You know what’s fun? Renting a boat and cruising around a lake. Specifically, renting a pedal boat and cruising around Sharon Lake, the beguiling 35-acre body of water at the eponymous Great Parks of Hamilton County park.
Photograph by Sarah McCosham
Sharon Woods is one of those places I often forget about and am always delighted to rediscover. The oldest of Great Parks of Hamilton County’s parks, Sharon Woods is known for its amazing recreational opportunities, which include fishing, boating, golfing, and hiking. This 730-acre park is home to one of my kids’ favorite hiking trails, in fact, but we don’t often visit it for aquatic adventures. On a recent Sunday with sunny skies and nothing on the schedule, we decided it was time to partake in a little pedal boating adventure.
Photograph by Sarah McCosham
Sharon Harbor’s boathouse operates from mid-March through mid-October, offering pedal boats, row boats, canoes, kayaks, and motorboats for rent. You don’t need a reservation and pay by the hour, with a four-person pedal boat costing little more than a movie ticket.
Outfitted with life vests, the six of us filed into two pedal boats: the “Girl Gang” selecting a sparkly blue boat and the “Boy Band” opting for a green vessel. These are our usual teams for family game nights; weekly events that can get quite rowdy. Pedal boating prompted a similar friendly competitive spirit between our teams, and we eagerly raced back and forth along Sharon Lake for nearly an hour, exhausting our legs and delighting in a few friendly “bumps” between our boats along the way.
Photograph by Sarah McCosham
As the days of summer wane, file “renting a pedal boat at Sharon Woods” under your to-do list. This is the epitome of family fun, which is something we could all use—especially during this hectic back-to-school season.
Sharon Woods, 11450 Lebanon Rd., Sharonville
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