Sandusky

Driving is easy and pleasurable. Ferries to the islands leave from downtown Sandusky, Catawba Island, Marblehead and Port Clinton to the west. If you are just pleasure driving, consider going west along the lake to Marblehead, Catawba Island and Port Clinton. These are more scenic areas with plenty of tourist attractions. Be on the outlook for bicycles and pedestrians during the day and after dark. Traffic and drinking while driving laws are strictly enforced.

Pedestrian traffic is prohibited on the Cedar Point causeway (and is very impractical).

• Sandusky Perkins Area Ride Connection (SPARC), +1 419-627-0740. The SPARC offers three routes to various stops around the city of Sandusky and Perkins Township including the Sandusky Mall, museums, stores, and area businesses. , to view a schedule. Rides are $1/person; exact change required. Deviation routes up to 1/2 mile are offered with a 24-hour advanced reservation.
• There are several taxi companies offering transportation throughout the city and most offer call ahead service.

The main attraction is of course Cedar Point, but the surrounding area along the lake offers plenty to see. By going west toward Catawba Island (which is accessed by a land bridge), you will find plenty of historic sites like the Marblehead Lighthouse from where you can see Cedar Point, or picnic, fish or watch the lake boat traffic and enjoy the coolest breeze in Ohio. Johnson Island has a Civil War Cemetery at the site of a Civil War Officers prison compound. The area is littered with historic sites. The older cemeteries in Sandusky and on the islands are also very interesting for those who appreciate stone carving.

Often overlooked is the beach at Cedar Point, one of the nicest and cleanest beaches on Lake Erie. It is adjacent to the Breakers Hotel at Cedar Point and outside Cedar Point fence. Seldom, if ever crowded.

• 🌍 Cooke-Dorn House (Elutheros Cooke House), 1415 Columbus Ave, ☏ +1 419-627-0640. A three-story mansion that features a ruby and cranberry glass collection, antique furnishings, a garden, greenhouses and a gift shop. (updated Dec 2021)
• 🌍 Follett House Museum, 404 Wayne St. Sandusky Library’s local history museum with four floors of exhibits featuring Johnson’s Island Civil War Prison Camp, Cedar Point and many other artifacts that shaped local life. 
• 🌍 Maritime Museum of Sandusky, 125 Meigs St. This museum interprets the maritime history of the area including boat building, recreational boating, passenger boats, shipwrecks, wetlands, commercial shipping, fishing, and the boats of Sandusky’s Underground Railroad through interactive exhibits and educational programs. 
• 🌍 Merry-Go-Round Museum, 301 Jackson St, ☏ +1 419-626-6111. closes at 5PM. Enjoy a menagerie of rare and unusual carousel carvings. Kids of every age can ride the antique carousel and watch woodcarvers breathe life into new horses. 
• 🌍 Ohio Veterans Home Museum & Hall of Fame, I.F. Mack Building 3416 Columbus Ave. Sa-W 8:30AM-4:30PM. A military history museum featuring memorabilia from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean Conflict, Vietnam and the war on terrorism. You can also check out an exhibit on Johnson’s Island and its role in the Civil War. Free. 
• Underground Railroad Trolley Tour. Discover Sandusky’s Underground Railroad history during this narrated trolley/bus tour of the abolitionist’s homes and sites used by fugitive slaves. 
• 🌍 Sandusky Speedway, 614 West Perkins Ave, ☏ +1 419-625-4084. 1/2 mile oval asphalt track. Stock car racing at its finest. Nice track, located close to Cedar Point. 
• 🌍 Ghostly Manor Thrill Center, 3319 Milan Road (US 250), ☏ +1 419 626-4467. Haunted house, XD 3D theater, motion rides, Ghostly Gifts. 
• Castalia Fish Hatchery, 7018 Homegardner Rd (off Heywood Rd., just off SR 269, Castalia), ☏ +1 419-684-7499. M-F 9-3. 90 acres (36 hectares) facility owned by state. Raise over 470,000 steelhead and rainbow trout for stocking Lake Erie tributaries. Free. 
• 🌍 Castalia Quarry Reserve (SR 101 (south of SR 269) Castalia), ☏ +1 419-625-7783. Abandoned limestone quarry, surrounded by forest and fields. Hiking, mountain biking, scenic. (updated Dec 2018)

• 🌍 Plum Brook Station (Glenn Research Center). NASA occasionally hosts open house events at their Plum Brook Facility. (updated Dec 2018)

Sandusky and the surrounding areas are hopping from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Tourists travel from all over the Great Lakes and Midwest Regions to visit Cedar Point and many other amusement venues, and for boating, fishing and island hopping on the nearby Lake Erie Islands. If you are planning to fish and are not familiar with the area, keep in mind that although you catch some fish from the shore, those with the big catches are fishing offshore. Charter boats can provide everything you need except a license, for about $100 per person per day or more. They, and the "head boats", have navigation equipment and sonar equipment to find the fish at spots the boat owners are familiar with on the lake. Head boats are not quite as fancy and take more people, but prices are as low as $35 per head.

• 🌍 Castaway Bay, 2001 Cleveland Rd W, ☏ +1 419-627-2106. An indoor water park operated by Cedar Point outside the main park. ,
• 🌍 Kalahari Resorts. ,
• 🌍 Great Wolf Lodge Sandusky’s Water Park.  - located in Sandusky

If you are visiting the Sandusky area during the summer months, you will find plenty of fresh veggies, peaches, tomatoes, sweetcorn, grapes are all grown locally and available at the orchards to the west.

• 🌍 Sandusky Mall, 4314 Milan Rd, ☏ +1 419-626-8575. (updated Nov 2018)
• 🌍 A&B Hobbies & Cycles. (updated Mar 2019)

Sandusky, being on the North Coast of Ohio offers some of the finest fresh water seafood available. The fresh water perch and walleye available in the area are fantastic. Other local favorites include turtle, white bass, pickerel and frog's legs. At the west edge of Sandusky is Toft's Dairy. They have a large ice cream parlor with great milk shakes and sodas.

• Firelands Winery, 917 Bardshar Rd, ☏ +1 419-625-5474. (Off US 6) 1. Hours vary. 
• Louie's: The favorite watering hole of the Cedar Point Staff. It's located just off Cedar Point Drive. On busy nights, patrons are required to show a Cedar Point employee ID.
• Small City Taphouse, 202 Columbus Ave, ☏ +1-419-502-0099, info@smallcitytaphouse.com. (updated Nov 2019)

During the tourist season (no doubt due to Cedar Point), accommodations can be higher priced and rooms may be hard to come by. The main tourist season begins in early June, after most schools have finished for the summer, and doesn't end until late August when schools resume classes.

• 🌍 Sandusky Library, 114 W Adams St, ☏ +1 419 625-3834. A historic Carnegie library, with a computer lab for getting online. (updated Apr 2020)

If swimming on Lake Erie, have a buddy nearby who can help if needed.

• 🌍 Firelands Regional Medical Complex (Firelands Community Hospital), 1111 Hayes Ave, ☏ +1 419-557-7400. (updated Dec 2018)

• Huron
• Leamington, Ontario, Canada. Canada's southernmost city. By ferry.
• North Coast Beaches. Along the southern shore of Lake Erie are a large number of public beaches.
• Lake Erie Islands. Located west of Cleveland, a group of picturesque and festive islands in Lake Erie are accessible via ferry. In addition to several Ohio State Parks located on the islands, there is plenty to do including wineries, restaurants, bars, marinas and beaches.
• Port Clinton is a quaint fishing town on Lake Erie about 20 minutes west of Sandusky. It also provides ferries to the Lake Erie Islands as well as head boats and charters for fishing.
• Vermilion
• Catawba Island, just west of Sandusky and accessible by road, offers a number of marinas, fishing charters and other Lake Erie shore activities.
• Marblehead, also to the west. You can see Marblehead Peninsula and the lighthouse from Sandusky or Cedar Point. Be sure you take some time and climb to the top. A Ferry to Kelly's Island leaves from Marblehead.
• Milan, Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison, inventor.
• Cleveland is about 1 hour and 13 minutes east on Ohio State Route 2. Home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• Toledo is about 1 hour and 9 minutes west on Ohio State Route 2. Check out the Toledo Zoo.