The Buckeye Lake Summer Bucket List

Wine, live music, ice cream, history, and a whole lot of lake — all within reach.

Summer at Buckeye Lake moves at exactly the right pace — slow mornings, sunny afternoons, and evenings that stretch out as long as you'll let them. There's more to do here than a single weekend can hold, so we rounded up the must-dos into one easy bucket list. And since Buckeye Beach Park is the only RV park right on the lake, with RV spots and newly built dock slips, you've got the perfect home base to check every one of them off.

1. Raise a Glass at Buckeye Lake Winery

Start with a toast to the season. Buckeye Lake Winery pairs local wines with a laid-back lakeside vibe that's hard to beat. It's the kind of spot where an afternoon turns into an evening before you've noticed — exactly how summer should go.

2. Catch Live Music at Papa Boo's

Let the night carry a soundtrack. Papa Boo's brings live music to the lake, and there's nothing quite like good food, cold drinks, and a local band as the sun goes down. Bring friends, stay a while, and let the day wind down the easy way.

3. Grab a Cone at Weldon's Ice Cream

No lake summer is complete without ice cream. Weldon's is a local favorite for a reason — the perfect sweet stop after a day on the water or a stroll around town. Treat the kids, treat yourself, treat everyone.

4. Wander Dawes Arboretum

Trade the dock for the trails for an afternoon. Dawes Arboretum offers miles of paths, gardens, and quiet green space just a short drive away. It's a peaceful change of pace and a great way to stretch your legs surrounded by Ohio's natural beauty.

5. Stroll Downtown Granville

Charming, walkable, and worth the trip. Downtown Granville is full of local shops, cafes, and small-town character. Spend a slow morning browsing and grabbing a bite before heading back to the water.

6. Step Back in Time at the Museum & the Earthworks

The history here runs deep. Start at the Buckeye Lake Museum to learn the story of the lake itself, then visit the Newark Earthworks — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most remarkable ancient landmarks in the country. It's history you can walk right through, all just down the road.

7. Make the Most of the Water

Of course, the lake itself is the main event. Spend a lazy day on the sandy beach just three blocks from the park, or get out on the water from one of our newly built dock slips in a calm, no-wake zone. Boating, swimming, paddling, or simply floating — this is what summer at Buckeye Lake is all about.

Working From the Lake: How Columbus Professionals Are Trading the Office View for Buckeye Lake

Your commute could end at the water's edge.

Remote work changed the rules about where you have to be. So here's a question worth sitting with: if your job only asks that you show up online, why are you showing up from the same desk every single day? Forty-five minutes east of Columbus, there's a different kind of office waiting — one with a lake breeze, a dock, and a sunset that beats any screensaver.

Forty-Five Minutes Changes Everything

Buckeye Lake isn't a far-flung escape — it's practically in Columbus's backyard. The drive runs about 45 minutes, which means you're close enough to dash into the city for an in-person meeting and back in time for an evening on the water. You don't have to choose between your career and the lake life. You can have the workday and the waterfront on the very same calendar.

As the only RV park on Buckeye Lake, Buckeye Beach Park gives you a home base that's hard to find anywhere else. You're not parked in a lot somewhere pretending to be on vacation. You're settled in at the lake, with a sandy beach just three blocks away and newly built dock slips sitting in a calm, no-wake zone.

Setting Up Your Lakeside Office

A good remote setup at the lake takes a little planning. Bring the essentials you'd want anywhere: a reliable laptop, a comfortable chair you can pull outside when the weather's nice, and a power strip for your site's hookup. A second monitor packs down smaller than you'd think and makes a long workday far easier on the eyes.

Connectivity is the one thing to sort out before you arrive. Most remote workers lean on a mobile hotspot or a solid phone plan to stay online, and it's worth testing your setup the way you'd run a quick sound check before a call. If you have video meetings that absolutely can't drop, plan a quiet corner of your RV as your "studio" and keep a backup connection handy.

A Workday That Ends at the Water

The magic of working from the lake is in the in-between moments. Take your morning coffee down toward the dock before the first email lands. Eat lunch with your feet in the sand instead of at your keyboard. Use a mid-afternoon lull to stretch your legs along the shoreline. The work still gets done — it just happens against a backdrop that makes the hours feel lighter.

And when you close the laptop, you're already there. No commute home, no fighting traffic to get to your weekend. The moment you clock out, the lake is steps away. Kayak the calm water, fire up the grill, or simply sit and watch the light change over the lake. That's the whole point.

Long Weekend or All Summer?

Start with a long weekend if you're testing the waters. Roll in Thursday evening, work Friday from your site, and you've stretched a normal weekend into a proper getaway without burning a single vacation day. It's the easiest way to find out just how good a Friday spreadsheet feels with a lake view.

Or settle in for the whole season. For Columbus professionals who can work from anywhere, a seasonal spot at Buckeye Beach Park turns the entire summer into lake life. Your evenings and weekends are already at the water, and your weekdays come with the best office view in central Ohio. Once you've done it, the old desk is a hard sell.

Clocking Out at Buckeye Lake

The after-hours scene here is half the appeal. Toast the end of the workweek at Buckeye Lake Winery, catch live music at Papa Boo's, or wind down with a cone from Weldon's Ice Cream. The sandy beach three blocks away is perfect for a quick reset between calls or a longer stretch once you're off the clock.

Weekends open up even more. Wander the trails at Dawes Arboretum, stroll the shops of downtown Granville, dig into local history at the Buckeye Lake Museum, or visit the Newark Earthworks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site just down the road. Your "commute" home is a walk back to the RV — and the whole region is yours to explore.

We've been on the shores of Buckeye Lake since 1986, and we still find ourselves learning something new about this place. It has a history that runs a lot deeper than most people realize — and a personality that keeps drawing people back year after year. Here are 25 things about Buckeye Lake that might surprise you.

□ The Lake Itself

□ A History That Goes Back Further Than You'd Think

□ The Playground of Ohio

This is the part of Buckeye Lake's history that tends to surprise people the most — and it's one of our favorites to share.

⛵ Life on the Water

□️ The Community Around the Lake

□️ What's Around the Lake

We've watched this lake from our little corner of the shoreline for nearly four decades. The history, the community, the way it draws people back season after season — it's something you feel more than you can explain. We're glad to be part of it, and we're glad you are too.

See you on the water. □

□ buckeyebeachpark.com

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