A week along the North Coast: islands, port towns, and trail systems
Sandusky sits at the center of Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline. Cedar Point to the east, Marblehead Peninsula to the west, the Bass Islands to the north. Good downtown for eating and staying.
East Harbor and Kelleys Island state parks both have free day use. Camping requires a reservation through reserveamerica.com. Sites book up fast on summer weekends — reserve 3 months out.
Use a Sunrise Ticket for early entry. Steel Vengeance is still the best steel coaster on earth. Hit it first, then Top Thrill 2, then Millennium Force. Everything else at leisure.
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Ferry to South Bass for the morning, ferry to Kelleys in the afternoon. Golf cart on South Bass, bikes on Kelleys. Spend the night on one of the islands if you want the slower pace.
Marblehead Lighthouse, East Harbor State Park, and the Neumann Wetlands — a 10-mile drive that covers the best of the peninsula. The lighthouse is the oldest active on the US Great Lakes.
Port Clinton is the Walleye Capital of the World. Half-day charter fishing is $60-80/person. You will almost certainly catch fish. The town itself has a good Friday fish fry tradition.
Drive west along US-6. Huron and Vermilion are two of the most picturesque Lake Erie port towns. Vermilion has a Victorian district and a historic lighthouse replica on the harbor.
Lorain has the best preserved industrial lakefront harbor in Ohio. The Black River channel leads to the lake through a downtown that is slowly being restored. Good departure point for Cleveland.
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