Lake Erie State Park, New York

​Family Road Trip 2025: First Stop — Lake Erie State Park

And we’re off! The long-awaited Family Trip 2025 has officially begun. But like all good adventures, ours started with a little unexpected drama. We had our sights set on hitting the road by 4:30 AM, but just before departure—at 3:45 AM—we heard an unusual ruckus from the chicken coop.
Jess and the kids grabbed a flashlight and rushed outside to find one of our hens had been taken out by a surprise visitor—a raccoon! Of all mornings, right? Jess handled it quickly to make sure the rest of the flock (and our neighbor kids who are watching the animals while we’re gone) wouldn’t wake up to a real-life horror show. Crisis averted and we were rolling our on time!

​Our first stop: Lake Erie State Park in New York.

We’re passing through ten states on this loop out east, and this stop was meant to be a quick overnight—definitely more scenic than a Walmart parking lot.

​The park was a pleasant surprise. Spacious grassy campsites with electric hookups (though no water at individual sites, so we filled up at the station on the way in). It wasn’t crowded at all, and we even had a partial view of Lake Erie from our site. Some spots were even closer to the water.

A short walk took us to the lake’s edge. The main “beach” was a bit underwhelming—lots of algae—but we wandered farther and found some beautiful stretches with no algae, just cool shale rock formations and sandy cliffs. The kids loved skipping rocks and exploring along the shoreline.

The highlight of the evening? A stunning Lake Erie sunset!

​Quick Recap of Lake Erie State Park Amenities:

• Spacious, grassy campsites
  
• Electric hookups (no water at site)
  
• Lake views
  
• Playgrounds (though the basketball hoop was out of commission)
  
• Frisbee golf course
  
• Quiet and peaceful—perfect for a one-night stay
  

Next stop: Onward to the next state and the next adventure. Let’s see what surprises tomorrow brings (hopefully fewer raccoons).