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| - Cody Jay Mode and Paule B on the frozen surface of Lake Chippewa. |
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| - Chippewa Lake shoreline. |
Myself and two friends, Cody Jay Mode and Paule B, embarked on a trip to the Northeastern corners of Ohio in search of abandoned amusement parks. Meeting at dawn in Dayton, we ventured out stopping once for gasoline at a desolate looking BP station:
Right across from this BP station I made the discovery that Dayton apparently has Hardees. This would become a recurring theme throughout the day as apparently all of Ohio has Hardess EXCEPT for Cincinnati. I think it's ok though, because we have Jack in the Box.
We stopped again to get coffee and off brand 7-11 cupcakes. The cupcakes made excellent holders for the numerous sparklers found in the rear of Paule B's SUV:
Eventually we arrived in Chippewa Lake, Ohio, a cute little lake side town with older bungalows situated in neighborhoods bordering the frozen water. The weather and wind were respectively colder and harsher than what we were living in further south. However, we thought the frozen lake would make for an ally in our quest to see the remains of the abandoned Chippewa Lake Amusement Park:
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| - A barbed wire fence protecting the crumbling ticket booths of the long closed Chippewa Lake Amusement Park. |
After climbing through the abandoned rail cars, we returned to once again have a look at the closed park:
We stood on the ice in the middle of the dock and on the frozen beach looking for a way in.
We conversed with some locals who eventually helped us find our way through the woods to the abandoned roller coaster...
...and ferris wheel:
Eventually we stopped for truck stop sustenance and made our way to another one of Ohio's abandoned amusement parks:
In the process of destruction, we were relegated to merely just driving around the public perimeter, but that doesn't stop the shuttered remains of Geauga Lake from being photogenic.
Detailed article on all three of these locations coming in the next few days.
Man, this is going back, but all the Burger Chefs we used to have in Cincy became Hardees AFAIK. WE're talking 1987 or so. There used to be one in Forest Park/Springdale on Northland blvd/Kemper rd not too far from where I grew up in Greenhills. I believe that location is now a car dealership. Don't mourn Hardees too much. It was about as good as Rax, or Roy Rogers, or, er, Burgur Chef, all of which are now history.
ReplyDeleteI remember the one on Northland! Always say it as a kid with it s play place and what not. It's definitely gone now, htere's a huge BMW dealership these days.
DeleteCan't wait for the updates, abandon amusement parks are quite interesting.
ReplyDelete"Paule B" sounds like a cool dude.
He runs a great quiz show.
DeleteIf you ever plan on visiting Idora Park in Youngstown let me know, I always wanted to sneak in there.
ReplyDeleteAnother great place is dog patch in AK. It has been abandoned for sometime.
ReplyDeleteWhen are they going to open king island this year? I heard some geaga lake stuff will be there next year.
ReplyDeleteIs the roller coaster now demolished at Chippewa Lake Park? It was there standing, abandoned, the past 35 years, but I heard it was recently torn down.
ReplyDelete