With only a few weeks left in the semester, we are rapidly approaching the excitement of summer break. If you’re like me at all, you might relate when I say that it feels like I never really do anything during the break. With work and running errands, it feels like there’s never time to do anything I want to do when it comes to travel/vacation. This year I wanted to focus on finding things, students can do around Cleveland that are cheap, close, and entertaining. Thanks to the UST 259 class I attended in the fall, I have been able to visit some locations around the city, and I wanted to share a few places that would be perfect for taking a look at in the summer.
Museums
Cleveland offers many museums that cover almost any topic, including the Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Great Lakes Science Center. Cleveland is known for having the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including artists like Eminem, Dolly Parton, and Nirvana. Cleveland also offers an outdoor museum called The Cultural Gardens, which holds different parks dedicated to each country. This was created to help immigrants have somewhere to embrace their heritage even though they are in a different country. You can view Cleveland’s other museums here if you’re interested.
Parks
There are many parks around Cleveland, including but not limited to The Metroparks, Rocky River Reservation, Lakeview Cemetery, and Rockefeller Park. All of these are within a 10-mile radius of campus and have so much to offer. The Metroparks, specifically, at over 300 miles, offers much, including hiking trails, pavilions, playgrounds, and workout stations. They have a huge variety of wildlife, trees, and beautiful views. These places are perfect if you’re into hiking or biking or want a place to relax with your loved ones.
Beaches
The two most common beaches in the Cleveland area are Huntington Beach and Edgewater Beach/Park. Huntington Beach is located in Bay Village, and they offer half a mile of the beach and multiple piers. They also offer picnic spots, ice cream, and hiking trails. The most common beach in the Cleveland area is Edgewater. This park offers a 1.7-mile trail that includes a pier, the beach, pavilions, and one of the six Cleveland signs.
Sports
Whether you like sports or not, sporting events in Cleveland are always a great experience. With April 7 being the home opener for the Guardians, the stadium sold out for the 29th year in a row, filling up a little over 35k seats. The stadium offers a wide selection of food, events, and photo opportunities outside of the sport. If you are enrolled in Cleveland State University, they offer a student discount to most sporting events in Cleveland. For the Guardians, they offer $10 bleacher seats, which is definitely a cheap option for you and your friends. If baseball games aren’t your thing, another option is Top Golf in Independence. They offer a space for you and up to 6 people to play golf and eat/drink, and they’re half-priced on Tuesdays. Whether or not you know how to play golf, this place is a fun option.
Other places
If none of those options sparked your interest, don’t worry, Cleveland has a lot more than this. Located right next to Cleveland State University, Playhouse Square is the 2nd largest performing arts center in the United States. This summer, they will be showing performances by Great Lakes Theatre, The Broadway Series, and CSU students. The upcoming events can be found here. Cleveland Public Library is the oldest library in the Cleveland area, offering over 5 million books. They also have an artifacts section that includes older books from the early 1,000s and a stone from the Great Wall of China. It is free to get a library card, and only a few blocks from campus, it is a great place to visit.
If you are into nightlife, East 4th Street is a hotspot for college students. This area has bars, restaurants, and events like Barrio and Mahalls. East 4th is known for its entertainment events like comedy shows, concerts, and bowling. This street is also a few blocks from the public square, a common area for many Clevelanders.
If you like animals, Cleveland holds a zoo and an aquarium. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is located in Old Brooklyn, and it includes many different animals, a rainforest, and occasional events such as their annual Asian Lights Festival. The zoo is also free on Mondays. The Greater Cleveland Aquarium is located right next to the Cuyahoga River in the Flats. They hold over 320 species of aquatic life and are open every day after 10 am.