Day 6 - Canoeing and Beach Club

Conneaut Lake Park charges a $5 parking fee on holiday weekends.  Want to know how to avoid paying?  Go by boat!  When we take out the canoe, sometimes we go out on Conneaut Lake.  We launch from the public boat access - take Comstock Road off of Route 618 to get to it. 

There is one place in Conneaut Lake that Jim has been dying to explore in a canoe.  If you are from around here, you know that a development group bought Park Golf Course and the trailer park on 618.  They had grand ideas, built one condo, and went bankrupt.  Now all those people who had summer places in that trailer park were kicked out of there for nothing.  Sad.  But I digress.  There is a canal that goes under a bridge and back to the trailer park.  Today we took the canoe back in the canal.  Unfortunately, there was a tree down, and we could not go any farther.  Jim wanted to get out and carry the canoe past the tree and continue on.  The rest of us wanted to turn around and head to the Beach Club.  Jim was outvoted - we'll explore more of the canal another day.  On the way back, the boys were thrilled because they spotted a secret patch of black raspberries, just beginning to ripen.  Jim was able to pick them from the canoe.


Just beginning to head back into the canal.



So we ended up at the Beach Club.  I have to say that this is one of my favorite places to go.  Many times, there is a DJ; every once in a while there is a band playing on a floating stage.  It's nice because the adults can hang out on the beach and have a few drinks while the kids play in the sand or in the water.  Boats pull up to the edge of the swimming area and anchor there to hang out and listen to the music.  It's really a fun atmosphere.  If you're the sporty type, there is also a sand volleyball court.  On Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day, there are fireworks.  Tomorrow the DJ will start playing at noon and will play until the fireworks show at 10. 

I'm not even going to start talking about the park...it is very sad how run-down it is.  The beach club and the hotel are not run by the same people who run the park.  We know the people who are currently running the Beach Club and the Hotel, and they are doing a lot to renovate and bring life back to both places.  There is entertainment scheduled just about every weekend.  It is definitely a place to check out.

A view of the Beach Club from the canoe.

This is the Hotel Conneaut.

Hotel again.

Just a few of the boats anchored at the Beach Club.  I love the American flag!

These are all bird nests.  We watched some mother birds feeding their babies.

Ben wanted an opportunity to paddle with Jim.