USCG Station Fairport, Ohio

Fairport Harbor, Ohio exudes Hallmark movie vibes.  Nestled on a bluff above the shores of Lake Erie, this town of about 3,000 people includes charming shops downtown, overflowing flower pots along the sidewalks and light poles with banners that honor home town heroes.  To add to the charm, Fairport Harbor has not one but two lighthouses and an outstanding ice cream shop. The Grand River also winds its way along side the town to empty into Lake Erie.

It’s the perfect place to film that Hallmark movie about the big city guy who comes to town to buy up land for a condo development and meets the local gal who wins his heart as she fights to stop the commercialization. You’ve seen that one, right? They could film it in Fairport Harbor.

Outside of movie perfection, Fairport Harbor’s a fun, walkable town In Lake County with a tight-knit community. It sits 30 miles northeast of Cleveland and is part of the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail.

Summer brings tourists who flock to town to enjoy the beaches, boating and spectacular lake sunsets during the warm, humid days. Throughout the summer, the town puts on many festivals and special events like the Folk and Country Fest in May and Stars, Stripes & Harbor Lights on the 4th of July.

During the winter, the tourists leave and Lake Erie brings lake-effect snow, ice and freezing temperatures. But the town hosts cozy events like Harbor Holidays and A Day with the Grinch to make the winter pass by a bit faster.

Lake Erie Gems

Our first stop was the spectacular Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve right next door in Mentor.  An accessible boardwalk took us from the foresty area near the parking lot, past beach grass and out to a stunning view of the sand dunes, Lake Erie and the distant Fairport Harbor Westbreak Lighthouse. This preserves one of the last sand dune areas along Lake Erie with native grasses.

My husband also found a short trail that took him closer to the lighthouse.  It’s definitely worth a visit while stationed in Fairport, especially since it’s free. Due to the nature of the preserve, dogs are not allowed.

Right next door is Headlands Beach State Park. It offers an enormous beach with plenty of room to spread out. Beach glass hunting, watching the mesmerizing waves and seeing spectacular sunsets are all popular here. There is no admission to this park either.

Fairport Harbor

After enjoying the parks, we headed into Fairport Harbor for lunch at the Fairport Family Restaurant. Delicious! Then we walked the streets, browsing in shops and checking out the Veterans Memorial Park.

Unfortunately the Finnish Heritage Museum was closed, but we stopped for a fun photo just outside the building.  A large number of Finns immigrated and settled in this section of Ohio.  The museum chronicles what life was like for them.

Next we headed down the street to the Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse.  I love, love lighthouses, so I was excited about this!  We toured the museum first learning about the marine history of Fairport, the US Coast Guard and the  lighthouses.

Out of our group of seven, I was the only one that climbed up to the top.  Going up wasn’t too bad, although there is one part near the top that’s a bit awkward to navigate.  The views from the top made up for the anxiety I experienced coming down the winding staircase.  If you don’t like heights, I’d recommend skipping the climb, though.

From the top, I got a great view of town including the Morton Salt facility across the river.  Here they mine for rock salt, the type that goes on the roads during winter.  This mine was one of the deepest and most modern mines when it opened in 1959. It even extended underneath Lake Erie. 

You wouldn’t think it looking at Fairport Harbor, but over two million tons of cargo comes through the commercial port yearly.  Options to ship salt by railroad, truck or cargo ship made Fairport the right place for the mine.

After completing the lighthouse climb I visited the ladies in the museum gift shop to claim my ribbon for reaching the top. Yep, they hand ribbons—even to the grown ups.

I also purchased a Lighthouse Passport from them.  Much like the National Parks Passport allows you to collect stamps from parks you visit, the Lighthouse Passport allows you to collect lighthouse stamps.  Since Lake Erie has a lot of lighthouses, it should be pretty easy to start filling up the book.

Delicious Surprise

All of the walking around town made us hungry for a late afternoon snack, so we headed to Fairport Harbor Creamery across the street. Oh. My. Goodness.  They’ve got some delicious homemade ice cream! Their menu changes seasonally.  We were there in late August and the pumpkin pecan praline ice cream will live in my mind as the chef’s kiss for many years to come.

The owners of Fairport Harbor Creamery recently added 206 High Street to their business.  Outside there’s Fairport Mini Golf, a nine hole course with fun for the whole family.  Inside you can buy fresh Boylan sodas from an old-fashioned soda tap, shaken lemonade and other treats.