North Coast

Ohio?? Yawnnnn. I'm afraid that's reaction of many who are unfamiliar with the state.

Ohio?? Isn't that just the east end of the Midwest's farm prairies? A state flanked near its corners with struggling industrial cities -- Toledo in the northwest, Cleveland in the northeast, Youngstown near the southeast, and Cincinnati in the southwest -- and the state capital Columbus in the center, surrounded by that noted, flat farmland?

Yes, while that description is true, it is incomplete. Many places are scenic and wooded. Water falls frequently spill over rock ledges as creeks and rivers make their ultimate way toward the Ohio River or Lake Erie.

Ahh, Lake Erie. One of my favorite places. I love to drive along or hike it's miles of beaches that trace the north coast of the United States border in Ohio's northeast. Often the beaches yield to high, rocky bluffs, or woods of mixed hardwoods and evergreens. Marinas, industrial ports, and lighthouses surround the harbors of major rivers flowing into the Lake.

On a beautiful autumn day last week, I drove the north coast from east of Cleveland to the Pennsylvania border. Stops along the way gave great views of turquoise-blue waters fringed by beaches of golden sand. Marine birds competed with anglers for their daily quota of fish. Pleasure boats rigged in white sails captured the wind, while freighters emitting plumes of steam reminded me that this is a workers lake, too.

Ohio North Coast pictures