Pennsylvania might not have the sandy beaches of the coasts, but it does have Lake Erie, which is close enough. Only a two-hour drive from the city, Presque Isle State Park encompasses a peninsula that runs into Lake Erie and includes miles of roads, trails, and beaches.
Even if the weather isn’t ideal for taking a dip in the water, chilly beaches have their charm. They’re usually empty and have an eerie calm to them. For more walking or biking, there are 15 trails at Presque Isle, none longer than a mile and a half, so it’s easy to knock out a couple.
The Erie region is also renowned for bird watching. Did you know it was rated a top birding spot in the country by Birder’s World magazine? Did you know Birder’s World magazine existed? More than 300 species of birds have been recorded on the isle, including turkey vultures, snowy owls, and ruby-throated hummingbirds. There’s even a website for the Presque Isle Audubon that has reports and galleries of recent bird sightings. You don’t have to own a pair of binoculars to wander around the park, while pointing at the sky and saying, “cool bird.”