Best of Lake Erie — Readers' Picks
From best hot spots and hiking destinations to fine dining, wineries, cheap eats, waterpark, boutique and more, get the scoop on all of the best places to plan your next dinner date, family outing, weekend getaway, or extended vacation.
Best Ohio Hot Spot
Geneva-on-the-Lake, visitgenevaonthelake.com
Fairport Harbor, fairportharbortourism.com
The Marblehead Peninsula, themarbleheadpeninsula.com
Best Island Hot Spot
Put-in-Bay Nightlife, Put-in-Bay, Ohio, visitputinbay.com
Kelleys Island , Kelleys Island, Ohio, kelleysislandchamber.com
Miller Ferries, Port Clinton, Ohio, millerferry.com
Best Pennsylvania Hot Spot
Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., dcnr.pa.gov
Lake Erie Ale Trail, Erie, Pa., lakeeriealetrail.com
City of Erie, erie.pa.us
Best Western New York Hot Spot
National Comedy Center, Jamestown, N.Y., comedycenter.org
Niagara Falls , niagarafallsusa.com
Holiday Valley, Ellicottville, N.Y., holidayvalley.com
Best Ontario Hot Spot
Niagara Falls, niagarafallstourism.com
City of Windsor, visitwindsoressex.com
Point Pelee National Park, Leamington, Ontario, parks.canada.ca
Best Michigan Hot Spot
Luna Pier, cityoflunapier.com
The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan, thehenryford.org
Belle Isle Conservancy, Detroit, Michigan, belleisleconservancy.org
Best Town
Vermilion, Ohio, vermilionohio.com
Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, themarbleheadpeninsula.com
Put-in-Bay, Ohio, visitputinbay.com
Best Beach
Lakeview Park, Lorain, Ohio, loraincountymetroparks.com
East Harbor State Park, Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, ohiodnr.gov
Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park, Fairport Harbor, Ohio, lakemetroparks.com
Best State or Provincial Park
East Harbor State Park, Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, ohiodnr.gov
Maumee Bay State Park, Oregon, Ohio, ohiodnr.gov
Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., dcnr.pa.gov
Best Marina
Catawba Island Club, Port Clinton, Ohio, cicclub.com
Lorain Harbor Boat Club, Lorain, Ohio, lorainhbc.org
Vermilion Boat Club, Vermilion, Ohio, vermilionboatclub.com
Best Lighthouse
Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, Fairport Harbor, Ohio, fairportharborwestlighthouse.com
Lorain Lighthouse, Lorain, Ohio, lorainlighthouse.com
Marblehead Peninsula, Marblehead, Ohio, marbleheadlighthouse, ohio.org
Best Live Music
Rockin’ on the River, Lorain, Ohio, rockinontheriver.com
Lakeside Chautauqua, Lakeside, Ohio, lakesideohio.com
Barrel House Saloon, Sandusky, Ohio, sanduskybarrelhousesaloon.com
Best Festival
Walleye Drop, Port Clinton, Ohio, portclinton.com
Woollybear Festival, Vermilion, Ohio, vermilionohio.com
Erie Blues & Jazz Fest, Erie, Pa., eriebluesandjazz.com
Best Overall Dining
Gideon Owen Wine Co., Port Clinton, Ohio, gideonowenwine.com
Guppy’s Restaurant & Tavern, Bemus Point, N.Y., guppystavern.com
Ellicottville Brewing Co., Ellicottville, N.Y., ellicottvillebrewing.com
Best Fine Dining
Chez Francois Restaurant, Vermilion, Ohio, chezfrancois.com
The Wave Marblehead, Marblehead, Ohio, wavemarblehead.com
The Pompadour, Fairport Harbor, Ohio, thepompadourbar.com
Best Winery
Paper Moon Vineyards , Vermilion, Ohio, papermoonvineyards.com
Gideon Owen Wine Co., Port Clinton, Ohio, gideonowenwine.com
21 Brix, Portland, N.Y., 21brix.com
Best Lake Erie Fish
Jolly Roger Seafood House, Port Clinton, Ohio, facebook.com/
jollyrogerseafoodhouse
First Mate’s, Long Point, Ontario, firstmates.ca
American Slovak Club, Lorain, Ohio, americanslovakclub.com
Best Pizza
Lorenzo’s Pizza, Oberlin, Ohio, lorenzospizza.com
Eliseo’s Pizza & Fran’s Pizza, Lorain, Ohio, eliseospizza.com
Guppy’s Restaurant & Tavern, Bemus Point, N.Y., guppystavern.com
Best Cheap Eats
Blue Sky Restaurant, Amherst, Ohio, blueskyrestaurant.net
Sara’s Restaurant, Erie, Pa., sarasandsallys.com
Rudy’s Bar and Grill, Vermilion, Ohio, rudysbarandgrillvermilion.com
Best Sunday Brunch
The Wave Marblehead, Marblehead, Ohio, wavemarblehead.com
Orchard Bar & Table, Port Clinton, Ohio, orchardoncatawba.com
Truffle Honey Restaurant & Bar, Mayville, N.Y., trufflehoneychq.com
Best Chocolate
Brummer’s Homemade Chocolates, Vermilion, Ohio, brummers.com
Malley’s Chocolates, Cleveland, Ohio, malleys.com
Suzin L. Chocolatier, Elyria, Ohio, suzinl.com
Best Ice Cream
Fairport Harbor Creamery, Fairport Harbor, Ohio, fairportharborcreamery.com
The Straw Hat Sundae Shop, North East, Pa., thestrawhaticecream.com
Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream, Cleveland, mitchellshomemade.com
Best Birding
The Biggest Week in American Birding, Oak Harbor, Ohio, biggestweekinamericanbirding.com
Roger Tory Peterson Institute (tie), Jamestown, N.Y., rtpi.org
Presque Isle State Park (tie), Erie, Pa., dcnr.pa.gov
Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve, Huron, Ohio, ohiodnr.gov
Best Hiking
Terrapin Point, Niagara Falls, N.Y., niagarafallsstatepark.com
Point Pelee National Park, Leamington, Ontario, parks.canada.ca
Lorain County Metro Parks, LaGrange, Ohio, loraincountymetroparks.com
Best Biking
Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., dcnr.pa.gov
Niagara Scenic Parkway Trail, Buffalo, N.Y., visitbuffaloniagara.com
Lorain County Metro Parks, LaGrange, Ohio, loraincountymetroparks.com
Best Kayaking
Oasis Marinas at Port Lorain, Lorain, Ohio, portlorainmarina.com/kayaks
West River Paddling Co., Vermilion, Ohio, westriverkayak.com
Harbor Yak, Ashtabula, Ohio, harboryak.com
Best Fishing
Jimmy Riggin’ Fishing Charters, Port Rowan, Ontario, jimmyriggin.com
Tibbels Marina & Charter Service, Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, tibbelsfishing.com
Bring It On Sport Fishing, Ashtabula, Ohio, lake-erie-fishing-charters.com
Best Upscale Hotel
The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Geneva, Ohio, thelodgeatgeneva.com
Ariel Broadway Hotel, Lorain, Ohio, arielbroadwayhotel.com
The Wave Marblehead, Marblehead, Ohio, wavemarblehead.com
Best Bed & Breakfast
The Old Vermilion Jailhouse, Vermilion, Ohio, jailbed.com
Chateau de Charleston, Lorain, Ohio, chateau-de-charleston.com
Captain Gilchrist Guesthouse, Vermilion, Ohio, gilchristguesthouse.com
Best Historic Site
Lorain Lighthouse, Lorain, Ohio, lorainlighthouse.com
Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial, Put-in-Bay, Ohio, nps.gov/pevi
Johnson’s Island Cemetery, Marblehead, Ohio, johnsonsisland.org
Best Waterpark
Cedar Point Shores Waterpark, Sandusky, Ohio, cedarpoint.com
Waldameer & Water World, Erie, Pa., waldameer.com
Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, Sandusky, Ohio, kalahariresorts.com
Best Boutique/Shop
Erie & Anchor, Vermilion, Ohio, erieandanchor.com
Marblehead Soap Co., Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, marbleheadsoap.co
Skillmans, Bemus Point, N.Y., skillmansny.com
Best Casino
Hollywood Casino, Toledo, Ohio, hollywoodcasinotoledo.com
JACK Cleveland Casino, Cleveland, jackentertainment.com
MGM Northfield Park, Northfield, Ohio, mgmnorthfieldpark.com
Best Realtor
Michael Golab, Westlake, Ohio, facebook.com/mikegolabrealtor
Roseann Hickman, Port Clinton, Ohio, morganrealtygroup.com
Fran Campana, Elyria, Ohio, francampana.c21.com
Best Landscape/Garden Center
Pandy’s Premier Garden Center, Elyria, Ohio, pandysgardencenter.com
Corso’s Flower & Garden Center, Sandusky, Ohio, corsos.com
Barnes Nursery, Huron, Ohio, barnesnursery.com
Best Home Builder
Wayne Homes, Milan, Ohio, waynehomes.com
K. Hovnanian Homes, Lorain, Ohio, khov.com
Emil Chernicky & Sons Builders, Inc., Erie, Ohio, emilchernicky.com
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