Given favourable wind and weather, boaters can easily cross Lake Erie. For Canadians that means a chance to enjoy the urban boating lifestyle in places like Erie, Pa.
Pennsylvania has a relatively small length of Lake Erie shoreline due south of Long Point, with the medium sized city of Erie as its major urban centre.A sandy peninsula, called Presque Isle – a version of the French phrase presqu’ile or “almost an island” – gives Erie what is probably the best natural harbour on the southern shore.The peninsula is now a popular state park, with a great marina and miles of sandy beaches. But Presque Isle helped put the city on the map during the War of 1812.A marine museum and replica of the US Brig Niagara in Erie tell the story of how U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry built his inland naval fleet there.
As in many Lake Erie ports, Erie’s waterfront industrial development from the late 19th and early 20th century has been replaced by waterfront tourism and recreational facilities in the past couple of decades.This reorientation, along with Presque Isle’s basic geography, combines to make Erie a great place for visiting boaters.
There are about a dozen marinas and yacht clubs on the city’s waterfront and in the state park, but the best place for visiting cruisers is Wolverine Park Marina.The marina is in the western downtown basin, behind Dobbins Landing West, close to the Bicentennial lookout tower and behind the new Sheraton Hotel. There’s a wave-shaped waterfront convention centre and several good restaurants have sprung up near the harbour.
Presque Isle Park offers day boaters several anchoring options inside and outside the protection of the peninsula. One of the popular choices, with good protection from westerly winds, is the beach along the peninsula’s eastern shore.
Like all of the lake’s best boating centres, the port of Erie offers plenty of options, with shoreside facilities and entertainment, beaches and great fishing all close at hand.