In light of purchasing a house and recent gas prices, our typical beach vacation is out of the question this year. Anyone have any recommendations for someplace safe to take my 1 yr old to expose her to the beach without driving 6+ hours (thinking maybe a lake in western PA/eastern OH areas?
TIA,
C.
Belated thanks to everyone for their ideas. We went to Moraine State Park and hit the lake back in June. The water was still really cold, but my daughter still loved the water. The only think I didn't like about it was how rocky the beach and lake bottom were. Thank Goodness we had good water shoes on her.
I will likely try out the other suggestions next year.
There is a nice beach in Erie. It is called Presque Isle state park. Pack a picnic lunch and spend the day. It looks just like the ocean without the waves.
Enjoy!
N
My husband just played in a beach volleyball tournament in Erie, PA yesterday. He commented that it would be just what you mentioned.... a great place for us to take our 3 little ones (13 months, 3 & 4) to a beach without having to drive far and could make it just a shorter trip. He was surprised at how similar it was to an ocean beach. He's played in many tournaments in Loraine, OH and we would never take the kids there for a beach experience.
Erie is nice and so is Geneva on the Lake.
I like Erie because the beach area at Presque Isle is clean and Waldamiere Park is there also. Different options.
Sandusky would be my other opinion because of the different parks.
Erie, of course would be an obvious choice and they have Splash Lagoon nearby that has package deals. However, I think your daughter may be too young to enjoy Splash lagoon.
How about taking her to Moraine State Park? They have a manmade beach area that is nice & tame with snack stand & changing facilities. It's only about an hour or so from Pittsburgh and you could plan a nice relaxed day around her naptime since it's a short distance away.
Also, not sure but Racoon State Park also may have similar. I also hear the Put-In-Bay in Ohio is nice as well.
There is Lake Erie. The is Moraine State Park, right off of 79N and only about maybe 1 hour and 15min from Pittsburgh.
Conneaut Lake is nice - lots of nice little cottages to rent and just over 2 hours from Pittsburgh. I think it's still a nice quiet family area... we go there every year just for the day, but haven't rented a cottage since I was younger. But I do know a number of people who own them there and are very happy with the area. :-)
I used to live in Erie and those beaches at Presque Isle weren't bad. Plus there's paths to walk on with strollers or wagons with views of the lake and the bay.
Clay's Park Resort - it's a man-made, sand-bottom lake.
check out www.clayspark.com. it is an rv park, campground, with a ton other things, it is a resort, and not too far- it is in eastern ohio- near Canton. It is a very nice place, with no waves or animals in the water.
Have fun- wherever you go.
