Presque Isle State Park

This summer I made a quick stop at Presque Isle while in Erie, PA, and I cannot wait until I can go again. I only spent a hour or two at this large park. I didn’t realize that there were so many beaches before I came. I visited the one small light house I think on beach 7? And the tour guides were so friendly and the view amazing. The beach is so clean and well kept and was the highlight of my day. I hope to go again soon and explore some more :)

If you’re passing through Erie, you owe it to yourself to make a stop at Presque Isle. It’s easy to get to off the major highways, and the scenery is absolutely stunning. Best of all, it’s completely free! There’s no admission fee, and parking is free as well. I’m sure it gets busy during the summer, but on a warm day in October, it had just enough people to not feel overly crowded. Driving through, you’ll have lots of trees on either side, with occasional glimpses of the lake on either side. Find a parking space (there are multiple small lots as you drive along) and walk from one side to the other. The city side gives a great view of the city, and the lake side has a great sandy beach to relax on. There are tons of trails and picnic areas; it really is the perfect place to get back to nature, or even make a relaxing pit stop on a long drive.

Presque Isle is a beautiful state park! My boyfriend and I came to visit in the early October when it was already too cold to get into the water, but we still enjoyed hiking and running along the Presque Isle Bike Trail.
There are plenty of activities you can do in the park: fishing, running, cycling and hiking. If you want to run a long loop, there are water fountains along the bike trail so you don’t have to carry your water bottle. During our short stay, we came to the park everyday to run and loved it! At night the park is in pitch black so if you plan to stay late, bring a flash light (we didn’t, and it took us a long time to find our car with the tiny flash light from our phone!). We love running here so much, and now we are considering signing up 2016 Erie Marathon: P

Beautiful. You have to come to the beach, walk a trail, run a park, and so many areas to explore. Beach is tough to hike on but, trails are easy. Photographers will love it. Some trails you need off, no pets, long sleeve, pants ticked in to avoid ticks.

Wow, I wish I realized this was here years ago! I spent hours walking the *DOG FRIENDLY* beach. It is so rare to find a place that allows this and I truly hope people continue to be responsible so this privilege is not taken away. It is a large beautiful park. I was so impressed by the beach and the dogs were enjoying it so much, that we did not get the chance to explore the kayaking, hiking trails, or lighthouse. I will return soon to enjoy more!

I love this park. I explored the beach as well as the more quaint West Pier. The drive through was relaxing. I noticed bike rentals, kayak rentals ect. The restrooms were fine for a park. I didn’t experience the food but there were many picnic tables offered on and off the beach for a picnic lunch. We tried out barracks beach, beach 1 & 6 throughout our visit. 6 Was the most crowded but had all had nice waves and views. Barracks beach was my favorite.

We love Presque Isle but as former Erie-​ites, we’re biased. So I left it up to the kids to let us know if it’s everything we said. According to them, it’s much more. There’s so much to do at this park, you need a full week to try it out. Several rentals are available within the park, from kayaks to tandem bikes. Tours include Segway tours and boat tours. There’s a variety of wildlife and a lot of activity like biking, rollerblading, walking, fishing and more. Locals use the park year-​round from open to close.
The park could be cleaner but that’s the fault of visitors, not the park staff. Facilities need an upgrade but they’re adequate. Concessions are available. Check out the park website for warnings, amenities, and more.

This is a beautiful state park! My wife, two sons (10 yrs, 8 yrs), and I decided to take a road-​trip break on our drive from Toronto to Pittsburgh in early August. What was originally intended to be a half-​hour pit stop became a 2 hour vacation highlight that the kids really enjoyed. First, we visited the Tom Ridge Environmental Center for a restroom break (very clean facilities) and explored the space to learn a bit about the history & wildlife of Presque Isle. You can pickup a free map of the state park and ask questions at the front desk.
Our family went to Public Beach #7, which was kid-​friendly. The lake beach was very clean and had 2 lifeguards. I was impressed by how calm the waves were (great for kids!) and the relatively warm water temperature (compared to Lake Ontario, which was downright frigid!) We learned in the Center that Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, which may have contributed to the warm temperature in August. There’s also a playground, fishing area, and public restrooms (which were not very clean and needed renovations).
The only blemishes in the park were the dirty condition of the public restrooms at beach #7 and lack of roadsigns from the northern end of I-​79 to Route 5 west. Why not charge cars that have out-​of-​state license plates $ 5 to $ 10 for admission on summer weekends? I would have gladly paid that amount to enjoy the natural beauty of the park. This revenue could help pay for restroom renovations.

Boasting Pennsylvania’s only «Seashore» is beautiful Presque Isle state Park. This state park is like no other in the state offering close to a dozen different beaches to explore as well as a lighthouse, and ample hiking trails. The Park also has a beautiful paved bike trail that loops around the Peninsula. The park offers Bike, Surry and Kayak rentals for all your outdoor activities while at the lake. The park also has various boat rides available that will take you on a tour of beautiful Lake Erie. This is a must stop for anyone in the Lake Erie area!

Presque Isle State Park is a very quaint and nice place with friendly people. We went during a cool and breezy day. Whatever the occasion, I recommend heading over to this park for a fun-​filled day!
There are multiple trails that can be taken throughout the park. When my girlfriend and I went, we took the sidewalk trail which was slightly more than a mile. We proceeded to walk on the Thompson rd around the park, passing by Misery Bay and Thompson Bay.
Parking was free and readily available. We did not have a problem finding Presque Isle State park at all and it was very stress free. The only suggestion I would make when coming here is to bring bug repellent and/​or wear long sleeve shirts and pants. We came out of the park with a lot of bug bites and we all know how bad that can be.
Overall, Presque Isle State Park was a blast. We’ll certainly be back.