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Is the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch good for kids? CVSR Review

Posted on by Cindy
picture of In front of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train
12
Apr

If you live or have visited the Akron area, you’ve probably seen or heard the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR) trains. I’ve lived in the area my entire adult life and have never checked the CVSR out. They have fantastic programs that I’ve heard about year round including the Polar Express at Christmas time and Thomas the Train in the Summer. I’ve heard people rave about how fun it was but somehow never got around to checking it out. I’m here today to help you not make the same mistake I did. Don’t miss out on the exciting adventure right in our own back yard. Read on to find out why you should plan a trip on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

 

picture of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Akron Northside Station
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Akron Northside Station

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch Review

We were able to go on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad for a 3 hour train trip with a 4-course brunch. Make plans now to enjoy the CVSR Brunch Saturdays and Sundays during the months of April and May, 2011. The trip departs form Akron Northside Station at 11:35am.  What a fantastic way to watch spring come into bloom with your family, friends, or as a date with your love.

I wasn’t sure how my two kids ages 4 and 6 would handle a 3 hour train ride, eating a 4 course meal. They can hardly sit through dinner out at a nice restaurant before going climbing under the table.

Arrival of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train

The excitement began the moment we entered the parking lot at the Northside Station in downtown Akron, Ohio. People lined the tracks anticipating the CVSR train, others sat in one of two holding areas.

picture of Awaiting Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Awaiting Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Many were talking with the CVSR “conductor”, snapping pictures with the friendly man.

picture of Kids with CVSR Conductor
Kids with CVSR Conductor

From afar, we head the train whistle blowing, the train was coming! People stood waiting with cameras and video cameras in hand capturing the exciting arrival.

picture of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train Arriving
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train Arriving

The CVSR crew increased the excitement with conductors and train workers in uniforms stood between the train cars waving at us upon their arrival. We were all excited, kids and adults. This was also the first train ride for myself and husband.

picture of Conductors waving from Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train
Conductors waving from Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train

Video of the Arrival of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMdnvLCWrkA[/youtube]

It was so neat to see the train up close, such a beautiful train and much larger when you are standing right next to it. This also aids in the view from the train, something I didn’t even think about before our trip on the CVSR.

picture of In front of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train
In front of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Train

There are several options when riding the CVSR, you can ride in the travel cars or if you go for the brunch, you will be riding in the dining car. The booths were spacious and comfortable for the entire train ride, which is very important when traveling with kids. I wasn’t sure how many people would be in the dining car with kids, I was a little nervous. Let me put your mind at rest if you have little ones. About 2/3rds of the dining car was families with kids from newborns to teenagers. There were also couples enjoying the trip.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch First Course

Brunch service started immediately with drinks. Brunch is served with with coffee, tea, iced tea or water. You can also purchase mimosa’s, wines, beer and soft drinks. Next, our friendly waitress from Acme Catering offered us an amazing selection of breakfast pastries and huge muffins.

picture of Acme Catering provides brunch on CVSR
Acme Catering provides brunch on CVSR

Elijah and I enjoyed chocolate and blueberry muffins, my favorite!

picture of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch First Course
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch First Course

Matt and Elizabeth enjoyed apple and strawberry pastries. So fresh, sweet, and delicious. Also in the first course came a large fresh fruit cup with granola.

picture of CVSR Brunch was a hit with my kids
CVSR Brunch was a hit with my kids

My kids couldn’t eat it all. There is plenty to eat, we were offered more pastries or muffins. Elizabeth asked for a muffin after eating her strawberry pastry! She loved it! At this point, I could have been content as it was very filling but I knew more was to come. One huge piece of advice, don’t eat anything before going on the CVSR Brunch, seriously, no breakfast at all.

 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Scenery

We headed out of Akron’s Northside toward the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Being that we live next door to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, we thought we would immediately recognize where we were, not so. It took a while to figure out our surroundings. It was so fun to ride the rails behind houses, though the wooded areas, the swampy areas, past the dog park. People would wave from parks, trails, and their back porches as we road by.

All eyes were set outside the large train windows, every seat has an excellent view of nature. We went last week while it was still cooler out, with the buds on the trees started to open and flowers starting to bloom, now is the time to schedule your trip on the CVSR. It was amazing when we went, it has to be breathtaking now.  My kids love nature and were thrilled to see the varying landscapes, trees, swamps, ducks, rushing rivers, and even 2 waterfalls while on the train!

picture of Kids love the views of Cuyahoga Valley National Park from CVSR
Kids love the views of Cuyahoga Valley National Park from CVSR

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch Second Course

The Second Course arrived with an impressive plate with an Egg and Cheddar Crepe with a cheese sauce, seasoned hash brown potatoes and applewood smoked bacon. The applewood smoked bacon was delish and delighted my kiddos especially. The egg and cheddar crepe with cheese sauce was so flavorful, we weren’t sure what it was at first. It was just so good, nothing that I would have any idea how to prepare. Hash browns always hit the spot with me, seasoned just right. I am afraid that my kids were not able to eat 1/2 of it, although the bacon was devoured immediately.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Second Course
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Second Course

My husband and I enjoyed breakfast, however I couldn’t finish, especially knowing that I had 2 more courses ahead of me.

picture of Our Family on Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Our Family on Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Wildlife on the CVSR Trip

One of the conductors came to our car to alert us of an exciting thing ahead. Besides the famous bridge that the CVSR trains are always photographed beside, we were headed to a wetland area with a heronry.  My family has enjoyed watching the Blue Herons return this Spring to the Cuyhoga Valley National Park. We have never been to the Pinery Narrows heronry located on the west side of the Cuyahoga River, 1 mile north of the Station Road Bridge Trailhead. We had the pleasure of riding right past the heronry on our train ride.

The conductor pointed out the herons but also a huge Eagle’s Nest! I’ve never seen an Eagle’s Nest so I was thrilled to see it in all it’s glory. It was huge, I tried to take a picture but didn’t want to miss out on the moment so I didn’t try hard enough. Sorry. You will just have to go to experience it yourself. 🙂 The conductor said that normally eagles don’t nest with herons but this eagle had the right idea to move in next door to a food supply of heron eggs and baby herons.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kLTyTMJQvU[/youtube]

Stop at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Visitor’s Center

Shortly after, we made it to the 1/2 way point. We had a 40 minute stop at the visitor’s center. It was only about a fourth mile walk across a bridge and down a paved path to the center.

picture of Walking on the bridge to Cuyahoga Valley National Park Visitor Center
Walking on the bridge to Cuyahoga Valley National Park Visitor Center

It was the right amount of exercise and fresh air to make everyone happy. Elizabeth had started talking with a 5 year old girl while on the train. Getting out and playing together during this 40 minute break was perfect to make friends. They were too cute and ended up sitting together with Eljiah too on the second 1/2 of the trip. The girl and her grandma had traveled 3 hours from Southern Ohio to ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. They were excited and impressed by the whole experience. Isn’t that the case, we take for granted what we have in our own back yard?

picture of Making friends on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenice Railroad
Making friends on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenice Railroad

We were able to find some really neat displays on the history of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in the 2-story building. The displays went from 12,000 years ago to now. Boy have things changed!

picture of Cuyahoga Valley National Park Visitor Center
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Visitor Center

CVSR Train Cars

We had a fun time getting on and off the train at the stop. The train is pretty long, I should have counted the cars, probably a dozen. We had to walk through each train car to get to the loading and unloading platform. It was fun walking through the various cars. Ours was the only dining car. You can see how spacious and comfortable the tables are.

The dining car with a table was perfect with kids too. We brought markers, coloring books, and small toys for my kids to play with. We didn’t know how much scenery would keep their attention. While they didn’t play too much with the items, it was good to have. The table was a nice surface to play on with kids.

picture of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Dining Car
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Dining Car

There were many passenger cars, with seats similar to that which you would find on an airline, with a little more leg room and in groupings of 4. There were 2 train cars with stuff you could by from hot food, snacks, drinks to souvenirs, coloring books, hats, shirts, and toys. This is good to note if you take a train ride without the brunch.

 

picture of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Passenger Car
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Passenger Car

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch Third Course

After we got settled down with fresh drinks, our Third Course arrived. You can choose from a Sauteed Chicken Breast with Sherry Mushroom Cream Sauce, Smoked Beef Brisket with Citrus Chipotle BBQ Sauce or Pasta Primavera with shrimp. Kids can choose from chicken nuggets or mac n cheese. I enjoyed the Pasta  Primavera with shrimp while my husband enjoyed the Beef Brisket.  The pictures didn’t turn out of the pasta, let me just tell you the pasta had a good flavor with a hint of pesto and the shrimp was plentiful and perfect. The steamed vegetables were yummy too.

I also enjoyed tasting my husband’s Beef Brisket. The Citrus Chipotle BBQ Sauce was tangy with a little kick. The couple next to use raved about the sauce and took their leftovers home!

picture of Smoked Beef Brisket with Citrus Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Smoked Beef Brisket with Citrus Chipotle BBQ Sauce

My kids both chose the chicken nuggets with apple sauce. They were almost like small chicken tenders, they were plump, juicy pieces of white meat. Very tasty. My kids were stuffed and only managed to eat a couple each so we took their leftovers home.

picture of Kids Meal on Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch
Kids Meal on Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch Fourth Course

The Fourth Course is Dessert: Lemon Cream torte with drunken strawberries. Kids get plain “un-drunken” strawberries, of course. Even though we were all completely full, we did enjoy at least some of our deliciously sweet and tart, super moist lemon cream torte.  We brought the rest home and enjoyed it that evening.

picture of Lemon Cream Torte with drunken strawberries
Lemon Cream Torte with drunken strawberries

Is the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch good for kids?

So, the big question is “Is the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch good for kids?” Will kids like the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad? What is a good age to ride the train? From personal experience with a 4 year old girl and a 6 year old boy, I say YES! There were babies through teenagers and I saw nothing but happy kids (and even happier parents). Take them. It is an amazing experience to ride a train at any age. It is even more amazing to ride the train through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

 

picture of Kids have fun on the CVSR train

We have 2 amazing resources right here in Summit County – a train and a national park. Take advantage of it, enjoy it with your families. If you don’t already have Easter Plans, the CVSR is offering a special Easter Brunch on April 23 & 24th, 2011. Take a look at their special Easter Brunch menu.

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Buy Tickets to Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch

You can buy tickets online to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch. $50 Adults and $25 kids 3-12

Win $50 Gift Certificate toward a CVSR Scenic Trip (Closed)

Updated: 5/5/11 Winner Announced: Congratulations, Brian

CVSR is offering one lucky AkronOhioMoms.com fan a $50 Gift Certificate toward a CVSR Scenic Trip. Explore the length of beautiful Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) from the comfort a train car. Peer out the windows, catch a glimpse of a white-tailed deer, bald eagles soaring above, families hiking along the Ohio & Erie Towpath trail, and historic buildings. Prices start at just $10 a person. Winning this gift certificate would be a fun outing for the entire family!

For complete contest rules, please see our Contest Statement and Blog Disclosure.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on May 2, 2011 when a winner will be drawn at random and announced the next day. When commenting, please include your email address (not visible to public). I will notify the winners and they will have 36 hours to respond!

This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to CVSR who provided the tickets for review & giveaway.

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Cindy
Founder and Lead Blogger at Akron Ohio Moms
Cindy is the top Akron Blogger with her own take on awesome brands for families, where to vacation for families, a beat on local activities and family fun, a knack for getting moms to share , and a house that is always 2 weeks away from a complete remodel!
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203 thoughts on “Is the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brunch good for kids? CVSR Review”

  13. Michelle says:

    I entered Tonka Chuck Trucks Toys Review and TONKA Chuck & Friends Big Air Dare Movie Giveaway #4

  21. teresa says:

    nice drive even if you aren’t on the train. used to drive that route to brecksville when i worked there. now am in akron. would like to take my nephews.

  25. Katy says:

    Oh my word, I would love to take my kids on the Day Out with Thomas… although it’s not going to happen this year because I’ll be out of the country…………….. but it’s a trip I would LIKE to take! 🙂

  34. Phyl says:

    I learned there’s a trip for everyone! How neat to take your bikes on the train, or to go all out and join them for a wine tasting night. All sounds great to me!

  40. Mary Knauf says:

    I understand your frustration over your home remodel, I am in the middle of redoing my kitchen and have been without a kitchen sink for half a month – and we are just replacing our existing cabinets – not changing the layout. I can not imagine living through what you are doing – and with small children on top of it!

  46. Mary Knauf says:

    I would love to take my family for the brunch, but my husband would also like the beer excursion!

  48. Anna Black says:

    I would take my kids to the Thomas the Train event at the end of the month if I won!!!!!!!!!! They would love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  50. Lisa says:

    I’m with you on the brunch idea, everything looked too good to eat, I would have to hit the gym big time afterward. HA

  62. Pingback: I just entered to #Win $50 Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Gift Card Ends 5/2 #contests #sweepstakes https://www.akronohiomoms.com/?p=11735 – Your Sweepstakes

  95. Stacy says:

    The Train to the Paranormal sounds interesting but I think I would enjoy the brunch ride the best!
    nrdunningATgmailDOTcom

  105. Renee Parcell says:

    I just discovered the Akron Ohio Moms facebook site..Awesome..Alot of useful info. Enjoyed reading Cindy’s blog about the cvsr train brunch..We volunteered last year for the Day out with Thomas event through Cvsr, but did not ride. Would LOVE to take our 3 year old daughter for a ride on Thomas the Tank this year!!

  108. Lauren Presutti says:

    Have been wanting to take the kids on this train for a couple years. I love the brunch ride and the stop at the history center~ I also would be interested in taking the bike tour from the train~altho that one may have to wait for the kids to get a little older 🙂

  109. Vickie Steele says:

    What an exciting trip this would be!! Right in our back yard and never done it.
    The food looks scrumptous and the train ride would be something to talk about.
    Bring your cameras-TFS

  112. cheryl bastulli says:

    I work with MR/DD individuals and try to take a small group of these guys every summer.
    We can’t afford to take everybody, and it has only been the train ride back and forth so far. They have loved the train ride and get so excited!

    A brunch/train ride would be so much fun and exciting for my consumers! They all don’t get to go out in public activities very often, and they so appreciate when they can.

    The money would allow us to take a few more adults. Thanks so much!

  123. Michelle says:

    We love to go on the Day Out with Thomas ride. The kids really believe they are on the island of sodor

  133. Cindy says:

    You are at the right place for the scoop on everything local to NE Ohio, Ming! Welcome to Akron area, we have lots of reviews on local places to visit under Ohio tab, under Travel Ohio.

  134. Ming Spelic says:

    This is very helpful information for families like us who are new to the area. We would love to take our children to the train ride. It looks like a lot of fun. We will definitely take your advice and get on that train very soon.

  135. 216amyc says:

    Because I no longer live in Akron, I’d like to take the Akron Explorer trip. That way my family could see Hale Farm & Village-they’ve never been there!

  156. Angela says:

    I would like to do one of their wine tasting rides. We have done their mother’s day and Polar Express ones in the past and really enjoyed the experience.

  162. Elizabeth Towns says:

    I have been wanting to do this with my son and daughter for a while now. I would LOVE to do a Day out With Thomas. Your pictures are great, and it looks like so much fun for the little ones.

  170. tammigirl says:

    My husband might like the win tasting. I know we would both enjoy the brunch trip, too! I know the kids would all enjoy the brunch trip as well.

  188. Margie S says:

    The bunch sounds fantastic. I learned about Thomas coming in May, this is the first year my son is really old enough to enjoy that trip and can’t wait to take him.

  189. Shannon says:

    We road the CVSR one May when my son was 4… yep you guessed it, for Thomas the Tank Engine 🙂 So fun. I had no idea they did so many other neat trips. The brunch sounds really neat for the family or the wine country one sounds like a great date with my hubby!!! Thanks for another great giveaway and info about another NEOH treasure. (We did the Spicy Lamb farm last weekend – we didn’t win that giveaway but I heard about the farm thru you!!) Thx Cindy!

  190. kelly williams says:

    My family went on the Thomas ride last year.. They LOVED it. The excitement in their faces when they saw Thomas coming toward them and when they got to climb up in the car was priceless! Definatly worth it!

  193. Kerry kelly says:

    We have been on the train before, but not for brunch. My daughter loves trains and would love to do again in spring, summer or fall.

  195. Cindy says:

    So exciting, Deanna. Thanks for sharing. I’m sure they would have a fun time on a REAL train, even if they have outgrown the Thomas character.

  198. Deanna Butler says:

    I am so happy to have found your review. Sadly, my kids have outgrown “Thomas” and don’t want to go to visit him in May. BUT, when I showed them your review of the brunch, they thought it sounded like a lot of fun! Thanks for the idea and such a fantastic review!

  201. marci h says:

    i would like to take the “Brunch on the Cuyahoga” with my hubby–he just retired and this would be a great and fun surprise to share with him 🙂

    marci h
    tristatecruisers at yahoo dot com

  203. Toni Alabakovski says:

    I learned that Thomas is coming again in May. We have done this 2 years and my kids have always really enjoyed it, however I think we are done with the Thomas ride and now I want to take them on a few real rides.

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