Several years, my Dad, Granddad and some of my uncles have taken a July fishing trip to Lake Erie PA. For our family vacation the Summer of 2021, my mom thought it would be good to try Lake Erie PA out. I have heard from countless publications about ‘Pennsylvania’s only beach!’ or ‘Come discover Pennsylvania’s coast!’ I agreed it would be worth the try.

This was the summer before we bought our camper so we stayed in a cabin at the Presque Isle Passage campground in Fairview, PA. This was close to Lake Erie with it basically through the woods but we had to drive to get to access. The following Summer, 2022, we stayed at KOA Holiday McKean. We were a little leery as people on Facebook groups we are on cautioned against that campground. However, we had a pleasant experience and would stay there again. You have to take some reviews with a grain of salt. Not everyone handles things the way you do, nor acts the way you do. Many of these people obviously stayed up late and were carrying on or creating noise they didn’t realize they were creating.

 

 

Things To Do In Lake Erie PA

1. Presque Isle State Park– This is a wonderful state park. There are several beaches to choose from depending on what you are looking for. Beach 1 is pretty rocky but perfect for beach glass hunting. To locate an easy to read map click here. There’s technically not a Beach 2. We sat somewhere around Beach 3 or Barracks Beach. There is parking along the road and a wide open entrance. Once you are at the beach here, it’s as if you are on the Atlantic, without the wild waves. That’s what makes this park a perfect place for little kiddos to enjoy the water.

 

2. Presque Isle Light Station– There are actually three lighthouses in the PA Lake Erie area. Presque Isle Light however, is still a working navigation aid.  Completed in 1873, it was intended to be built of cut stone but that proved to be too expensive so it was built with bricks instead. The story goes that 6,000 bricks were on a large bottom boat carrying them were anchored off shore near the lighthouse and it broke free in a storm and the bricks tumbled into the lake. People have been finding bricks and pieces of bricks for years which are believed to be from this incident. Anyway, there is a nice gift shop and beach to visit on the site.

3. Tom Ridge Environmental Center– This is a nice free, open year round center with observation tour. There are nature exhibits as well as the history of Erie located in this facility.

4. Waldameer Park & Water World– although I can’t speak to this park, as I have not visited the park, this is an option for entertainment in the area.

5. Erie Marittime Museum– this is the home of the US Brig Niagara and the phrase ‘Don’t Give Up The Ship’  a vessel that played a huge part in the War of 1812. There is an admission fee but if you have the PA history foundation membership, it is free admission. We actually visited the Summer we had this pass.

If you have a week in Lake Erie PA…

1.Take a day trip to Niagara Falls– Our boys hadn’t seen Niagara Falls, since we were only 2 hours away (much longer at home) we took the day and went up the Lake Erie Coast. You know what? I loved the New York side much better than the Canadian side. I’m not sure if it would make a difference if I hadn’t previously seen the Canadian though. I love that you are so close to the Bridal Falls head waters.

We did the ‘Cave of the Winds Tour‘ where you get a poncho and are allowed to go down under the Falls. We thoroughly enjoyed that. There is just a lot of vantage points in the Niagara Falls State Park. If you are into the National Parks Cancellation Stamp collecting be sure and look for a cancellation stamp that they have (not part of the NPS but it is listed as a Heritage Area.) I got into the stamp book phenomenon after this trip so I would have liked to have included it in my book. I looked for it online and you could print it out here.

 

 

2. Old Fort Niagara– If you go to Niagara Falls, go a bit further and stop at Old Fort Niagara. It is this amazing old world looking fort built in 1687. So it’s basically the oldest fort in America (other than Castillo San Marcos which was finished in 1695). It has changed hands in American history several times til after the war of 1812. Be sure to take the tour! You can see over to Toronto from the banks. There are also other forts in the area and several wineries.

 

 

3. Venture over to Ohio’s Lake Erie Coast– I hear there are some great beaches on the Ohio side of Lake Erie.

4. Erie Bluffs– one of the ‘newer’ PA state parks. If you haven’t already…check out the Pennsylvania State Parks passport book. You will be able to get a bunch visited in a trip to Erie. Depending on where you are coming from Cook Forest (the largest old growth forest on the East Coast) is a great place to check out and stretch your legs.

 

5. Kinzua Bridge State Park– this is a bit of a stretch because it’s another day trip from Erie. I’ve never been but it’s on my list. This structure was built in 1882 and was the tallest railroad bridge for two years and was called ‘the 8th wonder of the world’. In 1900, it was rebuilt with steel. The PA Commonwealth purchased it and began to restore it in 2002. However, in 2003, before the restoration was completed, a tornado hit it and caused a large portion to collapse. Most of the mangled debris is still lying in the field.

Well there you have it. If there are any questions you may have, let me know and I can update this blog post and answer them.

Happy traveling,