Beach lovers can walk a long stretch of sand along Lake Erie at Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle State Park.
The 1-mile strand, known as Beach #1 and Beach #3/Barracks Beach, makes for a 2-mile round trip hike. Sunset delivers a particularly scenic and romantic walk as the sun descends behind the lake.
Presque Isle is a 3200-acre peninsula sticking out of the north side of Erie. Annual visitation to the state park tops 3.5 million annual visitors, making it more popular than all but nine U.S. national parks.
To reach the beach, from Interstate 79 in Erie, Pa., take State Hwy. 5/West 12th Street southwest. Turn right/northwest onto State Hwy. 832/Peninsula Drive. This will take you into the state park. Go left/northwest to the parking lot for Beach #3/Barracks Beach; the Stull Interpretive Center is on the lot’s north side. From the lot, walk northwest and follow one of the sandy paths through the treeline to Beach #3.
Once on the sand, Lake Erie stretches before you. It is the fourth-largest Great Lake by surface area but the smallest by volume. That still makes it the eleventh-largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Erie at its deepest is 210 feet, making it the only Great Lake whose lowest point is above sea level.
The modern lake formed when glaciers during the last ice age widened its basin. It has existed in its current shape for only about 4000 years.
Walk left/southwest along Beach #3. Just off the shore are several stone breakwaters. These structures help reduce beach erosion by preventing the full onslaught of tides, currents, waves, and storm surges from hitting the shoreline.
Beach #3 and Beach #1 run together as one continuous strand.
Beach #1 is popular for finding beach glass, the name for naturally weathered and tumbled glass. Most pieces start as discarded bottles, jars or tableware. Waves, sand and rocks act as a natural abrasive, smoothing sharp edges over time. Anywhere from 20 to 50 years – and sometimes more than a century – is needed to achieve a fully frosted, rounded look.
The area also is popular among surfers.
Once you’ve gone about mile, the beach narrows considerably. You’re close to the state park’s boundary (though the beach continues), so turn back and return to your vehicle.
Swimming is allowed on the beach for about 10 feet from the shoreline. Picnic tables and restrooms are located near the parking lot for Beach #3. Smoking is not allowed on the beach.
If you’re wondering why the peninsula is called an island, you’re showing that you haven’t studied the French language. “Presque isle” is French for “almost an island.”
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