East Harbor State Park Beach, Lakeside-Marblehead Extending into Lake Erie from the Marblehead Peninsula, the 1,500-foot beach at East Harbor State Park is protected from strong waves by four breakwaters and boasts fine, barefoot-friendly sand. The designated swimming area has a gentle gradient with no drop-offs, and because of the shallow waters at two sandbars flanking the beach, boaters like to drop anchor and swim from their vessels.
TIP: The park’s beach house has modern facilities, and ramps for launching canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards are located near the beach.
419-734-4424; www.ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/ odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/eastharbor-state-park
COURTESY OF LAKE ERIE SHORES & ISLANDS
East Harbor State Park Beach
Edgewater Beach, Cleveland featuring made-to-order sandwiches and an outdoor bar ideal for people-watching. TIP: Dogs are welcome on the beach’s west end.
www.clevelandmetroparks.com/parks/visit/parks/ lakefront-reservation/edgewater-beach
Edgewater Beach
KYLE LANZER/CLEVELAND METROPARKS
Minutes from downtown Cleveland, horseshoe-shaped Edgewater Beach is famous for its stunning vistas of both the city’s skyline and Lake Erie’s spellbinding sunsets. The 2,400-foot sand beach is a part of Edgewater Park, which offers a marina, a fishing pier, and walking trails. Rent cabanas and paddleboards at the nature shop or dine lakeside at Edgewater Beach House, a seasonal café
Headlands Beach, Mentor Ohio’s longest natural beach covers a whopping 35 acres and stretches from Headlands Beach State Park into adjacent Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve. It’s a haven for swimmers, sunbathers, and beach glass hunters and also attracts nature-lovers and birders — the lakeshore dunes harbor rare flora and fauna, as well as migrating songbirds and monarch butterflies.
TIP: Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse is visible from the beach and provides an excellent backdrop for photos.
440-466-8400; www.ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/ gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/ headlands-beach-state-park Continued on page 28
JUNE 2021 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 27
