Hinckley Lake Boathouse & Store — Attraction in Hinckley Township

Great park with an array of activities the whole family can enjoy. Great Fishing in the "top" of the lake, multiple dock areas with a boathouse for pontoons, motor boats, canoes, and kayak rentals, bait, fishing gear, and many other things. The "bottom" of the lake as locals will refer to it to is for swimming. Under the spillway is a range of 1-10 foot waters with 2 small beach areas. Animals are NOT allowed in the swimming areas and must be kept to the north behind the bridge/wall where it meets the East Branch of the Rocky River. Waters are mostly calm, and the river is a great rocky area to catch crayfish and small garter snakes. The ledges are a great places for hiking and walks, but can sometimes be a bit difficult for young children, pets, and anyone with physical hindrance. If starting at the top of the ledges, there's a bit of climbing required to get down, and If you're afraid of heights, would not be a good option for you. If you start from the "bottom" of the ledges its not so much climbing, but hiking up the steep hill does take a bit of work. For a less intensive walk, the 2 paths around the lake are fairly easy. There is a paved bike/walking path that follows the road and a gravel path that gets closer to the lake. Many other activities and sights to see, check out the Cleveland...

Hinckley lake is a beautiful spot for kayaking, I do not recommend renting their kayaks. When our party of four was getting the kayaks, we were rushed on getting in and given very rigid instructions and staff omitted very important instructions. We had just started out onto the lake when I realized I had no foot rest on the left side so I kayaked back to the launch site. I was reprimanded for coming back before I was done kayaking. I explained the problem to the dark-haired staff member, and she said all the kayaks they rent have broken off foot rests due to customers breaking them. Another party was returning their kayaks and said they had a kayak with foot rests on each side. The staff member did not believe them and gave me a hard time about wanting the kayak they were returning. She eventually relented, and gave me that kayak. I learned there is a special way to adjust those foot rests so that they do not get broken, but the staff never gave instructions to any of us about how to do that which would prevent breakage. It would be great if your facility would fix your kayaks and give proper education for future renters. I thought the kayaks were very expensive per hour when they were...

Your experience depends on where you go on the reservation. We started off with the three mile hinckley lake loop. If you're looking for a hike, this isn't it. Mostly flat and either gravel or asphalt.

We decided to rent a canoe afterward. Paid for two hours thinking that a 90 acre lake may have a bit to explore.

...nope. We stayed out less than an hour because it's just a big, open lake. Nothing interesting to see.

Then we went to Whipps Ledges trail, which is right down the road. This one is only a mile loop, but it's a lot tougher terrain and more fun. Lots of things to climb, lots of tricky navigating along the rocks and ledges. Took us as long to do this one as three miles at the other one did. So whipps ledges is definitely recommended.

Careful, though; very easy to get lost on this one. Not very well marked... there are a lot of paths that look like they're part of the trail but are not. Be very prudent about watching for the markers on trees. Otherwise you'll end up in some farmer's field.

Overall I gave it a three because the lake loop and canoe were so underwhelming. I'd give just that a 2. I'd give whipps a 4, losing one star only because of how poorly marked. So,...