What guests soak in and experience at Hueston Woods State Park in College Corner, Ohio, is what they want to remember and take home with them. On Saturdays, the Nature Center on-site sends an expert to the lodge with an owl, hawk, snake or all three. Wings are clipped on the flying friends so they won’t accidentally soar up like loose balloons.
Visitors engage, ask the naturalists questions and learn something new. “After they are done watching and meeting with animals, they often come into the gift shop,” says Cyndi Reuss, gift shop manager.
Then come sales of owl and snake plushies, eagle statues and Warmies in relevant themes that you can heat up in the microwave. They defuse a relaxing lavender scent and go over big with adults, too.
Hueston Woods is a hub for family reunions, retreats, couples’ getaways, business conferences and nature escapes. The lodge is a wedding venue and birthday spot. It’s also a convenient stay-over spot when dropping a college kid off at Miami University, just five miles up the road.
Guests like purposeful souvenirs, such as laser-engraved pocketknives.
Besides the proximity to campus, what sustains Hueston Woods is its setting on Acton Lake with attractions like a championship golf course, cross-country skiing and a 108-foot historic covered bridge.
“It’s just a tranquil place,” says Reuss. “We’re in a big, A-framed building with a lot of glass so guests can look out on the lake, and then they like to come in and check out the gift shop. So many people are amazed at how big it is and how much is here.”
A ‘wild experience’
A vintage sign in front of the gift shop sets the tone for a wild experience. It lists animal fur prices in 1801, some costs in currency we know like raccoon for 37 to 40 cents. Then there’s price tags like Dodo coins (assigned to bears) from the 1800s.
The lodge’s displays of other artifacts like arrowheads also inspire purchases. “Guests love the history and are amazed at what they find here,” Reuss says.
Guests also appreciate folklore, namely Bigfoot.
Sourced from Ganz, Bigfoot goodies include a sign that says, “Gone Squatching,” and another that reads, “Hide-and-Seek Champion.” If a trinket is a better fit, Bigfoot spotters can nab a figurine-charm tied to an explainer about the famed creature.
Some want to wear the mystique with a T-shirt picturing Bigfoot disappearing into a forest much like Hueston’s. The screen print reads, “Get lost in Hueston Woods.”
The Hueston Woods gift shop features nature and camping themes on its T-shirts.
The Bigfoot gear ties in with camping and hiking products that are displayed together, says Reuss. Those include hiking sticks, some of which break down into a handy pouch. The shop sells name-drop medallions designed for fixing atop hiking sticks as a souvenir.
There’s an on-site camp store open during summer, so the Hueston Lodge gift shop focuses mostly on camping souvenirs with some sundry items for just-in-case situations.
Top Guy Mugs offers stainless steel camp-style mugs with names and sayings that are popular picks. Laser-engraved pocketknives and rose gold keychains by Wayne Carver are also displayed on a spin rack — souvenirs with purpose. Reuss also stocks alphabet letter engraved keychains since some names are hard to find, and words like love or grandma.
Little things, big draw
Fun souvenirs often come in small packages like jewelry, lotions and perfume for women and impulse buys for kids. When there’s something for everyone, bag size increases. Top-selling Black Hills Gold Jewelry is made in South Dakota and speaks to the lodge’s American Indian roots. Styles include leaves, vines and green, rose and yellow colorways.
Jewelry by Silver Forest made in southern Vermont incorporates genuine semi-precious stones. The company’s Spirit line is especially popular at Hueston Woods Lodge’s gift shop, says Reuss.
“I always have women coming in for those earrings and I’m constantly restocking,” she says.
Annie Oakley perfumes are also a fast sell, especially the scent called Sunset. And Serious Lotion brand hand creams and bug repellents are easy grabs.
The shop carries Fahlo plush for kids and some quick-grab items that make memorable souvenirs. Reuss says she also sells tiny glass animals that are nostalgic and quick grabs.
“We display them in a basket and you have to dig through them and see what animals you can find. They look like hand-blown glass,” she says.
With the busiest days between shoulder seasons, Reuss says the stream of returning guests and retreat-goers, along with college traffic, keeps the gift shop hopping year-round. “I love the variety of people who tell you their stories and share their travels,” she says. “They like the tranquility and peacefulness they find here.”
