Ohio's North Coast
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Located on South Bass Island is the Perry Victory Memorial built in the early 1900s as a lasting monument to Oliver Perry's victory over the British naval forces that had control over the western end of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
More about Perry's Victory Memorial >>
In total area, Lake Erie is the 12th largest freshwater lake in the world and the most shallow of the 5 Great Lakes. It is about 210 miles long, 57 miles wide, with a shoreline of approximately 71 miles with a maximum depth of 210'.
When French explorers and traders entered the Great Lakes region in the 1600s, American Indian nations already had given names to the immense bodies of water they lived along. As reports and crude maps filtered back to Europe, these Indian names frequently were combined with names the French thought more appropriate.
Samuel de Champlain drew one of the earliest, still-surviving maps in 1632. Champlain named Lake Erie for an Indian tribe living along its shore. The “Neutrals” were a tribe on Erie’s north shore which had not taken a side in a conflict between the Iroquois and the Hurons. Thus Erie became “La Nation neutre.”
Later, Nicholas Sanson, France’s royal geographer renamed the lake Lac Erie, ou Du Chat after the Erie Indian nation. These were a fierce people famed for wearing the skins of cats, a nation known to the Iroquois League as the “Erielhonan,” or the “long-tails.” To the French, this nation was called the Erie, or “cat people.”
Lake Erie is an important water resource for recreating and tourism as well as for municipal and industrial use. Its warm, shallow waters harbor a diverse and abundant fishery, primarily known by anglers for walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass.
Lake Erie offers some of the finest walleye, smallmouth bass and yellow perch fishing in the country. Even during the colder months, Lake Erie offers quality fishing for steelhead trout.
The best way to see the islands is to leave your car on the mainland. Many of the ferry services offer parking. On the islands you can usually rent bicycles and carts to get around. Reservations are not required, it is first come, first served. The one exception are trips to Middle Bass Island. This has a more limited service and vehicles may need a reservation-- people do not.
Weather can be a deciding factor when ferries run. High winds can cause delays, and obviously when there's ice-over, there will be no service.
More Lake Erie Ferry Services>>
Jet Express
3 Monroe St.
Port Clinton, Ohio 43452
1-800-245-1538
Miller Boat Line
SR 53 N (off SR 2)
P.O. Box 239
Put-in-Bay, Ohio 43456
419/285-2421 or 1-800-500-2421
Kelleys Island Ferry Boat Lines
510 W. Main St.
Marblehead, Ohio 43440
419/798-9763
Sonny S Ferry
Put-in-Bay
419/285-8774
Departs every hour on the hour from the Boardwalk from Put-in-Bay to Middle Bass Island
There are at least 36 “real” islands in Lake Erie, but an exact count depends on what you decide to include or exclude. Some islands were listed on 19th Century maps, but are now connected to the mainland or submerged. Other islands are not quite in Lake Erie such as Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay. Still other islands are just mere dots of land such as Starve Island just south of South Bass Island.
The islands remained sparsely settled until 1854 when J.D. Rivers purchased 5 of the major islands. At first he turned Put-In-Bay into a sheep ranch, having at one time a herd of 2,000, but eventually he converted the island into a fruit farm. Despite the extreme northern location, the islands have the longest frost-free period of any area in Ohio due to the stabilizing effect of the lake's warm waters. It soon became apparent to islanders that the cultivation of grapes was very profitable.
The grape culture has had a dramatic influence on the islands, sometimes called the "Wine Islands." By 1887, more than 1/3 of the grape produced and nearly 1/2 of the wine produced in the entire state was credited to this area. Wines from these islands were once pronounced by the best judges as being comparable to the best productions of France. Several island wineries still exist today.
The following are the major Ohio islands in Lake Erie:
North Bass Island
Gibraltar Island
Cedar Point
1 Cedar Point Dr.,
Sandusky, Ohio
419/627-2350 Cedar Point
Cedar Point has more rides and roller coasters than any other park in the world. It also has an 18-acre water park, beach, four resort hotels, RV campground, cottages and cabins and 2 large marinas.
Soak City at Cedar Point
1 Cedar Point Dr.,
Sandusky, Ohio
419/627-2350
Near Cedar Point-Lake Erie Amusement Park 18-acre water park with a wave action pool, body and tube slides, inner tube rivers, and Splash Zone.
Great Bear Lodge
4600 Milan Road, Sandusky, Ohio
888/779/2327
33000 square foot indoor water park with a 4 story water tree fort, 7 slides, 5 pools and 2 giant hot tubs. Lake Erie Ohio.
African Safari Wildlife Park
1-800-521-2660 Take a drive and see wild animals up close from your car! Gift shop, picnic facilities and a cafe & grill. Lake Erie Ohio.
Monsoon Lagoon Water Park & Family Fun Center
1530 S. Danbury Rd. N
Port Clinton, Ohio • 419/732-6671
A Lake Erie Amusement Park and Outdoor Waterpark. Typhoon waterslide, adventure island tree house and oral reef river ride. Swim up to the tiki bar or play a game at Gilligan's Arcade.
Prehistoric Forest and Mystery Hill
8232 East Harbor Rd. (St. Rt. 163 E)
Marblehead, Ohio
419/798-5230
Prehistoric Forest includes a forest filled with life-sized dinosaurs, waterfalls and volcano. Discover Mystery Hill and break the laws of nature! Gift shop, arcade, miniature golf, cabins and playground.
Long before we had GPS navigation aides, we had lighthouses. Like any major body of water, Ohio's lighthouses helped ships identify their location in relation to the shoreline.
Lighthouses stand as beacons of safety and security and perhaps this is why they appeal to so many people, even land-hugging folks. Not only are lighthouses nostalgic, but they are also artistic expressions, each unique for its architectural style, but also for its surrounding environment.
Lighthouses are painted different colors and designs to make them daymarks. This was important so sailors could recognize a particular lighthouse during the day.
Lake Erie has over 30 lighthouses along the US side of Lake Erie with 18 of those structures on Ohio's shoreline. Some are located on the mainland and others on small dots of land accessible only by boat. Many of the older lighthouses are no longer part of the US Coast Guard's responsibility.
Many of the lighthouses have been restored to their former glory through the efforts of private citizens. Others have been taken over by the state and operated as museums. Some have been destroyed by the elements or extremely vandalized. All of them have stories from the past.
West Sister Island Lighthouse
Cedar Point Lighthouse
Huron Harbor Pierhead Lighthouse
Cleveland West Pierhead Lighthouse
Cleveland East Pierhead Lighthouse
Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse
Old Fairport Harbor Main Lighthouse
Conneaut West Breakwater Lighthouse
A good resource:
Lake Erie Lighthouses
