The Daily News reported in 1890 that a Salvation Army party of 107, mostly children, had been at the lake. There was a Temperance Assembly there in 1891. The Hibernians, the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows all arranged excursions for their members to the Lake. The Owls occasionally camped there. On one summer day in 1895 there were three Sunday school picnics at the Lake on the same day.

The season would open in late May or early June with an orchestra on the boat landing in the morning and fireworks at night. In between the orchestra would play in the Sea View for dancing. There might be some extra entertainment but this was not guaranteed. Hodges owned horses that he allowed to swim in the Lake, and people enjoyed watching then swim. He owned one horse known as the Wonder Horse. He would line up twelve boats, all filled with people, and the Wonder Horse would draw then around the Lake. One summer two young men put up a trapeze bar and gave trapeze exhibits over the water. But most of the entertainment was self-provided: resting, talking, eating and dancing. There was little swimming in the 1890s as few local children, and particularly girls, had opportunity to spend time near a safe swimming spot. For most young people the chief entertainment was dancing. The Daily News would report on Monday the number that had been dancing at the Lake the Saturday night before, 65 couples early in the season. 75 couples a few weeks later, 103 couples nearer the end of the summer. Horse Shoe Lake was primarily a summer resort but Hodges provided a skating area some winters and offered winter dances.

Godfrey’s Pond was then a rival resort and in December 1891 both places planned a winter dance on the same night. Gentlemen from Godfrey’s Pond hired a carryall to take dancers to their dance, parking it on Main Street in front of the parker House (as near as we can determine this would be about where Caito’s Liquor store is today, or perhaps Rotary Park). Some gentlemen from Horse Shoe Lake came by, and learning what was afoot, went over to the livery stable and hired a number of rigs which drove by the carry-all and picked up about half of those waiting to go to Godfrey’s Pond, and took them to Horse Shoe Lake instead.