Monday, June 16, 2008

Beach Review #1

As many of you might know I live on the west side of Cleveland. Since I am a “transplant” to the area the entire “east side vs. west side” concept baffles me. What is it, a total of twenty minutes to get from Lakewood to Beachwood? Not far.

Anyways as a total beach enthusiast, I have taken it upon myself to fully explore many of our beaches around the Northeast Ohio Region...East, West, North and South and report back to you. I tend to go to the beach on Sunday afternoon’s for a day of rest and relaxation. A way of closing the week past and gearing up for the week ahead. I will drive miles for sun, sand and an afternoon filled with catching up on my multiple magazine subscriptions.

Yesterday I am happy to report I spent the afternoon at Mentor Headlands State Park (www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/tabid/742/Default.aspx). This beach was unlike ANY lake beach I have ever experienced. The white sandy beach that stretched out for an entire mile is actually the largest natural sand beach in Ohio and made me feel like I was on vacation...Florida perhaps. The subtle waves, shiny rocks and sea glass were enough to keep me entertained while in and out of the clean, refreshing water (water temp 74 degrees!). One unique feature of this beach is it’s picturesque lighthouse with a long pier; perfect for an evening stroll. This beach also has two refreshment stands one at either end of the beach just in case you forget your large diet coke and twizzlers.




I couldn’t have asked for nicer weather for my adventure out East. If you’ve also been there let me know what you think. Or, if there are other beaches I may not know about please drop me a line. Otherwise, you know where to find me on a Sunday...somewhere by the water.

Labels: , , , , ,

4 Comments:

Blogger Sarah said...

We love Mentor Headlands too, but we're not fans of the long walk over hot sand to get to the beach. My husband recently took our son to Huntington Beach on the west side and he proclaimed it to be his favorite in Cleveland. I wish Cleveland made better use and took better care of our shoreline. (Like Chicago)

June 16, 2008 at 8:19 PM  
Blogger Leenie said...

I noticed that this posting is entitled: "Beach Review #1" Let me know if you need help with any subsequent reviews...tee hee. ;)

June 17, 2008 at 11:36 AM  
Blogger Charity said...

sarah & leenie, thanks for the comments!

I too LOVE Huntington Beach. It is my usual hangout being that I love relatively close. The convenient, walk down the stairs to the lake is what makes it best for a quick afternoon sun-nap. Speaking of..leenie..if the sun is out, want to go Sunday? I may need to do an official review!

June 17, 2008 at 11:52 AM  
Blogger danielle said...

I grew up on the east side and the first couple years i was back in cleveland i still made the trek to mentor headlands (even though i had now called the westside home) because that was where so many of my childhood memories came from! Years ago my friends and I used to go all the way to the eastern part of mentor headlands where the Light house was and we would climb up to a 20-25 foot landing and jump off into the water...scary and ILLEGAL i am not necessarily recommending this per se....just really reminiscing of those days long long ago when i did things like that without taking into consideration things like....'do i have health insurance?' .. 'could i potentially get hurt and subsequently not be able to work?' ... might i actually get arrested???!!' No, it would seem this was before those types of thoughts would cross my mind! anyhow....the beach over by the lighthouse is a bit more private and i prefer it much more than the main area, although there is no snack hut in the quiet area...and that kinda stinks! oh well! HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

June 17, 2008 at 2:59 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home