Island-Hopping at Ohio’s Put-in-Bay

It isn’t a palm-studded grouping of islands such as the traveler would find in the Caribbean or South Seas, but 10 islands in Lake Erie just off Sandusky are warmly pleasant into fall and less expensive to get to.

They stretch for 16 miles across the lake. Four miles off Catawba Point on the mainland are the Bass Islands: South, Middle and North, with their satellites of Gibraltar, Sugar, Ballast and several smaller isles. Six miles east is Kelleys Island. North of it across the U.S. border is the steppingstone, Middle Island, to the only major island of this group in Canadian waters, Pelee Island.

If you arrive during the late spring, in summer or even in October you may achieve that Caribbean island feeling. The basin waters of Lake Erie help to insulate weather at the islands, and a five- to seven-day visit would be well spent in enjoyment and in your budgeted dollars.

Within eight miles south are the resort and educational center of Lakeside with the 2,500-seat Hoover Auditorium, which has a full schedule of contemporary and classical concerts; African Safari Lion Park; Cedar Point amusement park with its 750-slip marina, recreational vehicle compound, dolphins’ Oceana, 400-room Breakers hotel, 60 delightfully engineered rides and the 285-foot Space Spiral.

Also on the mainland are two state parks, at Catawba and on Marblehead, where the oldest operating Great Lakes lighthouse is.

President Hayes’ Estate

Twenty miles southwest is Fremont, the site of President Hayes’ estate, Spiegel Grove. The mansion and the extensive museum/library will surprise you for the insight they provide into that President’s life.

Twenty miles southeast is the historic village of Milan, the birthplace of Thomas Edison. These are only a sampling of scenic attractions that could be chronicled for a visit in this vacation land.

South Bass Island: This 1,835-acre site is the place to begin or end your trip. It is not a mud spot, but a real island about two miles wide and four miles long. And it is a place of unparalleled beauty.

After your invigorating lake-sprayed, public transport cruise from Catawba Point, you disembark at the rustic south end of the island. From there you and your family can rent bicycles or golf carts to reach the village of Put-in-Bay (permanent population, 146).

The village has many fine restaurants, including several Country and Western sites where, for example, Texan tourists toe-tap and listen to familiar strings and rhythms.

The park in the town square is filled with strolling musicians, mimes, folks sampling a savory ox roast, and a brass band entertaining all. You enter and return to a mellower, more tranquil time. On many summer weekends a theme such as Founder’s Day offers the ox roast and parades of 1930s cars.

As you saunter out of the park and along the shore, yachts and schooners in the harbor rock gently in Lake Erie.

Then you see a towering granite column stretching as a white streak against the blue sky. Rising 352 feet, it is one of the least-known national park locations. It’s the majestic Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial. As you near the massive base of the monument, 45 feet in diameter, a surprise awaits you. Doors open to the interior and an elevator takes you up 312 feet to a ramparted, circular observation deck.

Exhilarating View

It affords an exhilarating view of the mainland, Lake Erie, other islands and the village and South Bass Island.

The monument, in memory of Oliver Perry’s (then a Navy captain) naval victory in the War of 1812, commemorates the friendship between the United States and Canada.

Downtown, a four-car motorized tram is warming its engine. It takes you for a five-mile drive through the forested interior, past the authentic Viking Long House, to a winery and back to the village and the monument. Disembark at the winery for an hour or two, and you can take an informative tour and learn about the century-old, oak-timbered barrels and copper hardware of the wine industry.

And as this is the region of surprises, underneath the winery building is a 45-foot-diameter geode, a gem of a cave lined with the world’s largest crystals. Down a rock-hewn staircase it is an emerald, sparkling place, cool and charming.

Directly across the road is Perry’s Cave, a 208-foot-long limestone grotto with an underground stream, whose subterranean waters synchronize with the tides of Lake Erie.

Kelleys Island is for you if you are an avid sailor, camper, historian, geologist, botanist, anthropologist or swimmer. Its 2,800 acres are bounded by four major coves, reached by boat. The sailor can navigate into North Cove, anchor, and swim at the beach at Kelleys State Park. If you brought a camper over on the cruise line you can make use of the park sites, which are complete with running water.

The geologist and rockhound can walk across the road to well-preserved glacial scourings. These deep, ravine-like impressions were sculpted more than 30,000 years ago. They are more than 15 feet deep and about 30 feet wide. As the glaciers moved south from Canada across the Great Lakes basin they pushed boulders and logs, which acted like the nib of a gigantic quill, etching far into the earth.

For the historian and anthropologist, half a mile away is Inscription Rock, said to have the writings of the Erie Indians who lived on the island from AD 100 to 1655 inscribed on it. There is also a theory that these hieroglyphics are linked to the mysterious Mound Builders in southern Ohio.

Finely Wrought Staircase

A more recent counterpoint to this for the historian’s enjoyment is Kelley Mansion, built in 1832, a solid representation of 19th-Century architecture. Its distinctive trademark is what may well be the most finely wrought free-standing staircase in the nation. It is constructed without nails and has a rich, polished hue along its spiraling turns.

You may also want to visit the winery and the downtown village. Ohio is the third largest wine-producing state.

Pelee Island, the largest of the group, is the only major one here in Canadian waters. If you have developed your sea legs and would like to be an international traveler (no passport required), you can make this a daylong excursion, departing from Sandusky and continuing to either Kingsville or Leamington on the Canada mainland. The Lake Erie cruisers stand ready, again, to transport your car. Point Pelee Canadian National Park, Windsor, Detroit and Lake St. Clair are all within 25 miles.

So there you have a compact yet relaxing five- to seven-day temperate zone island vacation containing a treasure of scenic, historic and geological attractions. If you kept Put-in-Bay for the end of your week’s vacation, you could complete your excursion with a restful dinner at a restaurant, in a portico or on a terrace looking out onto the shore.

To your right is Perry’s monument and straight ahead in the harbor, the riggings and masts of the boats form sculptures against the azure sky. Lake Erie has been the stage for a week on fun-filled islands.

From Catawba Point on the mainland the ferry to Put-in-Bay takes 20-30 minutes. It runs every hour beginning at 8 a.m., and costs $6 round trip, children $2, car $12. From Marblehead on the mainland, another ferry goes to Kelleys Island in 20-30 minutes for $6.60 round trip, children $4, car $12. From Sandusky to Pelee Island, Canada, a 4 1/2-hour trip, the round-trip fare is $16, children $8, car $31.

For more information: Ohio Office of Travel & Tourism, P.O. Box 1001, Columbus, Ohio 43216; (800) 848-1300.