Erie’s biggest Downtown celebration returns.
Celebrate Erie is back!
The three-day festival is designed to celebrate all things Erie — food, business, art, culture and family.
Check out the 40 vibrant chalk displays along State Street.
Along with local and regional music acts, Celebrate Erie will feature a number of national musicians:
For more information, visit celebrateerie.com.
No surprise here!
Erie has been named among the top Pennsylvania cities for young professionals.
Livability said Erie is “one of the state’s best-kept secrets.” Obviously.
Presque Isle State Park, the relatively low cost of living and opportunities for business are among the reasons Erie was named to the list.
Also on the list were Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Scranton.
Talls Ships Erie is back!
Tall Ships Erie returns to Erie’s bayfront on Aug. 25-28.
The festival celebrates Erie’s maritime heritage with ships from across the world.
Among the highlights of the festival is the Parade of Sail, where viewers can see the tall ships entering Presque Isle Bay. The Parade of Sail begins at 4 p.m. Aug. 25.
The remainder of the festival will take place around the Bayfront Convention Center, Dobbins Landing and the Erie Maritime Museum.
Visitors will have a chance to view seven ships during the festival.
And, more might be added!
In a return to Erie, visitors will get to see what’s considered the “World’s Largest Rubber Duck” and a smaller duck.
» Single-day pass: $10
Includes: All-day access to festival sites. Dockside viewing of tall ships fleet. Live music and entertainment. Educational seminars. Family activities. Food vendors. Vendor marketplace.
Does not include access onto ships for deck tours. A deck tour add-on must be purchased for access onto available ships for deck tours.
Deck tour add-on: $5: The deck tour add-on must be purchased with a corresponding single-day pass.
» Weekend Pass (Friday, Saturday and Sunday): $39
Includes access to festival sites and deck tours for all three days of the festival. Does not include sailing tours. Weekend passes are non-transferable. Does not include sailing tours.
» VIP Pass: $199
Includes festival sites and deck tours for the weekend as well as all VIP-only hospitality areas. VIP areas include complimentary refreshments and appetizers. VIP passes also include VIP line access and VIP parking. VIP passes are non-transferable. Does not include sailing tours.
» Sailing tours
Check the Tall Ships Erie link for available sailing tours.
Looking to spend the weekend? Hotels fill up quickly and can be pricy. Plus, there are campgrounds, RV parks and a variety of other options. Plan ahead. Find a list of places to stay.
No parking is available on festival grounds. But there are many parking opportunities nearby with shuttle service or a quick walk. Find more details here.
And if you’re coming from out of town, visit this link for driving details.
Want to volunteer, be a vendor or sponsor? Visit the Tall Ships Erie site for more details.
Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the perfect spot for your pooch.
With 3,200 acres, Pennsylvania’s only seashore offers a great experience for you, your family and your dog.
With all of the fun, though, there are some things you should know and prepare for before heading to Presque Isle with your dog.
The Erie County Department of Health regularly tests water from beaches for swimming safety.
Advisories are issued by the health department to help protect people and their pets from risks of contracting waterborne diseases from contaminated waters, including exposure to toxins found in harmful algal blooms.
The thresholds for dogs are lower than for humans because dogs tend to drink water when they swim.
The advisory map is updated regularly from late May to the end of October.
The Erie County Health Department site details more information about what harmful algal blooms look like and the damage they can do.
There are many locations along the shore for your dog to have fun.
Some popular shoreline spots include:
Other popular spots for dogs include:
For more information, call the Presque Isle State Park office at 814-833-7424.
Build a castle with the kids at Presque Isle, ride the Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park and make a splash at Splash Lagoon!
There’s so much to do in Erie, Pennsylvania, with your family!
The perfect family getaway is in Erie.
Going for the weekend, a few days or the week? Here are some of the must-do family getaway activities!
No family summer trip to Erie is complete without a trip to Preque (pres-k) Isle. It’s almost an island (literally, presque in French means almost and isle in French means island.)
Seriously, beaching is the biggest draw to Presque Isle. The state park offers miles and miles of Lake Erie beaches.
There are several guarded beaches where visitors can swim during guard hours. Visitors are not permitted to swim at unguarded beaches or outside of guard hours.
Pack food, stop at Wegmans or Sheetz for hoagies, pick up snacks at Beach Zero and spend several hours under an umbrella and on a towel. The kids can play in the sand, and you can walk the beach or read a book.
If you don’t want to waste the day being a beach bum, Presque Isle offers so many other activities.
You can rent bikes, water trikes, surreys and rollerblades from the Yellow Bike rental company inside Presque Isle.
Presque Isle offers an array of hiking trails — ranging from 0.2 miles to 13.5 miles. Take a hike to Gull Point for the wildlife and serenity!
Go fish! Literally. There are many great spots along Presque Isle to cast a reel. Have a boat? Even better.
Go kayaking! Drop the kayaks in the water from a number of locations throughout the park.
Go birding! Presque is home to many bird species. And many more use the peninsula as a rest stop during migration season.
Tour the Presque Isle Lighthouse!
Plan ahead and take part in programming offered by the state Department of Natural Resources. Find events on this page — nearly all events are free but many require registration.
You could spend two hours or all day at Presque Isle!
The cost of everything is up, but you still have to have some fun! Why not experience a summer day trip to Erie, Pennsylvania!
Here are the seven spots you need to visit for a great Erie day trip!
No summer trip to Erie is complete without a trip to Preque (pres-k) Isle. It’s almost an island (literally, presque in French means almost and isle in French means island.)
Presque Isle offers miles and miles of beaches. There are several guarded beaches where visitors can swim during guard hours. Visitors are not permitted to swim at unguarded beaches or outside of guard hours.
Pack food, stop at Wegmans or Sheetz for hoagies, pick up snacks at Beach Zero and spend several hours under an umbrella and on a towel. The kids can play in the sand, and you can walk the beach or read a book.
If you don’t want to waste the day being a beach bum, Presque Isle offers so many other activities.
You can rent bikes, water trikes, surreys and rollerblades from the Yellow Bike rental company inside Presque Isle.
Presque Isle offers an array of hiking trails — ranging from 0.2 miles to 13.5 miles. Take a hike to Gull Point for the wildlife and serenity!
Go fish! Literally. There are many great spots along Presque Isle to cast a reel. Have a boat? Even better.
Go kayaking! Drop the kayaks in the water from a number of locations throughout the park.
Go birding! Presque is home to many bird species. And many more use the peninsula as a rest stop during migration season.
Tour the Presque Isle Lighthouse!
Plan ahead and take part in programming offered by the state Department of Natural Resources. Find events on this page — nearly all events are free but many require registration.
You could spend two hours or all day at Presque Isle!
This lakeside amusement park is free to walk in.
Yes, you read that right.
You can walk through the gate at Waldameer for free.
There are paid options for the rides and slides/pool area.
While here, be sure to ride the Ravine Flyer coaster, which consistently is named among the top wooden coasters in the world. It’s got amazing views of Lake Erie!
Plus, check out the iconic Whacky Shake dark ride, Pirate’s Cove, Thunder River and more!
Waldameer has five roller coasters!
Plus, the park’s Water World area is filled with slides, multiple pools and other attractions like the Battle of Lake Erie water zone.
Plus, there’s a variety of food available, including three Dippin’ Dots kiosks!
Waldameer is a cashless park, so all transactions must be completed using a credit/debit card or a Wally Card.
Visit Waldameer for a quick bite and a Ravine Flyer ride or spend half or all day having fun!
Sittin’ on the dock of the bay…
Enjoy a visit to the capstone of Erie’s Bayfront — Dobbins Landing.
This unique area offers prime views of Presque Isle Bay and Erie’s skyline.
Soar 138 feet above Presque Isle Bay with a quick ride to the top of the Bicentennial Tower. Cost is $6 for adults and $2 for kids 7-12. Free admission for everybody is on the second Tuesday of the month.
Once back at lake level, cast a rod into the bay, take a trip on the Victorian Princess, set sail with pirates on a Scallywags Pirate Adventures cruise, grab dinner at the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel’s Bayfront Grille and take a walk around the pier with all of the sights to see.
If you’ve never heard of sponge candy, you have now.
Take a visit to West Eighth Street for a milkshake at Romolo Chocolates. While there, gander the aisles of chocolate goodies and trinkets in the store.
While there, watch the workers make candy!
But the milkshakes. Get a milkshake. And stay on the patio for a bit.
Calories don’t exist at Romolo. (Besides, after biking Presque Isle and chasing kids at Waldameer, it’s worth it!)
Check out the new Fun Park at Erie Sports Center, where you can race go-karts and play mini-golf and more.
The go-karts can get up to 30 mph!
Plus, the sports park offers two 18-hole mini-golf courses.
There’s so much to do on State Street — from the Erie Art Museum and Erie Children’s Museum to Erie Apparel and an array of restaurants, including the Erie’s new Flagship City Food Hall.
Check out the water fountain at Perry Square.
Plus, on a nice summer day, it’s just a quick walk from Dobbins Landing!
On a nice summer day, walk the Bayfront Promenade from Dobbins Landing to Bayview Park where you’ll find a spectacular view of Presque Isle Bay and Presque Isle.
Be sure to get that family photo with the great Erie sign!
Erie sure has some beautiful sunsets.
There are a number of great places, but the best spot is Sunset Point at Presque Isle. Before heading into the park, stop at Sara’s for orange twist cones (or take your Romolo milkshakes).
Then head over to Sunset Point, which is just to the west of Beach 10. (Another great spot is along the beach behind Presque Isle Lighthouse.)
Be sure to find out what time sunset is and don’t leave until at least 20 minutes after the sun has set. The sky is beautiful!
Pack a blanket, some water, the phone for great photos and enjoy the evening.
(By the way, some people call Sunset Point “Kite Beach,” so if you see that in a Google search, it’s the same thing!)
Erie is (notoriously?) known for its active winter weather.
But the sometimes brutal winters make way for gorgeous summers!
The folks at Only In Your State think so, too! They recently considered Erie, Pa., one of the best cities in America to visit when the weather is warm.
While there are a lot of great fall, winter and spring things to do, we agree: Erie rocks in the summer!
Of course, the crown jewel is Presque Isle State Park with miles of Lake Erie beaches, biking, walking, hiking, kite flying, fishing, boating and so much more!
But we can’t do an Erie summer trip without the Ravine Flyer at Waldameer, Tall Ships Erie festival, 8 Great Tuesdays concerts, ice cream at Sara’s, hiking at Erie Bluffs State Park, Celebrate Erie festival, Dan Rice Days, the Erie Zoo, U.S. Brig Niagara, the Erie Maritime Museum and so much more!
Happy birthday, Presque Isle State Park!
While Presque Isle’s history can be traced 11,000 years ago, this gem that juts into Lake Erie was officially dedicated as a state park of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania 100 years ago today — May 27, 1921.
It was the foresight of Erie area residents to preserve and protect the peninsula as a state park.
In French, “Presque Isle” means “almost an island.”
Over time, the peninsula has actually become an island when lake waters rose, later returning to its status as a peninsula.
Pennsylvania state park officials estimate that at least four times since 1819, Presque Isle has been an island.
It apparently cost local residents $75,000 for the peninsula to become a state park, according to historical Eugene Ware. He estimates that the price — as of 2019 — would equate to $950,000.
The peninsula was a crucial part of the War of 1812. While the Battle of Lake Erie was fought off the shores of present day Ohio, Oliver Hazard Perry used the Erie harbor to build six of the ships used in the battle.
Perry is honored with Perry Monument, built near what’s known as Misery Bay and Graveyard Pond — named after the hardships the crew endured.
Prior to the War of 1812, the Erielhonan tribe, which dates to before the 1650s, lived along the lakeshore, including Presque Isle.
But it was the years post-War of 1812 that appear to be most heavily documented.
Presque Isle is home to two lighthouses.
North Pier lighthouse was built in 1858 at the end of the channel leading into the bay. That wooden lighthouse was later replaced by once from France after the original one was destroyed.
Presque Isle Lighthouse was built in 1872 and lit a year later. It now is part of a partnership with a nonprofit group that welcomes tours into the former residence.
Just three years after state park status, the peninsula’s road system was built. Presque Isle boasts a 13-mile road loop. In the 1980s, a bike lane was added.
Presque Isle State Park welcomes thousands of visitors each year. And while it’s known for its sandy beaches in the summer sun, the peninsula allows for activities throughout the year thanks in part to the diverse climate. The park is also home to many species of birds and other animals — some of which are not seen anywhere else in the state.
Explore Erie 