Escape to Erie for a Nature-Focused Getaway
You'll find water activities, pontoon boats and bike trails — and a total solar eclipse on April 8.
PHOTO: VISIT ERIE
Beaches, trails and family fun. Many will make for the coast to enjoy this kind of getaway, but there’s a vibrant destination two hours north of Pittsburgh. Erie, Pennsylvania, nestles into our neighboring Great Lake and offers plenty of opportunities for those looking for a nature-focused getaway.
And thanks to a nearly complete trail network, cyclists can make the majority of the trip under their own power. Read on for updates about that trail system, a pontoon-boat tour of Presque Isle, ideas for families and more — including a once-in-a-lifetime astrological event.
The Ultimate Sunblock
This April, Erie will be at the center of the universe as it falls in the path of a rare total solar eclipse.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
This year, April 8 will be the biggest day on the calendar for the city of Erie. That’s when the next total solar eclipse – known as the Great North American Eclipse — will pass through the United States in a 125-mile-wide band, moving directly over Lake Erie near Presque Isle State Park. Day will turn to night there at 3:16 that afternoon — for 3 minutes and 41 seconds — the longest period of totality in Pennsylvania.
Water Play
With water, water everywhere, Erie provides plenty of activities for kids to enjoy.
PHOTO: VISIT ERIE
If you’re looking to take the family on a beach vacation that doesn’t start and end with a full day in the car, Erie is the perfect destination.
Lagoon by Pontoon
Since 1985, the state has offered free public tours of Presque Isle State Park’s bays and interior ponds.
PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN
Temperatures peaked at a perfect 78 degrees under clear skies last August as we motored into Graveyard Pond to begin our pontoon boat tour of Misery Bay and the interior lagoons of Presque Isle State Park.
Mile by Mile
With a grand vision, dogged persistence and grit, volunteer groups and nonprofits are working to fill in the remaining gaps of the 270-mile Erie to Pittsburgh trail — and hoping to bring it to completion in five years.
PHOTO BY RICHARD COOK
Bill Weller doesn’t break a sweat. He’s biking 40 miles on the Allegheny River Trail, the pristine path he watches over like a protective parent.
