Categories: TRAVEL

Best Beaches on Lake Erie

Lake Erie is not dominant among the Great Lakes for its size. But just because Lake Erie is not the biggest of the Great Lakes doesn’t reduce the amount of fun it can provide for those who come to its shores each summer to vacation. The best beaches on Lake Erie certainly include these public beauties. Each offers its own special atmosphere and activities and because they are public beaches you can rely on them for monitoring water and beach conditions as well as reasonable admission fees.

Headlands Beach, Mentor, Ohio. Perhaps the top public beach along the shores of Lake Erie, and certainly one of the most popular is the Headlands Beach at Headlands Beach State Park. Larger than any other beach in Ohio, the delightful sands at Headlands Beach stretch for full mile providing visitors with plenty of beach front for swimming and wonderful long walks on the beach. Of course no one enjoys the extended beach more than kids who find themselves in sand heaven.

Headlands Beach offers great picnicking opportunities, you can even call ahead to reserve a shelter, so that you can extend your stay. Between swims you and your family can check out the trails at the adjacent nature preserve or walk down to the east end of the beach to see how the fishing is going. Available amenities here include restrooms, changing areas, a children’s playground and concessions. The beach has extended hours opening at one half hour before sunrise and closing a half hour after sunset.

Crane Creek State Park, Oak Harbor, Ohio. You could say this beach is for the birds, well maybe the birds and the birders. Crane Creek State Park is really a blended facility. You will find that a visit to Crane Creek will place you on the shores of Lake Erie along more than a half mile of sandy beach. But going to Crane Creek also places you near the wetlands that are home to more than 300 species of birds. Herons, waterfowl, even bald eagles call Crane Creek State Park home. For families Crane Creek State Park provides not only the opportunity for great day at the beach but also a chance to enrich that opportunity by spending time checking out the local bird population. There is a nice stretch of almost a mile of boardwalk that passes through the wetlands area making a nice cool places for walk on a warm day.

At Crane Creek you can really make a day of it. Take advantage of the presence of the beach along lake Erie, spread out a picnic lunch or use the available grills, try out your fishing skills,there are even marinas near the park for those interested in boating. There are a full 79 acres here to explore and enjoy and if you need more action than that you will find yourself right next door to the 2,600 acre Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. For active families with an interest in nature and out door life, Crane Creek can provide a full day of activity and fun.

Cedar Point Beach, Sandusky, Ohio Families can relax and enjoy the sandy shores of Lake Erie at Cedar Point Beach. You can sit back and watch as beach activities like swimming, building sand castles and tossing a Frisbee around play out right in front of you. Or you can focus your gaze out on the water and watch the bird population and a occasional sail boat complete your view. Eventually you may want to get up and join what’s going on, but if not, Cedar Point Beach can be just a great place to unwind.

The bonus at Cedar Point Beach of course is your proximity to one of the great amusement parks in the area. You can choose to come to Cedar Point just for the beach but most likely your kids will prevail upon you and you will either start or close off the day with a few hours at the amusement park too. The rides at Cedar Point are well appointed for all age groups. While the big attractions are always the huge roller coaster types, there are plenty of pint sized rides for pint sized kids.

There has been concern echoed on the shores of Lake Erie about water quality. The trend now seems to be that the Lake Erie of many years ago is beginning to make a come back. It is always important to check all water quality indicators before using any beach for public swimming.