Cruising in Ohio

Lake Erie is Ohio's big water, and it sets the tone for boating in the state. Hundreds of miles of shoreline run from the port cities of Cleveland and Toledo out to the island communities of Put-in-Bay and Kelleys Island, with well-equipped marinas for overnights and enough coves, harbors, and open lake to fill a whole season of day cruising. The fishing has its own reputation, walleye and perch draw anglers from well beyond state lines.

The inland story is quieter but just as real. The Ohio River traces the state's southern border, its locks and dams stepping boats past riverside towns like Marietta and down toward Cincinnati, a slow, scenic kind of cruising that the Great Lakes can't offer. Smaller state park lakes such as Grand Lake St. Marys and Indian Lake fill the family niche: calm water for watersports and paddlecraft, with public marinas and launch points that keep access easy.