Our Summer Itinerary

Presque Isle State Park
Erie, PA – 2 days
Lodging: Sara's Campground (private) for about $30/nt - reviewed as crowded, but nice. Alternative for $70/nt is Inn at Presque Isle ; across from Waldameer Amusement Park.
Camp at Sara’s Campground, no reservations (with popular Sara’s Diner, restaurant, and grill), surrey bike around Presque Isle (visit beach #9 for kites) and visit lighthouses and nature center with sky high movies, visit Waldameer Amusement Park and Water World, the SportPark with bungee jumping, bumper boats, go-carts.

Put-in-Bay
South Bass Island Ohio State Park, 3 days $78
Put-in-Bay, the sole town on South Bass Island, is one of our favorite destinations. This photo gallery does more justice than explanation. Get a campsite on the bluff (take a look at the first summertime photo in the gallery; we camp right on the bluff) and bring steel stakes and mallet due to rocky terrain, non-electric near showerhouse. $26/nt. Ferry cost of $44 total (includes car, 2 adults, 1 child, passengers alone, much less-visit website). Alternative: Day trip from Lorain (new this yr), pricey, Fri-Sun 1x/day $60/person, however, daytripping via the Miller Ferry is also available-leave your car on the mainland at Catawba and take the bikes, or go on foot and rent bikes or a golf cart that seats 4 or 6. They even provide the car seats. South Bass Island is a popular boater destination and has several marinas. Many also bring smaller boats over on the ferry, due to the volatile nature of shallow Lake Erie, which tends to kick up storms or rough waters. Note: Families should plan to visit from Sunday-Thursday as the island is very adult-oriented on the weekends.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park
Empire, MI, Platte River Campground, 7days.
Campsites with electrical hook-up for 1-6 persons: 96 Total Sites, 27 Reservable. Fee/night = $21.00 with no reservation (yes, booked and picked over already!); a ranger recommended to arrive early Sunday and to call two days ahead. Campground is 1 mile from beach. $1.00 shower tokens. Platte Point Beach (end point for rentable kayaks or tubes). Photo Gallery. Website indicates that "sometimes Lake Michigan is a little colder than you want for swimming, so there are a few swimming areas on inland lakes in the Lakeshore too: North Bar Lake - just north of Empire is usually pretty warm and has easy access to Lake Michigan too. Glen Lake picnic area is just north of the Dune Climb and provides access to swimming in Glen Lake." Map of Sleeping Bear Dunes. Other area campground list.

Mackinac City by Mackinac Island
Mackinac, MI, 1 day daytrip (2.5 hr drive North of Sleeping Bear Dunes)
Lodging: Platte River (above) or Camp Mackinaw tent sites $35/nt w electric/water/by lake. Also available: waterfront or view Cabins (sleep 6) $135-150/nt. (On Mackinac, cheapest is $160/nt and much already booked by February. Go sailing with Macinaw Breeze Sailing @ $30/person. In 2009, July 20-22nd is popular for the sail races.

Chautauqua
Chautauqua, NY, 2 days
Lodging: Camp Chautauqua $40/nt Camp Chautauqua also mentions that you can stop in their kitchen and enjoy a meal, a cup of coffee, or a snack. Breakfast and lunch are served during the summer season on weekends and holidays. There are places around outside the campground that do rent out boats. You can use their dock space if you get a rented boat, but you'll need to let the office know so they can assign you to a dock slip. Jet skis will be charged a daily launching fee per trailer to have access to their launch area. Although the campground does not have jet skis for rent, there are several marinas in the area that rent them out by the hour or by the day.

Mohican Canoeing & GoKarting
Loudonville, OH, Day trip, cost $75-100.
There are many campgrounds in the area, including Mohican State Park, which has campground and cabins but no livery, River Run, and Mohican Adventures. Many of the campgrounds have liveries, but they differ in their offerings, which range from canoes to tubes to rafts. We opted for a raft and pulled a tube with rope (Mohican Adventures sells the rope, too); the kids had a blast taking turns. The raft is harder to steer, but was a bit more comfortable. Canoes are a more economical alternative. You can bring a soft cooler, and there also landings where you can stop and enjoy a snack and restroom break. Most trips are 7.5 miles and take from 2.5 to 5 hours (it takes 5 hours to tube down the river!). We went for the 2.5 hour, but it took 3.5 as we made one stop and weren't rushing. Don't forget the sunscreen!

Cleveland Air Show, Labor Day Weekend
Cleveland, OH, Daytrip.
Free outside of the show. Local vendors setup, however, porta potties are far and few between. Take I-77 or I-90 to downtown Cleveland, then take East 9th to Lake Erie and find parking. Head to the water and have a seat! Don't forget the blankets or chairs, and a camera (and you may want some ear plugs)!

Idlewild and Soak Zone
Ligonier, PA
Lodging: Keystone State Park, PA, non-electric on lake (campground map avail). Admission to the park is $28.99, with kids 2 and under free. A second day admission is $14.99. We've never been but always wanted to, and I'm hopeful we'll have enough time (and $) to make it there this summer!

Electric vs. Non-Electric
Since I mentioned air mattresses, mine are electric, with the exception of the queen-size, which inflates with a foot pump, which was quite tiring. We try to get an electric site when possible, but every campground is unique. Last year when we arrived at Put-in-Bay, we had reserved an electric site and were disappointed as these were interior sites, though nicely wooded, and the Lake Erie views were on the bluff. The bluff sites were non-electric. Tip: at a non-electric site (all the water view sites at PIB are non-electric on the bluff), a long outdoor extension cord plugged in for a few minutes in the restroom does the trick! I felt silly the first time I did this, but none of the other campers cared! In fact, everywhere we went, other campers were very friendly and more than willing to be helpful.