Take a bicycle tour of Kelleys Island with me…
I boarded a passenger ferry for a day trip to Kelleys Island. The Jet Express line leaves from Put In Bay on a regular schedule and was only a few bucks. Unlike the lumbering and slow auto ferry, this boat rocketed out of the harbor so fast I had to hang on to my seat.
Kelley’s Island has a completely different vibe from Put In Bay. Its laid back charm and easy rhythm had me hooked right off the dock. There’s a small downtown area with shops and a couple of restaurants, no crowds, and plenty of shoreline to explore. While I had a hard time escaping the tourist hordes at Put In Bay, at Kelleys Island it was tough to find people at all!
The Old German Church near downtown is a landmark, with its original pews and pot belly stove. The parsonage next door has been turned into a resale shop, an Ohio name for a thrift store. I rolled my eyes when a grown man, over 30 and old enough to know, asked his friends several times, “What’s a parsonage?” They didn’t know either.
There’s a good-sized state park is at the top of the island. I was happy to find it had lakeside access with a beach, all free and open to the public.
The big tourist attraction on Kelleys Island are the Glacial Grooves. These formations were carved into bedrock from retreating ice floes, and evidently are a geologic curiosity.
Much of Kelleys Island is pastoral and peaceful. There’s small farms and 100 year old cottages, and parts of the island seem wonderfully lost in bygone days.
Kelleys Island is primarily residential. The population is about 3,000 during the summer, but less than 150 stay here year-round.
What I liked best was the open access to the lake. While most of Put In Bay keeps their shoreline private with gated properties, the homes on Kelleys Island are across the street from the lake. That means you’ll find great views from one end of the island to the other.
Somewhere in the interior I stumbled on a lovely sculpture garden and art gallery. They had a modernistic painting I just adored, but left it hanging on the wall when I saw the $12,000 price tag. I consoled myself by reasoning it wouldn’t fit it on the bicycle anyway.
Glad I made the trip to another island in Lake Erie. They are surprisingly different from one another.
Maybe next year I’ll try the islands of Canada?
1 comment
Wow! You do find the most interesting places. I would have loved to see the glacier’s tracks. Discovered in college that geology was fascinating, though as I’m not an outside sort of girl, not a profession to pursue for me.