A Lake Erie insider suggests three must-visit ports

By Mark Gagyi, Port Captain, Vermilion Ohio

           Welcome to Lake Erie, the southernmost of the Great Lakes. It’s been our home lake since 1979. We raised our two kids sailing on Lake Erie’s waters. Now we are introducing the lake’s charms to our two granddaughters. It’s a great place to spend the summer exploring and enjoying its emerald-green waters.

A few quick Lake Erie facts:

• It's long, narrow and shallow (241 miles, 57 miles, and 62 feet average depth).
• It was the last of the Great Lakes to be explored by the Europeans but the first of the Great Lakes to see a sailboat (the Griffin 1679).
• It contains only 2% of all the Great Lakes water but has 50% of all the Great Lakes fish.

The most popular stop for cruisers on Lake Erie is the Islands Area at the western end of the lake. In this area, more than 20 islands dot the waters from the Ohio to the Ontario shore. Among these are the four main islands that attract cruisers --- Kellys, South Bass, Middle Bass and Pelee.

Each island has its own personality, and all are well documented in the GLCC Harbor Reports. To learn about this part of the lake, it is best to begin with the GLCC Harbor Report: Cruising the Lake Erie Islands Area (E-0).

A very different, but interesting cruising option can be found in the four cities located along the lake’s southern shore – Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland and Toledo. Each has docking options that make for a walkable cruising stop.

If you are a baseball fan, each of those cities, interestingly enough, has a ballpark and a pro baseball team in the downtown area. Access to some of the parks might require a short taxi or an Uber ride, but in Cleveland if you dock right behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the ballpark is just a 10- to 15-minute walk away.

We have found the most enjoyable places to be the small ports along the lake’s northern and southern shores. They are highlighted in the GLCC Harbor report: Lake Erie Cruising Overview (E-00) and in the GLCCSchool’s webinar “Cruising Lake Erie.”

We have three favorites. Two are in eastern Lake Erie on the Ontario shore and one in central Lake Erie on the Ohio shore. Each has a long history with the lake, one dating its earliest settlement to 1794. Each played an early role in the lake’s commercial development. Today, all three are popular summer destinations for cruisers and landlubbers alike.

Port Dover, Ont. (E-27)

Safely tucked behind Long Point 60 miles west of Buffalo and 70 miles southwest of Toronto on the Lynn River, Port Dover is a great stop for any cruiser. If you’re heading from the east, it is an easy trip but if you’re coming from the west, it’s a long hike around Long Point from Port Stanley.

There are two harbor entrances from which to choose. To the east will take you to the full-service Port Dover Harbor Marina. To the west is the Lynn River channel that will take you under the Route 6 bridge to the Port Dover Yacht Club.

The marina is well-maintained, but it is a long walk from town. Because of that, we have always stayed at the very welcoming Port Dover Yacht Club and appreciated the much shorter walk. Other docking options are described in the Harbor Report.

From the yacht club, Port Dover beach is right across the bridge. As a summer resort, there are lots of things to see, lots of places to eat and a great beach. While you’re at the beach, be sure to find the Beach House restaurant and the palm trees that grow out front. (That’s right, palm trees on the north shore of Lake Erie.)

If you’ve brought your dinghy, consider a trip up the Lynn River and Black Creek for an interesting way to spend the afternoon.

By the way: If your visit to Port Dover falls on a Friday the 13th, be ready for lots and lots of motorcycles. Whenever the 13th falls on a Friday, the town hosts a giant rally that can attract up to 100,000 cyclists.

Port Stanley, Ont. (E-31)

Port Stanley lies about 50 miles east of Port Dover by land. The water route out and around Long Point is closer to 90 miles. To break up the trip, consider anchoring behind Bluff Bar at the end of Long Point, or trying to squeeze into Port Burwell (E-29). Burwell is a neat little port but finding a place to dock is a challenge.

In any case, if you are traveling east to west between Port Dover and Port Stanley, make sure you have a solid weather window. If it matches your cruising itinerary, an easier way to get to Port Stanley is from the west or the south. From those directions, Rondeau Harbor (E-32) is 40 miles west and Ashtabula, Ohio (E-6) is 50 miles south.

Regardless of how you get there, Port Stanley is worth the trip. You will enter a large manmade harbor, proceed up Kettle Creek, and pass under the King George Bridge. All dockage in Port Stanley is beyond the bridge. Most visiting cruisers will stay at Kettle Creek Marina, the Sail Squadron or Stan’s Marina.

As Kettle Creek splits the village in half, Port Stanley ends up having two unique personalities. On the east side of town, you will find shops, galleries, slightly upscale dining, a summer theater and very pleasing architecture. Across Kettle Creek, on the west side of town, you’ll find a definite “let’s relax and have some fun” beach scene.

The west side offers a number of places to eat including Mackies and GTs, both of which are on the beach. And speaking of the beaches, Port Stanley beach is one of the finest on Lake Erie.

One of the attractions of Port Stanley for cruisers is that it is a great place to reprovision. The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) is just across the bridge from the marinas and the grocery is a short walk to the north. If you’ve still got your dinghy pumped up, you can also boat upstream and tie up right across the street but remember to bring your reusable grocery bags.

Vermilion, Ohio (E-14)

About 100 miles southwest of Port Stanley is Vermilion, Ohio. Vermilion is 40 miles west of Cleveland and 25 miles southeast of the Lake Erie islands Area.

Like Port Dover and Port Stanley, Vermilion is defined by a river that flows through town. Dockage can be found all along the Vermilion River, but most cruisers choose to tie up upstream of the river’s mouth at the Water Works Docks. The advantage of this is its proximity to the center of town, making everything you’ll want to see within easy walking distance. The Harbor Report details all docking options.

Vermilion’s heritage is that of shipbuilding and commercial fishing. While both of those endeavors are long gone, they still shape the town’s character and outlook. Cruisers visiting Vermilion often like to wander the town and take in the architecture of the old Harbortown area, visit the shops, and choose from an array of dining options. A favored option is to grab an ice cream cone and wander down to the newly renovated beach for sunset.

Thanks to the efforts of many of the town’s citizens, Vermilion boasts an active summer events calendar. It offers Sunday concerts at the lighthouse, wine and chocolate tours, juried art shows, festivals and parades.

A cruiser visiting Vermilion should be sure to check out the Main Street Vermilion website. You can find everything you need to make your stay in Vermilion a great one.

Our three favorite Lake Erie ports – Port Dover, Port Stanley and Vermilion – share many wonderful qualities, but each has its own personality and each is worthy of any cruiser’s attention.

So, from all of us down here on Lake Erie, I’d like to say, “We’d love to have you visit. And if you do, please let us know you’re coming and we’ll leave the light on for you