There are 116 coastal recreational access locations along Ohio’s 312-mile Lake Erie coast. Combined, these public areas consist of 41.7 miles of accessible shore, approximately 13 percent of the entire coast.
The points were identified and field-checked in 2005 by the Office of Coastal Management. Erie County has the most publicly accessible recreation areas with 25 locations, followed by Cuyahoga and Lake counties (21 each), Ottawa County (17), Lorain County (13), Ashtabula County (11), Lucas County (7), and Sandusky County (1).
These 116 coastal recreational locations are owned by the public and are managed and policed by government entities (Federal, State/ODNR/County, Municipal).
- There are 152 Public Ramp Sites.
- There are 312 Boat Access Sites.
It is noteworthy that the 41+ miles of publicly accessible recreation areas require citizens to abide by restrictions of time of day, season, and regulation. ODNR employees, Metro Park Rangers, Sheriffs, and local police these areas.
The public use of our beaches has provided none of the above restrictions as to time of day, litter, criminal behavior, etc.
This runs counter to the misinformation that private property owners are stealing from the people of Ohio.
This publication is available on a DVD that they have been distributing it for two years. It is an excellent publication and interesting from many aspects.
This Atlas is available on line or is available on DVD by contacting the OCM at:
Office of Coastal Management
105 West Shoreline Drive
Sandusky, OH 44870
419-626-7980
1-888-OhioCMP
Fax: 419-626-7983
coastal@dnr.state.oh.us