Things to Do in Cincinnati in the Winter

During the winter season, there are still a lot of fun things to do around Cincinnati, Ohio.

Don’t let the colder weather keep you from having an awesome adventure.

I’m sharing more about the top things to do in Cincinnati in the Winter that you will definitely want to add to your list.

*Make sure that you visit each museum/attraction/business’s website before you go. Their operating days and hours vary so you will want to plan accordingly.

Visit a Museum

Cincinnati has SO MANY museums! There is truly something for everyone ranging from history, art, sports-themed, unique, and more!

Museums at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal

• The Museum of Natural History & Science
• Duke Energy Children’s Museum
• Cincinnati History Museum
• The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center

Additional Historic Museums in Cincinnati

• National Underground Freedom Center
• Cincinnati Fire Museum
• Greater Cincinnati Police Museum
• Harriet Beecher Stowe House
• Skirball Museum in Cincinnati
• The Betts House
• The German Heritage Museum
• Cincinnati Aviation Heritage Society Museum

Sports-themed Museums

• Cincinnati Hall of Fame and Museum

Unique Museums in Cincinnati

• Lucky Cat Museum
• American Sign Museum
• Cincinnati Type and Print Museum

Art Museums in Cincinnati

• Taft Museum of Art
• Contemporary Arts Center
• Cincinnati Art Museum
• 21C Museum Hotel

Museums in Northern Kentucky

• Vent Haven Museum
• Behringer-Crawford Museum
• Creation Museum
• Ark Encounter
• Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati temporarily closed)

Take a Local Food Tour

A local food tour is a great way to discover local restaurants that you will want to return to. You get both quality and quantity as you sample your way through the city.

During a food tour, you eat great food, learning more about local history, and the stories behind the local restaurants that you visit.

You can take a self-guided tour at Findlay Market.

Or sign up for a group tour with Cincinnati Food Tours or Riverside Food Tours.

Experience Indoor Skydiving at iFLY Cincinnati

7689 Warehouse Row, Liberty Township,Ohio

Enjoy the thrills of skydiving without having to jump out of a plane at iFLY Cincinnati.

Flyers as young as 3 and up can experience what it’s like to float on a column of air from a vertical wind tunnel.

Ice Skate or Try Bumper Cars on the Ice at Fountain Square

(513) 621-4400

520 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 

Make a reservation for an ice skating session or a combo ice session with bumpers + skating. Ice skating sessions also include ice skate rentals.

Ice bumper car riders must be 5+ years old, at least 42 inches tall, and under 300 lbs. All rink sessions at Fountain Square are 60 minutes on split or full ice.

Additional Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks Around Cincinnati

• Fifty West Burger Bar Ice Rink
• Ice Rink at Summit Park

Indoor Ice Skating Rinks Around Cincinnati

• Northland Ice Center
• Northern Kentucky Ice Center
• Sports Plus

Solve the Puzzles in an Escape Room

Put your mind to the test in an escape room with friends or family. Escape rooms have a series of clues, challenges, and puzzles to solve.

If you can solve the puzzles and escape before your time runs out, your team earns bragging rights.

Escape Rooms Around Cincinnati

• Houdini’s Room Escape
• The Escape Game Cincinnati
• Cincinnati Escape Room
• Breakout Games
• OTR Escape
• Sherlock’s Escape Rooms
• Escapology Escape Rooms Cincinnati
• Escape Room Family LLC
• Delhi Who Dunnit
• Great Room Escape

Watch the Penguin Parade at the Cincinnati Zoo

3400 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 

Watch the cuteness of the penguins in action as they waddle from their habitat at Children’s Zoo to the Wings of the World habitat.

You can watch the Penguin Parade from January 5- March 13 at 11am on Saturdays and Sundays in 2020.

 (Special walks on MLK Day, Monday, January 20 & Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 17)

The Penguin Parade takes place when the weather temperatures are below 50 degrees for the penguins to walk.

You can also take advantage of special discount offers at the Cincinnati Zoo during the winter months too.

Try Something New at Fowling Warehouse Cincinnati

(513) 900-0959

2940 Highland Ave #230, Cincinnati, OH

What is Fowling?

Fowling is a fusion of Cornhole and bowling…with a football.

The goal is to knock off all of the other team’s bowling pins on their board. Each player gets a turn. It’s harder than it looks to knock down those pins but it’s also really fun!

Garden Goals Inspiration at the Krohn Conservatory

(513) 421-4086

1501 Eden Park Dr, Cincinnati, OH

There are over 3500 plant species on display from around the world at the Krohn Conservatory.

Located in Eden Park, the conservatory brings the beauty of the outdoors, indoors for guests to enjoy year-round.

Check the Krohn Conservatory website for hours and special events.

Try Combat Archery at Archery Arena

What is Combat Archery?

Combat archery is similar to dodgeball and paintball but you are using foam-tipped arrows to tag each other instead.

At Archery Arena you get 15 minutes of training followed by 60 minutes of gameplay creating a 75-minute session..

Take a Wine, Brewery, or Distillery Tour

Winter is a great time to take a tour of your alcohol of choice. For the best value take a guided tour with multiple stops.

Wine, Brewery and Distillery Tours Around Cincinnati

• Cincinnati Wine Wagon
• Cincinnati Brew Bus
• Brewing Heritage Trail
• Craft Connection – Cincinnati Brewery Tours
• Rhinegeist Brewery
• New Riff Distilling

Take a Guided Bus or Walking Tour of Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky with American Legacy Tours

Gain access to areas not open to the public, like the lager tunnel pictured above on a guided tour with American Legacy.

You can’t go wrong with any of the American Legacy tours ranging from historic, underground, food and drink, and haunted. I’ve taken several of their tours and I learn something new each time.

A few of my favorite American Legacy Tours are:

• Newport Gangster Tour
• Queen City Underground Tour
• Under the Market Tour

Play a Round of Top Golf

 (513) 342-6249

9568 Water Front Dr, West Chester Township, OH 

The best part of golf minus driving the golf cart, Topgolf allows you to experience golf in a casual environment that can be as competitive as you choose.

Players have different games and difficulty levels to choose from as you try to hit the target. Topgolf also has fantastic food options to enjoy served at your heated bay while you are waiting for your turn.

Visit an Indoor Trampoline Park

Show off your old moves or attempt a new one at a trampoline park.

You can bounce, challenge your friends to a game of dodgeball, show off your dunking skills, attempt a ninja skill or try a new trick in the foam pit.

Trampoline Parks Around Cincinnati

• Sky Zone Trampoline Park
• Rockn’ Jump
• Get Air Trampoline Park
• Urban Air Adventure Park
• DEFY Florence Kentucky
• Silverlake The Family Place (*Non-members can book for birthday parties)

Go Duckpin Bowling

Similar to traditional bowling but with smaller balls that weigh under 4 pounds without finger holds so that you can hold the ball in one hand.

The bowling pins are attached to strings and bowlers get 3 rolls per frame. Duckpin bowling is a great adventure that’s pretty laid back and easier to play for all ages and abilities.

Where you can try Duckpin Bowling Around Cincinnati

• Pins Mechanical Co
• Hoppin’ Vines

Regular Bowling and an Indoor Bocce Court

• Rotolo | Bowling Bocce Eatery

Go Indoor Go Kart Racing

Fulfill your need for speed by racing your group around the track in a go kart. With some venues where speeds can go up to 40 mph for adult karts, you get a rush that’s way more fun than rush hour.

Indoor Go Kart Locations Around Cincinnati

• Full Throttle Adrenaline Park
• The WEB Extreme Entertainment
• Scene 75 Entertainment Center

Try Axe Throwing

Ax throwing is safer than you would anticipate and definitely more FUN! This also a great activity for groups.

Ax Throwing Locations Around Cincinnati

There are several locations around Cincinnati where you can try ax throwing

• Urban Axes Cincinnati
• Flying Axes
• Class Axe Throwing
• Full Throttle Adrenaline Park (Florence)

Drink or Dine in a Rooftop Igloo

Enjoy scenic city views during a unique adventure inside an igloo.

You can make a reservation for a rooftop igloo in Cincinnati or Covington, Ky.

*Most igloos have a minimum spending amount and a set amount of time.

Rooftop Igloos Around Cincinnati

• Upper Deck at the AC Hotel (coming back sometime in January)
• The View at Shires’ Garden
• Braxton Brewery (Covington, KY)
• Kon-Tiki’s Fire Lounge Igloo Experience (Newport on the Levee)

Learn to Curl at Cincinnati Curling Club

5150 Duff Drive, West Chester, OH

Learn the basics of the winter Olympic sport of curling during a “Learn to Curl” session with Cincinnati Curling Club.

This is an adventure that is fun for a variety of ages and abilities.

Try Skiing, Snowboarding, or Snow Tubing at Perfect North Slopes

(812) 537-3754

19074 Perfect Pl Ln, Lawrenceburg, IN 

You can enjoy winter fun and play in the snow in Southeast Indiana. If there isn’t snow in Cincinnati it’s not a problem. Perfect North Slopes has snow thanks to their fantastic snowmaking machines.

Guests can ski, snowboard, or go snow tubing. If you are new to winter sports I highly recommend taking a ski or snowboard lesson. Ski or Snowboard Lessons are great confidence builders for first-timers. Lessons are also a nice refresher if it’s been a while since you’ve been on the slopes.

Snow tubing is a great multi-gen adventure that your group can experience together.

Get Your Passport Stamped on the B-Line

Experience the perfect compliment to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, in Northern Kentucky, located a short B- Line away. 

The B-Line has an assortment of bourbon-themed restaurants, bars, and distilleries that each have specific criteria to be on the official B-Line passport and trail.

You can try to make as many stops as possible in one day or you can stretch it out over time. Giving you something to look forward to over a longer period of time.

Explore Newport Aquarium

1-800-406-3474

1 Levee Way, Newport, KY 

Walk across the Shark Bridge, touch sharks, watch penguins play, and walk through tunnels where you can view incredible sea life from around the world at the Newport Aquarium.

Attend a Cyclones Hockey Game

Heritage Bank Center

100 Broadway St, Cincinnati, OH

*Cincinnati Cyclones will plan on resuming in the 2021-2022 ECHL Season

Enjoy watching a professional hockey game. For a great value, check out one of their ticket package specials.

Cincinnati Cyclones games are very family-friendly. Kids and adults love the entertaining intermissions in between the periods of the game.

Take a Cooking Class

This is pretty much the only way that I enjoy cooking. I like that it’s social and I’m less likely to screw things up with a professional nearby.

Cooking classes are fun for both novices and foodies. If you are really inspired you can attempt to recreate your meal at another time at home.

Cooking Classes Around Cincinnati

• Tablespoon Cooking Co.
• Sur La Table
• The Learning Kitchen
• Out of Thyme Kitchen Studio
• Findlay Kitchen
• Afromeals
• Glendalia Hotel Culinary Studio
• Del Gardo’s – (Cannoli making class)

Make a Custom Candle

The process for making a hand-poured candle is very simple. The hardest part is narrowing down all of your scent choices. A custom candle is a perfect gift for yourself or for someone special.

Where You Can Make A Custom Candle Around Cincinnati

• The Candle Lab OTR
• The Candle Lab Anderson
• Manitou Candle Co.
• Petals and Wicks

Which Winter Adventure Do You Want to Cross Off Your List First?

These winter adventures are also great experience gift ideas for the holidays, birthdays, or just because.

Free Cincinnati Winter Bucket List Printable