This is such a cute park! Pavilion, playground, boat launch and a beach area. It had ample parking!…read moreThis might be well known to locals, but we just found this after years of visiting here. It's a hidden gem!

Okay, so technically this is the Waterworks Steel Intake Tower but the locals call it the…read moreWaterworks Lighthouse. It dates back to when Lake Erie was used as a municipal water source. Since Lake Erie was also the output for sewage and factory waste, it wasn't a good scene. Thousands of people were sick with typhoid and worse as a result. To combat this sickness, a 60 inch pipe was laid from the waterworks plant in Erie, across Erie Harbor under Presque Isle to a distance offshore. And this tower was built in 1906 to house a steel chain and gears. That equipment was designed to lift a large lid to gain access to the municipal water intake pipe. More recently moved to its current location and renovated as a lighthouse replica, it is visible from all along the Erie shore especially the Waterworks district. And here on Presque Isle, it is near Building 12 which has a public restroom, covered picnic tables and parking. If you're headed to the actual Presque Isle lighthouse, stop by here and check this one out too! [Round number 22400 overall - review 1377 of 2024 - 654 in Pennsylvania]

The Reserve includes 2.5 miles of lake front -- the longest stretch of undeveloped shoreline on the…read moresouthern shore of Lake Erie. The David M. Roderick Reserve is a 3,600-acre natural area on the Lake Erie shoreline, adjacent to Erie Bluffs State Park. Prior to becoming a nature reserve, the property was owned by Andrew Carnegie and, later, U.S. Steel Corp. Forty-nine percent of the site is wetlands. Aspen, American Beech, White Oak, Sugar Maple, and Silky Dogwood make up a majority of the forested area. Red and Silver maple grow vigorously in wooded swamps. Increasingly surrounded by development, the site will likely become more important in the future as an "island" of habitat. It is considered by the Audobon Society as an important and significant bird area.

Sort of like how the saying goes that pork is the other white meat, Erie Bluffs State Park is very…read moremuch the "other one" in the local vicinity compared to Presque Isle. Where as Presque gets millions of visits annually, Erie Bluffs is still fairly new only having joined the PA state park system in 2004. The benefit is that the bulk of the coastline along Lake Erie is developed and this 500+ acre parcel represented the last large acreage that was still untouched. The basic premise is that the park is about 12 miles south of Erie proper in Lake City, PA. There is a small single sign along West Lake Road and there is only a single parking lot/entrance for the park (technically there is a small secondary entrance and parking area if you're going to be fishing/kayaking Elk Creek which is slightly up the road from the aforementioned main entrance). You've got some fishing/boating/off-season hunting allowed and about five miles of walking trails. I'm not going to say hiking because in reality none of the trails here that we saw should be thought of as hiking. We did a box loop by walking the start of the Transition Trail - turned left to the Black Oak Savanna Trail - right to the other half of the Transition Trail - right to the Lookout Trail - over to the Fisherman's foot path - up Wildflower Way which leads back to the Transition Trail. Now there are three points with this park worth noting: 1. The trails are not marked. Is that a big issue? Not really as everything loops/links into each other and if you have any sense of direction you should be able to figure it out although in principal you could take a wrong turn and go a few miles over to the other side of the park by accident. 2. Maybe the western side of the park further away from the parking lot has better views, but the side we (and most of the people visiting the day we were there) were on doesn't offer much. Very heavy foliage and tree cover with only limited vantage points where you can appreciate the bluffs/view of Lake Erie. 3. Another reason that it's hard to appreciate the bluffs is that part of the trail nearest them (Bluffs Edge Trail) is gone due to erosion. Supposedly the bluffs are being gobbled up at the rate of a few feet per year by Lake Erie and even though the official park map lists that trail, it's very much not fully there. With all this said, parks like these are my favorites within the PA system. Meaning I enjoy the smaller C-List places without all of the touristy junk attached to them. Just give me some solid trails with good views and especially here where it means more open space versus homes or condos and I'm all in. www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20032316.pdf

Awesome place to have a calm quiet hike. The history and rock formations are so cool.read more

Wow this is very unique! Not a safe or easy adventure. It's only a mile long, but if you choose to…read moreexplore any of the caves, it's a tiring experience!

It was bigger than what I remembered as a kid. There was more for the kids to do too. As members of…read moreKeystone Safari, we got 50% off admission so it was really affordable for what you got. We did the carousel and it was amazing with the different animals you could select. The train in our opinion was not worth the money because it didn't really go far and took you only to one place you couldn't see normally. Overall, it was a nice experience for a shorter day trip and the animal enclosures are nice as well.

Pretty decent zoo!…read more It was well worth the price of admission. Although small, it was charming with a great variety of animals. Tigers, rhinos, lions, etc Many places were closed and they were reconstructing some enclosures which made me happy. A great way to spend the day!

Super chill lowkey beach that is perfect for a day out on Lake Erie or a super cool spot for a…read moremellow picnic! So on my travels I randomly stumbled upon this incredible beach as I was in desperate need of some mellow time and that's exactly what I found here as it has a interesting little path with a steep incline to get down to where the beach it self was so if you have trouble with stairs then this might not be the spot for you! The beach has some parking spots at the end but not a lot so I dunno if it gets busy here but plan accordingly. Also please keep the beach beautiful and pack out your trash just like the sign asks for! This was a beautiful beach and if I lived in the area this would be my go to spot as it's nice and shady and just breathtaking beautiful it's for this and all of the other reasons that I hope to make it here again someday!

We have visited this cute little park on the water on multiple occasions in both summer and winter…read more In summer they are in a prime spot on the lake for great views, a nice breeze and an awesome playground. It has different sections for older and younger kids, and a sand box! The bathrooms are close by, clean, and have showers for rinsing off sand. There is even a pavillion to rent if you are a local I hear it is a great deal for parties. There is a really nice path to walk around, and you can spot the Chautauqua Belle floating by if you are lucky! In the winter we attended the town's winter festival. Unfortunately the year we went it wasn't cold enough for the traditional ice castle made out of ice from the lake, but there was still plenty to do, from food, to craft shows, to the polar plunge, to a cool little railroad museum. It is definitely a park worth checking out in any season. The town is really cute with some nice restaurants and shops to check out. Definitely a great little day trip, no matter the season drive on down to visit this cute park!