Favorite Cruising Destinations

Listed first is a section on clubs and marinas which contains both contact and general information about facilities. An “anchorage” section appears at the bottom of the page. To help get more familiar with the great cruising available very close to Sandusky and the surrounding areas, click here to view a PDF of the NOAA Islands in Lake Erie Chart (Chart 14844). Additional Charts are available at NOAA Chart Locator.

Clubs and Marinas

Huron Yacht Club
350 Huron Street
Huron, OH 44839
419-433-3113
Four guest docks, $1/ft., electric, water, fuel, diesel, pump-out, food, showers.

Huron Boat Basin
Doug Steinwart
419-433-4848
Monitor 09
[email protected]
It’s a beautiful town facility and they have fun programs there during the season. It is busy and you need to call for reservations.

Vermilion Boat Club
5416 Liberty Avenue
Vermilion, OH 44089
440-967-6634
Call for docks, $1.50/ft., electric, water, showers, swimming, food, picnic.

Vermilion Town Docks
Bill McCarthy
440-967-7087
Cell: 305 394 1838
Monitor 16
The municipal docks are nice, you can also dock at the Red Clay restaurant (used to be McGarvey's). A nice sea town on the river. Explore the town and relax shopping in the local stores.

Vermilion Yacht Club
5440 Anchorage Way
Vermilion, OH 44089
440-967-3255
Four guest docks, call ahead, $1.65/ft., electric, water, fuel, diesel, pump-out, showers, swimming (beach), pets allowed but location makes it not as accessible to town and restaurants.

Lorain Sailing & Yacht Club
P.O. Box 697
Lorain, OH 44052
440-288-0500
Gas Dock - Bobby Rhodes 440-308-6822 (cell)
Six guest docks, five days free, electric, water, fuel, ramp, hoist, showers, picnic, pets allowed.

Spitzer’s Marina
400 Colorado Avenue
Lorain, OH 44052
216-288-3667 or 800-321-3625
Large modern marina has a great second story restaurant/bar with the best sunset view on Lake Erie. Dock master was very friendly. Good backup if you can’t get in LS&YC.

Cleveland Yachting Club
200 Yacht Club Drive
Rocky River, OH 44116
440-333-1155
Guest docks, $1.25/ft., electric, water, pump-out, fuel, diesel, hoist, showers, food, picnic.

Edgewater Yacht Club
6700 Memorial Shoreway, N.W.
Cleveland, OH 44102
216-281-6470
Ten guest docks, one reciprocal day, $1/ft., electric, water, pump-out, fuel, diesel, hoist, showers, food, picnic, pets allowed.

Forest City Yacht Club
5301 N. Marginal Road
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-361-9857
Two guest docks, one day free, $1/ft., electric, water, fuel, diesel, pump-out, hoist, showers, picnic, pets allowed.

Lakeside Yacht Club
4851 N. Marginal Road
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-432-3271
Large facility with pool, dining room, and bar. I believe $1.50 per foot. Noisy as it is located between Lakefront Airport and I-90. Plenty of room for visiting boats. Walking distance (long) to waterfront attractions.

Channel Park Marina
5300 Whiskey Island
Cleveland, OH 44102
216-631-5000
Three guest docks, electric, water, fuel. Go up the Cuyahoga and it is at the end of the branch that takes off westerly at Shooters. Not the fancy place, but a cheaper place just past.

Fairport Harbor Yacht Club
P.O. Box 1632
Painesville, OH 44077
440-354-9083
Four guest docks, three reciprocal days, $15/day, electric, water, ramp, hoist, showers, picnic, pets allowed. Shallow with smallish docks. Larger boats and multihulls may have to go downstream to Grand River Marine on the east side of the river. 440-352-7744. Fun restaurants on west side of river. Headlands State Park, just west of mouth of river, offers a wonderful swimming beach. Also try anchoring out at the east end of the basin formed by the breakwater. Nearby is a nice restaurant with a dinghy dock.

Ashtabula Yacht Club
P.O. Box 225
Ashtabula, OH 44005
440-964-3129
One guest dock, reciprocal days, $1.00/ft., electric, water, pump-out, showers, picnic, pets allowed. Quite the friendly club.

Conneaut Boat Club
1301 Marina Drive, Box 177
Conneaut, OH 44030
440-593-9123
One small guest dock, reciprocal, $1/ft., electric, water, fuel, showers, picnic, nearby food, pump-out, ramp, hoist, pets allowed on leash. Harbor entrance is narrow and water depths a problem. Alternative – anchor out in lea of the breakwaters, towards the SW corner, being careful of the shallows further inland. Very protected and you can dinghy in to the club for a dinghy dock and showers.

Erie Yacht Club
P. O. Box 648
Erie, PA 16512
814-453-4931
Guest docks, one day free if reciprocal, $1.25/ft., electric, water, diesel, fuel, pump-out, ramp, hoist, showers, food, picnic, pets allowed. You’ll feel like you living the life of the “other half” with lovely amenities available. As an alternative, try anchoring or a dock at the Presque Isle State Park (814-833-7424) in the northwest corner of the bay which gives you easy access to the State Park – bike trails and miles of the best beaches on Lake Erie. Anchoring within the bay that contains Presque Isle SP marina is a real treat. The only noise you’ll hear is the singing of birds. Park restrooms and showers are some of the nicest around.

Port Stanley Sailing Squadron
15 Barrie Boulevard
St. Thomas, ONT N5P 4B9
519-782-9910
One guest docks, sail only, one day free, $10/day, electric, water, showers, pump-out, picnic, pets allowed, on east side of river, just past Kettle Creek Marina. Cute, artsy town with galleries, shops, restaurants and a Summer Theater. Kettle Creek Marina (519-782-3261) is cute but pricey – they consider themselves to be a “Boutique Marina”. You can also tie up along the riverbank north of the bridge – this is apparently free but you are competing with the fishing boats for space. In decent weather you can even anchor out in the lea of the breakwaters. The bridge at Port Stanley is a drawbridge that stops operating in the evening. The schedule of operation varies throughout the season. In the event that you miss the last bridge of the day and the winds are strong out of the south it is good to tie up as close to the bridge as possible because there can be a heavy surge under these conditions.

Erieau/Rondeau Bay
Nice marina (519-676-4471) and friendly locals. Marina has recently had improvements including a pool, exercise room, picnic pavilion and life-size chess/checkers board. The locals recommend Molly $ OJ’s for food. Beach within easy walking distance. An alternative to the marina is to anchor out in Rondeau Bay just to the east of the entrance to the bay. If winds are out of the north, locals say you can comfortably anchor to the south of Pointe aux Pins. Trip is about 70 miles across the lake from the Cedar Point Light.

Seaway Marina
240 E. Lakeshore
Kelleys Island, OH
419-746-2506
$1.50/ft, Gas, Diesel, Pump-out. Tie up to wall on left as you enter marina. Help is available. Pay inside building. Rafting is required. Most of the time you will have to tie up on the wall to your right as you enter and you will need bumpers as the wall is a little rough. They use fine gravel along the walkway so it helps to have a large rug or towel to wipe you feet on. There are pavilions next to the boats for eating or just relaxing. Walk downtown is my favorite reason to stay there. Showers cost around .50 cents. There is a nice little cafe attached to the Marina building.

South Bass Island & Put-in-Bay

Public docks - Daily and overnight rates are $2.00 per running foot. Rafting is mandatory by direction of dock master. Jet skis and rubber rafts are an additional $5 charge per day. Upon arrival contact dock master on marine channel 9. Dockage fees are from time of arrival until 11:00 am the following day.
Oak Point State Park - West of the Public Docks. Daily rate from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm is $15.00. Overnight rate is $30.00. All vessels must register upon arrival.
Mooring Buoys - Located in the western side of the Put-in-Bay harbor in front of the Boardwalk Restaurant. Available for watercraft 52 ft. or less. Weekdays $27.00 and weekends $35.00. Transportation to and from shore provided by the Boardwalk water taxi service.
The Boardwalk Docks at the Boardwalk waterfront restaurant - Located just west of the public dock. Contact dock master on marine channel 10 when entering the harbor. Fuel service available. Daily and overnight rates are $2.00 per running foot. No weekend reservations. Phone 419-285-6183.
Duggan's Marina - Located just east of the public dock by the Jet Express. Reservations accepted when guaranteed by a major credit card. Weekends are a two-night minimum and three-night minimum on holiday weekends. Mandatory rafting. Weekdays $2.00 per running foot, Weekends $2.50 per running foot. Phone: 419-285-4900.
Miller Marina - Located .3 miles west of the Boardwalk Docks near the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club. No reservations accepted. Daily Rate $1.00 per running foot Overnight rate $2.50 per running foot Phone 419-285-5902.
Put-in-Bay Yacht Club - Located .2 miles west of the Boardwalk Docks. Reservations are required. Daily and overnight rates $1.50 per running foot for AYC & ILYA members. Phone 419-285-4505.

Middle Bass Island Yacht Club
P.O. Box 81
Middle Bass Island, OH 43446
419-285-5871
First two days dockage free of charge per season. Afterwards they will charge prevailing state marina dock charges (currently $1.10/foot for docks with electricity) and $15.00 for unpowered docks. Docks will be available after their 2:00 PM call in time on a space available basis. - showers, picnic area.

The Middle Bass Island State Park Marina is on the southeast side of the island. It used to be the Lonz Marina. Depths are good. Reservations can be made via Lake Erie Islands State Park office at 419-797-4530 or marina at 419-285-0311, they monitor 71. It might be worth spinning around at the yacht club as there may be a time when anchoring out off of Middle Bass that a thunder storm warning is called...if the state park is full MBIYC would be a second option. If you have to go to a new place racing a storm, better to have seen it at your leisure. The little ferry to Put-in-Bay does not dock right there but you can walk a little bit to the old Lonz dock to pick it up. It’s about a 7-minute ride. The first one in the morning leaves at 10:30 and runs back and forth hourly, until evening. Sonny's Ferry – 419-285-8774.

Hazard Warning - It lies 250 feet off the entrance breakwaters, starting directly in line with the channel entrance dead smack in the middle, and extends quite a bit to the South. Best way to approach this entrance is from the North at about a 20 to 30 degree angle. You can use the pool, hot tub, pool side bar and get pizza at Hazards Bay Resort as they welcome the public.

Scudder Marina
351 North Shore Rd.
Pelee Island, ONT
519-724-2377
Shower facilities, public washrooms, and a picnic area. It can be difficult to get in and out of the harbor and docks in strong north or northeast winds. There is a mini golf place across from the marina. Take the shuttle or a cab down to the Winery or tour and walk up to town for lunch and visit the store there.

WesMarine
349 North Shore Rd.
Pelee Island, ONT
519-724-2995
[email protected]
Monitor 68
Restroom and shower facilities are shared with next-door Scudder Marina.

Dick’s Marina
Pelee Island, ONT
519-724-2024
Shallow entrance.

West Dock
West Shore Drive
Pelee Island, ONT
519-724-2933
Tie up only to check in with customs. Phone is across the street from the ferry terminal. Dock is pretty ratty so fender well to avoid problems. Anchoring off shore is fine if the wind cooperates. Often boats will spend a night at anchor here.

Leamington Marina
249 Sherk Street
Leamington, ONT N8H 4X7
Toll-Free: 1-888-858-3334
Local: 1-519-326-0834
Email: [email protected]
Monitor 68
Electric, water, showers, food, laundry pump-out. Enclosed picnic shelter and beautiful veranda. Have a three day package that covers Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday - leave on a Wednesday where you get a better rate than on weekends. Take the time to visit Colosantos and the Point Pelee Park as both are worthwhile.

Kingsville – Commercial harbor but probably OK in a weather emergency.

Cedar Island Yacht Club
P.O. Box 214
Kingsville, ONT N9Y 2E9
519-733-2555
Limited guest docks, reciprocal days free, electric, water, showers, pump-out, picnic, their members are very friendly and accommodating.

Colchester Harbor
519-776-7336
Monitor 68
A little place on the Canadian shore between Leamington and the Detroit River entrance. A little shallow. Nice restaurant overlooking harbor. Mostly local traffic in marina.

Ford Yacht Club
29500 South Pointe Drive
Grosse Isle, MI 48138
734-676-8422
Five guest docks, three days reciprocal, electric, water, pump-out, showers, ramp, hoist, food, picnic, pets allowed.

Avoid dockage at Duffy’s in Amherstburg on Canadian side just a few miles up the Detroit River. Boat wakes make this very hazardous – use only in an emergency. An alternative is to anchor in Crystal Bay, just north of Duffy’s and formed by the fill from the up and down bound shipping channel of the river. Watch depths carefully. Also try the Horseshoe at the north end of Bois Blanche Island – room for 3 boats at best. With a decent dinghy (current is pretty strong) you could get over to Duffy’s and carefully tie up there to explore Amherstburg, a very interesting and historical town.

Holiday Harbor Marina
519-734-9979
A friendly place on the Canadian shore about halfway up the Detroit River. It’s off the easternmost channel east of one of the long islands in that river. You've got to watch your step and pay attention going up and down that river, with the various islands and channels.

LaSalle Mariners Yacht Club
2640 Front Road
LaSalle, ONT N9J 2N1
519-734-1363
Four guest docks, three days free, call ahead, electric, water, showers, picnic. A bit north of Amherstburg on the Canadian side they are a very active club with friendly and welcoming people.

Lakeview Park Marina, Windsor
519-948-3383
519-326-0834
Monitor 68
One of the wonderful Canadian municipal marinas. At the top of the Detroit River on the east side as it opens into Lake St Clair. Just south of an island that's there.

North Cape Yacht Club
P.O. Box 5283
Toledo, OH 43611
313-242-5081
Four guest docks, three days free, electric, water, hoist, showers, food, picnic, pump-out, pets allowed,

Maumee Bay State Park
Oregon, OH
800-282-7275 – reservations
419-836-1466

New and very nice resort with good docks. The only problem is water depth at the entrance. In 2005 there was a controlling depth of 3 ½ ft, making it only viable for powerboats and shallow draft sailboats. Check to see if there has been any additional dredging. Follow Toledo channel past the lighthouse to marker 29. Turn and follow the course of 180 degrees, staying in 11 feet of water. Harbor entrance is just to the west of the hotel and walled area in front of the building; entrance is marked by red and green markers on stone jetties. Shallows occur primarily between the jetties.

Dockage (price depending on season and day) includes the use of indoor and outdoor pools, showers and restrooms, racquetball, tennis, restaurant, bar, walking and bike trails, swimming beaches on the lake and a man-made lagoon. Golf is available. It would be a fun destination with children as there is so much to do.

Port Clinton Yacht Club
127 Brooklyn Avenue
Port Clinton, OH 43452
419-734-2424

Call for docks, $1.50/ft., electric, water, showers, swimming, picnic.

The ILYA club list (http://www.i-lya.com/Clubs/club1.htm) is another good source of information.

ANCHORAGES

Kelleys Island, OH

North Side at the State Park - 15 minute walk to town (can rent golf carts here). We’ve had best luck with holding going as close to the public beach as possible. The further away you go, the more you encounter limestone slabs and little sand. In an emergency, you can enter the State Park Harbor, west of the beach. It is permissible to Med-moor to the stone breakwater. In a storm we tied up to the dock until it passed and no one complained even though there is a time limit for tie-ups.
West side off the West Bay Inn with food, music, and drinks. Nothing else in the immediate area and this is only a day anchorage. Bottom is mostly limestone slab and dragging is very possible.

Middle Bass Island, OH

Schoolhouse Bay on the East side north of the entrance to the State Park Marina and Middle Bass Island Yacht Club, and across from Ballast. Best luck with holding is just to the left (SW) of the runway. Stay out of the flight path. We’ve held there in 60 mph winds but dragged in much less further east. Great in N, NW and W winds
West side just opposite the State Park Marina (It's only a narrow strip of land here with winds out of the N or NE.
Both places have an easy walk to a restaurant, and a place called St Hazards, which is a restaurant and bar with a bunch of rental cottages as well.
Slight indentation on South side of MB (wind from NW, N. NE)
Sonny's Ferry - 419-285-8774

South Bass Island, OH

Put In Bay - Mooring balls only at $35 per night Friday /Saturday, and $27 at other times. Unlimited water taxi service is included (channel 10 on the VHF). Just pick up any ball that is available, and they will come find you for the fee.
Off the State Park on the southwest corner if winds are N, NE or East. Deep enough to really tuck in close.
North side of the monument with S, SE, or SW wind. Poor holding, don’t leave boat in case you drag or someone else drags down on you – can get pretty crazy here with many boats not having any clue how to anchor.
Millers Ferry – 800-500-2421

North Bass Island, OH

SE corner of the island – several small sandy bays that have been recommended, one is protected by a reef jutting out towards the NE. Looks real nice and we will try it this coming year.
Channel between North and Middle Bass Islands –anchor in close to shore wherever it looks good, choosing the side depending on whether the wind is out of the north or south.

Huron, OH

East side of breakwater. Good lunch stop and should work out OK for overnight if there is a guaranteed light south wind. Good holding in sand.
Southwest of breakwater. Very shallow but protected in everything except a west wind. Boats have stayed here for days on end and you can bring a dinghy to shore for access to town.

Pelee Island, ONT

North side east or west of marina with winds out of the S, SW, SE.
Fish point on the south side of Pelee adjoins a preserve with winds out of the N, or NW. Plot waypoints on GPS for the sand bar off the point in case you have to leave in the dark. Sand bar shifts frequently. In light air anchor out from shore as the bugs can be awful. Very good holding.
Mosquito Bay – west side of the point, just a touch north to get in lea of bump in the shoreline that gives some northerly protection. Great anchorage in a northeaster. If wind shifts north it can get a little swell but nothing awful. Great holding and impressively clear water. Fantastic sunsets.
West Docks – works in E or SE winds – we have often seen boats anchored here but are not sure what the holding is like.
East side of Pelee Island – have been told that the holding is terrible – thin sand over limestone slab - avoid.

East Harbor, OH

With winds from the west and south you can anchor outside off the beach.
With a north or east breeze there is an inside anchorage. Proceed in the marked channel and stay about 200 feet off the shore with an eye on the depth gage and your chart. Drop anchor at the end of the deep water.