http://www.clemetzoo.com/

If you've never been to a Rain Forest (and the Cleveland Metropark Zoo has one of the largest in the country), here's your chance:

http://www.clemetzoo.com/visit/

http://www.clemetzoo.com/tour/area.asp?a...

If your son hasn't ever been to a planetarium, this is his chance to visit one of the best in the country:

http://www.cmnh.org/site/atthemuseum_planetariumandobservatory.aspx

For your son, if you don't have a farming background, a visit to the Lake County Farmpark might be both educational and very enjoyable, especially for Maple Sugaring Weekend (I do enjoy pancakes and sausage with real maple syrup on a cold March day, if you haven't guessed). Kids love this place:

http://www.lakemetroparks.com/select-

The Holden Arboretum is a unique place, and well worth a visit if you would like to take a hike on a beautiful spring day. A tour of the Arboretum's sugarbush in March is well worthwhile, especially if you can catch a pancake breakfast featuring real maple syrup.

http://holdenarb.org/index.htm

http://holdenarb.org/Learn/calendar.htm

If you're coming to Cleveland in March, don't miss the Geauga County maple syrup season.

http://www.ohiomagazine.com/OhioTravel/report.asp?ID=7674100E51D547C29014CA51828B8E5F

Personally, I like the sugarbush in Burton (see link in the above article).

The Maple Festival will be held in Chardon March 27-30 in 2008.

Regardless of when you visit Cleveland, you should have an excellent time!

Answer 10

u should visit tower city and go check out our malls and movies and resturants