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Where to go on Lake Erie shore?


Harriet Vane
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We've seen all the Great Lakes except Lake Eerie, so dh and I want to go visit for just a few nights in September. 

We're not sure whether to aim for some point along the shore along northern Ohio or perhaps go to one of the islands. Kelley's Island? Put-in-Bay? Or dh is kind of intrigued with Pelee, but I question if it's just too far for a quick trip with the ferry and all. 

Wherever we end up, we'll lean towards beach/shore rather than staying in a bustling town, but we'd like to be able to eat out, too. We like small, local museums and hikes. The only tough thing about hiking is my joints are creaky at the moment, so likely I'd take a shorter walk (an hour or less) and then just read somewhere comfy while dh takes a longer walk. We also like things like canoeing. We do enjoy watching shows or live theater, but if we had to pick where to focus it would probably be peaceful lakeshore.

Recommendations?

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We've enjoyed Marblehead and Kelleys island. I don't remember lots of details but we drove a golf cart around the island (the accepted mode of transport as I recall) and explored some super cool rock formations carved by glaciers. 

https://www.kelleysislandchamber.com/directory/places/glacial-grooves/#:~:text=The glacial grooves are 400,debris%2C and drag them along.

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I've visited Cleveland. The downtown by the lake was fun at that time (mid 1990s). There are some lakeside towns to the east of Cleveland that I visited briefly with my friend who lived and grew up in that area. I have to admit that the lake itself was just big and quite similar to all the other great lakes. I went to visit my friend, and I wouldn't necessarily travel far to get there for the scenery.

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We stayed in Lorain, Ohio a few years ago and loved it!  If I remember correctly, there were 2 small beaches.  It's a small town, within short drive from other small towns.  I don't think it checks all your boxes though, because I don't really remember any museum or hiking.  But lots of small, locally owned, restaurants, and quaint little shops.

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40 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I've visited Cleveland. The downtown by the lake was fun at that time (mid 1990s). There are some lakeside towns to the east of Cleveland that I visited briefly with my friend who lived and grew up in that area. I have to admit that the lake itself was just big and quite similar to all the other great lakes. I went to visit my friend, and I wouldn't necessarily travel far to get there for the scenery.

Yeah, we know it's going to look like a big lake. We want to get away for our anniversary and we're trying to stay within 3-4 hours of driving. We would just find it satisfying to check off this lake from the list. That's part of why we're wondering about the islands, curious if they might offer something even a tiny bit different. Along the same lines, that's why my dh is intrigued by Pelee--it's in a whole 'nother country. 😁

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6 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

Yeah, we know it's going to look like a big lake. We want to get away for our anniversary and we're trying to stay within 3-4 hours of driving. We would just find it satisfying to check off this lake from the list. That's part of why we're wondering about the islands, curious if they might offer something even a tiny bit different. Along the same lines, that's why my dh is intrigued by Pelee--it's in a whole 'nother country. 😁

Erie is really different from any of the other Great Lakes since it's so shallow and by comparison tame. The island felt like a whole different world, it was really cool. IIRC there's some cool war history there too, 1812 I guess.

I wish I could remember what else we did there--it was DS's first camping trip (at Marblehead). He was two, there were tornado sirens going off and we were warned to stay where we were at the campground (there was no shelter) and I was properly freaked out. We lit a battery lantern in the tent and read DS silly books until the threat was over. The next day a few older kids "adopted" him on the beach and built sand castles with him. None of that is relevant, lol. Good memories unlocked 🙂 

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Put-in Bay is cute and also notoriously party heavy with drunk boaters. I didn't witness that when I briefly walked through town, but that's the reputation. Kelley Island is quieter and the glacial grooves are cool. There is 1812 history around, but I couldn't tell you much about it because I didn't go to any of that. I don't remember any beaches from either Kelley Island or South Bass Island, but I wasn't on either very long. I stayed at the State Park Campgrounds and was backpacking so was limited in my tourism. Hopefully someone with more knowledge of the area can chime in. The islands are cute tourism and would be a nice anniversary stay I think. I plan on dragging dh with me and going again, though we won't be camping.

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8 hours ago, MEmama said:

Erie is really different from any of the other Great Lakes since it's so shallow and by comparison tame.

My uncle, an engineer, had a pet plan of his called "The Lake Erie Project" which involved draining the lake and reclaiming a massive amount of fertile farm land. It was a family joke, but my dh jumped onboard as his faithful disciple. 😂

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5 minutes ago, wintermom said:

My uncle, an engineer, had a pet plan of his called "The Lake Erie Project" which involved draining the lake and reclaiming a massive amount of fertile farm land. It was a family joke, but my dh jumped onboard as his faithful disciple. 😂

That’s really funny…I’d sign up for the newsletter…

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