Carlton Landing is the ideal vacation destination for families. The thief of quality family time is distraction. Distractions on both the part of the child with homework, desire for screentime & friends. And for adults, it’s work, home management, keeping up with your child’s needs & the ever pressing ding of phone notifications. Our minds are always racing with the next urgent & important need.

I’m a very task & achievement-oriented person, so choosing to push pause on life’s demands & focus on my family doesn’t come easy for me. But there’s something magical that happens as we exit the highway and drive through the gates of Carlton Landing. All those ever-pressing matters don’t seem quite so important anymore.

I love that Carlton Landing is a bit remote & although our rental home, The Lodge, has high speed internet, I have very little service when I’m away from the house. I’m forced to put my phone down & make my family my only focus. These reconnection times are water & sunshine on the soil of our family’s relationship.

Families that laugh and play together, stay together. I love that Carlton Landing provides SO many free outdoor activities for our family to experience together. So, not only will your soul be refreshed by deepening your family relationships, but being in the sunshine & fresh air will be good for you as well. I’d like to tell you about my top 10 today.

1. Bocce Ball. Across from the Borough pocket neighborhood, there are three sets of beautiful bocce ball courts. We love the versatility that this activity offers & that it’s great for all levels of athleticism & age. Although we’re all competitive, only half of our family is super athletic. I like that this game gives us non-athletic members a chance to win (or at least have fun). I personally am not super fit, so I appreciate having something more on the leisure side of things. It’s a wonderful activity for kids to do with their grandparents but also even little bitties to play with their parents.

2. Pickleball. This sport has become increasingly popular since 2020 & I love that Carlton Landing has provided us TWO nets to play it, so two different games can go on at the same time. This is particularly appreciated during the busier weekends. There is also a tennis net for the more active players, but for those of us who aren’t in tip-top shape, or whom are in the more mature age group, Pickleball is a wonderful activity for us! Because balls & paddles are not provided, we provide them for our guests, so be sure to see if your vacation rental offers them before you come. If not, be sure to bring some with you! There are lights for evening games as well! Pickleball is off the beaten path a bit, so you’ll get to enjoy a gentle hike on your way to warm up your muscles.

3. Sports galore. I love that Carlton Landing has intentionally created a culture of outdoor play. You’ll notice that homes are nestled around green spaces, anywhere from small spaces with a firepit to more vast areas such as Firefly park. So, bring your outdoor games with you such as badmitten, Ladder Toss, Cornhole, Spikeball, Croquet. Or something as simple as a frisbee & football are sure to provide hours of fun. Check with your host to see what they provide! Also, near to The Meeting House are two ping pong tables plus next to Mama Tigs is a sand volleyball pit with lights for night games. I should also mention that the Tennis court also has basketball goals so you can get your 5 on 5 game on. It’s not uncommon that once you get a game going, other visitors will ask to join. You should see the volleyball pit crawling with kids during busy weekends. I love that community culture at Carlton Landing!

4. Swimming. Carlton Landing is on a part of Lake Eufaula that is spring fed, so it tends to be a bit cleaner than other areas on the lake. The Swim Beach has wonderful sand that makes perfect sand castles and is comfortable to sit on. As you wade into the water, you’ll notice a gentle slope rather than a stark drop off. Lake Days rents kayaks, Lilly Pads, lawn chairs, life jackets, and paddleboards. It’s truly a delightful experience. As always check with your host first to see what they offer. I know for us, we provide ample chairs and a tent as well as a wagon & cooler to make hauling everything there for a comfortable afternoon.

Carlton Landing also has 3 community pools. The Tower Pool offers salt water for our chemically sensitive guests as well as a kiddie pool. The Boardwalk Pool offers a pool plus hottub plus a ping pong table and two gas grills. The third pool is across from The Pantry and Carlton Landing office. They all offer lounge chairs and cover from the sun so parents can relax while kids swim. Be sure to grab the keyfaub before heading over so you can get in the gates.

5. Boating. Carlton Landing currently has a marina only accessible to boat club members, but there are multiple marinas nearby. I personally provide information for 4 of the best along with reviews in our Guidebook so you can decide which one best fits your needs and preferences. Be sure to ask your host for recommendations. Some are more equipped to host large groups and others are quiet popular and require advance bookings, so be sure to call ahead. They offer tubes, skiis, pontoon boats and speed boats. It’s also fun to stop at secluded beaches around the lake for leisure stops as well as rocks you can jump off of into the water. This in itself offers an entire day of fun. If you desire to bring your own boat, there is a place in Carlton Landing to park it for $50 flat fee.

6. Biking. Although Carlton Landing doesn’t currently offer bike rentals, it is an ideal place to bike, so plan to bring your own! It’s ideal because it’s safe: cars are only used as people come and leave Carlton Landing. Otherwise, you’ll only see walkers and golf carts. Carlton Landing is so beautiful, being surrounded by trees & water plus the gorgeous architecture. There’s so much to see and what better way to see it but while biking. Lastly, your kids will enjoy venturing out on their own & enjoy the freedom of adventuring out on their bicycles.

7. Events. Before you book, be sure to search the upcoming events on Carlton Landing’s events page. The events are family focused and kid friendly and are sure to be the highlight of your weekend. The best part is they are free or so affordable, they might as well be free! A few of my faves are the Sawdust dance over Memorial Day Weekend, July 4th parade and celebrations, Bonfire in the Borough weekend with free smores & pictures with a real life reindeer, and Fall Festival weekend with a hayride and pumpkin decorating. Carlton Landing goes all out & you won’t want to miss.

They also have a lot of smaller activities like Friday night Trivia at The Meeting House, Friday night live music at The Meeting House where kids run wild with their newfound friends while parents chill or dance to the music. You’ll find yoga and Arts & Crafts on many Saturday mornings, kid-friendly movies under the stars next to Mama Tigs on Friday nights, Easter egg hunt and community dinner over Easter weekend, Average Joe Olympics and so much more than I can detail here. Check it out at CarltonLanding.com/events.

8. GeoCaching. Geocaching is a type of high tech, global treasure hunt of people looking for caches, or hidden stashes of objects. It’s a worldwide movement and Carlton Landing currently has three caches to hunt for with more in the works! GeoCaching is a fun and free family activity that gets you exploring different parts of the community than you might otherwise. It’s like a grown-up version of the beloved childhood pastime, except it’s no joke & kids are perhaps the best to show you adults the ropes. Sometimes they’re easy and others are more difficult and require everyone putting their heads together to find it. If you yourself are a geocacher, be sure to bring and place your own for other guests to enjoy! If you aren’t (yet), be sure to download the app. It’s green with four white squares in the middle. Our family currently has found 16 but met a serious geo-cacher who’s found over 900!

9. Bon Fires. Carlton Landing has firepits sprinkled throughout the community plus many, if not most, homes have them as well. The Meeting House often has one going if you don’t want to stoke your own plus there’s a community firepit across the street from The Meeting House near the Pavilion. There is something magical about sitting around a fire with friends and family. The flickering of the warm glow tells your brain to relax. With some intentional fore-thought, you can have wonderful conversations with your kids. We provide a stack of questions to stimulate family conversations but you can bring your own if you need some ideas. Another fun part of fires, of course, are eating smores, so be sure to pack for that as well!

10. Walks. We’ve found that we can draw out so much from our kids when we go on strolls with them. At our home in Fort Worth, we back up to a greenbelt with trails. There’s something special about walks in nature and sunshine but I’ve had some of the best conversations with my kids on those 15 minute walks around what we call “The Loop”. Carlton Landing provides a similar environment for you with trees & water. You can choose to explore in the woods on our many hiking trails, around the community while looking at the beautiful homes or better yet, walk with them to The Overlook at sunset (or sunrise if you have early risers).

We also like to walk to church on Sunday mornings. I usually hang back, hand-in-hand with my daughter while Adam plays catch with the boys. Because Hudson never leaves home without his football. So, walk wherever you go and create a culture of asking questions while you’re there. Humans love to talk about ourselves but usually we’re all too busy to get curious about those around us. So, get curious about your kids, ask them questions and you’ll be amazed at how loved they feel and how much they open up to you.

I hope you have enjoyed these ideas and have been inspired to maybe even start implementing some of these ideas at home! If there are other ideas I should include in future articles, please email them to me at info@thelodgeontwinklelane.com.