Lake Erie and breakwaters viewed from Leslie Beach at Presque Isle State Park.

The Great Lakes · 04

Lake Erie

Island escapes, waterfront cities and a lively southern shore.

Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0

Presque Isle State Park, Millcreek Twp, Erie County, Pennsylvania - 20210904 - 08 - Lake Erie seen from Leslie Beach.jpg by Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Follow the water

About Lake Erie

Erie is the most southern, shallowest and most productive of the lakes. Its western basin is dotted with summer islands, its shores lined with vineyards, beaches and bird-migration hotspots, and its cities — Cleveland, Erie and Buffalo — wear their maritime history proudly.

Surface area9,910 sq mi
Deepest point210 ft
Shoreline871 mi
Average depth62 ft
Shoreline states & provinces Michigan New York Ohio Ontario Pennsylvania

U.S. EPA reference measurements; rounded, not current water levels.

Live · Lake Erie

What's going on right now.

Weather, alerts, the water, the sky and local headlines, gathered from official sources as you read.

Gathering the latest conditions…

National Weather Service Environment Canada NOAA buoy observations Aurora forecast

Live data from the U.S. National Weather Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and Space Weather Prediction Center; headlines link to the publishers. Sun and moon times are calculated. Conditions change quickly—check official forecasts before going on the water. Not for navigation.

Signature experiences

The shallowest and warmest — islands, vineyards and spring migration.

Island-hop to Put-in-Bay

Ferries reach South Bass Island's harbor village, caves and Perry's Victory memorial.

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Canada's southern tip

Walk to the sandspit at Point Pelee and watch migrants arrive across the lake in May.

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Presque Isle's sandy arc

Beaches, lagoons and lighthouses on a peninsula curving into the lake at Erie.

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A continuously working light

Marblehead's limestone tower has guided sailors since 1822.

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Cleveland's North Coast

Lakefront museums and harbor walks in one of the region's great maritime cities.

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Buffalo's waterfront revival

Canalside, grain elevators and the river where Lake Erie begins its journey to Niagara.

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When to go

The best time to visit Lake Erie.

Mid-May is peak bird migration at Point Pelee and along the Ohio shore. July and August bring the warmest swimming water and full island ferry schedules. Late September and October are harvest season in the Lake Erie wine country of Pennsylvania and New York.

Know the water

Erie's shallow water builds steep, choppy waves quickly when the wind rises. Late-summer algal blooms can affect western-basin beaches — check local beach advisories before swimming.

Water safety & official forecasts

Get your bearings

Around the lake.

Loading the map. The links and itinerary below are always available.

Towns Lighthouses Parks Grouped pins expand when selected.

4 of 11 places mapped. 7 remain in the list without a map pin. Unverified locations and precise shipwreck sites are not plotted. Pins are representative locations, not verified entrances.

Black-and-white basemap by OpenStreetMap. Great Lakes highlighted in color. Hold Ctrl (or Command) while scrolling to zoom. Use two fingers on touch screens.

Lake outlines: Natural Earth (public domain). Town centers: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Not for navigation.

Along the shore

Lake Erie towns, lighthouses & beaches.

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Coastal town New York · Lake Erie Buffalo The eastern end of Lake Erie, where grain-elevator heritage meets a renewed waterfront. Explore place
Photo: Reading Tom from Reading, UK · CC BY 2.0

Autumnal skyline view from Erie Basin Marina, Buffalo, New York, October 2012.jpg by Reading Tom from Reading, UK · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Ohio · Lake Erie Cleveland A Lake Erie city linking waterfront museums, neighborhoods and urban beaches. Explore place
Photo: Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0

Cleveland skyline from Lakewood Park, June 2024.jpg by Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse New York · Lake Erie Dunkirk Lighthouse A New York Lake Erie light station with maritime and veterans' collections. Explore place
Photo: Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States · CC BY 2.0

Dunkirk Lighthouse (53861095325).jpg by Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Pennsylvania · Lake Erie Erie Pennsylvania's Great Lakes city beside Presque Isle Bay. Explore place
Photo: Tomdonohue1 at English Wikipedia · Public domain

Bicentennial Tower.jpg by Tomdonohue1 at English Wikipedia · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

State Park Ohio · Lake Erie Headlands Beach State Park A broad Ohio Lake Erie beach beside a protected dune landscape. Explore place
Photo: Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0

Mentor Headlands Beach Sunrise (12697691344).jpg by Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Ohio · Lake Erie Marblehead Lighthouse A stone Lake Erie beacon on Ohio's Marblehead Peninsula. Explore place
Photo: Bobport10 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Marblehead Lighthouse.jpg by Bobport10 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

National Park Ontario · Lake Erie Point Pelee National Park A Lake Erie peninsula of marsh, woodland and seasonal bird migration. Explore place
Photo: Quozl · Public domain

Boardwalk in Pelee.JPG by Quozl · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Ontario · Lake Erie Port Dover A fishing-port community on Ontario's Lake Erie coast. Explore place
Photo: JasonParis from Toronto, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0

Erie Beach, Pier and lighthouse at Port Dover, Ontario -a.jpg by JasonParis from Toronto, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

State Park Pennsylvania · Lake Erie Presque Isle State Park A sandy peninsula with beaches and lagoons beside Erie, Pennsylvania. Explore place
Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0

Presque Isle State Park, Millcreek Twp, Erie County, Pennsylvania - 20210904 - 08 - Lake Erie seen from Leslie Beach.jpg by Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Ohio · Lake Erie Put-in-Bay South Bass Island's harbor village, with a national memorial above Lake Erie. Explore place
Photo: NAHann · CC BY-SA 4.0

View from the top of Perry's Memorial Ohio.JPG by NAHann · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Ohio · Lake Erie Sandusky A bayside Ohio city and a jumping-off point for the Lake Erie islands. Explore place
Photo: Mike Sharp (2old) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Ohio - Sandusky Waterfront.jpg by Mike Sharp (2old) · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Did you know

A few things worth knowing.

With an average depth of just 62 feet, Erie warms fastest in summer and is often the most ice-covered lake in winter.

Erie is the smallest Great Lake by volume, so its water is replaced in less than three years.

Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada, and a world-renowned stopover for migrating birds.

Water drops about 326 feet between Lakes Erie and Ontario — much of it over Niagara Falls, the rest through the eight locks of the Welland Canal.

Start a route with road trips on Lake Erie, or compare it with the other four lakes.