East Harbor State Park, Ohio

East Harbor is located at 1169 North Buck Road, off OH-269 North, accessed from Ohio 163. The recreation begins right away with birdwatching and picnic areas. Alongside the paved road is a lane for bicycles, skaters, and walkers. An American flag honors veterans for Memorial Day Weekend 2014.

This coastal state park offers 1,831 acres of fun. In the background of this image is the Marblehead Peninsula; toward the back left a freighter is docked at a limestone quarry. This image was taken on Saturday, May 24th, looking south. The temperature reached 70 degrees F.

This is another image of the southern end of the north East Harbor swimming beach. In the far background on the right is South Bass Island, also known as Put-In-Bay. The beach seems to end in the distant center of the image, but a narrow trail on the left leads to more beach. Shoes are somewhat recommended to traverse this trail.

This short, narrow trail heads north and is a little rocky in some spots. An unobstructed view of Perry's Monument awaits the adventurous beachgoer, along with a hiking trail and lighter crowds. This trail offers a glimpse of the wildlife beyond the beach.

Perry's Monument, on South Bass Island, is on the left-hand side of this image. Speedboats zipped in and out of the West Harbor boat entrance all day, though the gulls and geese paid them scant attention. There is a marina store and restaurant nearby, plus boat and camper dry storage.

The West Harbor Hiking Trail is three-quarters of a mile long and begins on the northern end of the North Swimming Beach. This trail is described on the Ohio DNR website as Easy; the environment here changes over from shoreline to forest pretty quickly. Another easy trail is the South Beach Trail at two-and-a-half miles. There are eleven trails in East Harbor.

The picnic area at East Harbor State Park also has grills, and it is conveniently located near an ample parking lot. East Harbor is a carry-in, carry-out park; that means that park-goers must dispose of their trash elsewhere. In the background, there are four rocky barrier islands that protect the shoreline; they also separate the boats from the swimmers.

This image was taken at about 1 pm on a perfect Saturday. In the far distance is Kelleys Island, which is about 12 miles to the northeast as the gull flies. Many swimmers swam out to the four rocky barrier islands; the water isn't very deep here. The barrier islands are also great perches for gulls. The beach here has no lifeguards.

A new fixture along East Harbor's 1,500 foot swimming beach is this bathhouse, which was just built for the 2014 season. It has separate amenities for men and women and a changing room for each. There are also drinking fountains. A foot bath is located on the bathhouse pavilion, and new bicycle stands are just outside.

This is shoreline fishing in the East Harbor; boaters are likewise fishing out on the water. The fisherman's parking area is just to the left and it is accessible, but these men rode their bikes in on the paved bike lane. The camping area is nearby, as is the Harbor View shelterhouse and picnic tables.