Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

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Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Catawba Island State Park

Port Clinton · Ottawa County
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
18acres
—trail miles
—established
4049 E Moores Dock Rd, Port Clinton Directions →Official source →

The story of this land

Catawba Island is a peninsula, not an island, though a marshy neck once made the distinction less obvious. The name comes from the Catawba grape, which grew well here — this peninsula was part of the wine country that made the Lake Erie islands famous in the 1800s, and the Catawba Island Wine Company building still stands, listed on the National Register.

The lake moderates the climate enough to give this peninsula an unusually long growing season, the same quirk that made South Bass and the other islands productive. Fruit and grapes went out by boat for a century.

What the park does now is simpler: it is one of the busiest boat launches on Lake Erie's western basin. Eighteen acres of limestone shoreline, a big ramp, and direct access to the walleye and perch grounds. The ferry to Put-in-Bay leaves from nearby. It is, for a lot of anglers, the door to the lake.

Things to do in the park

  • Launch a boat into the western basin — the main reason people come
  • Fishing pier and shoreline access
  • Swimming area
  • Picnicking on the limestone shore

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Catawba Island State Park.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Miller Ferry to Put-in-Bay and Middle Bass, minutes away
  • Port Clinton's restaurants and marinas
  • East Harbor and Marblehead Lighthouse on the next peninsula
  • Catawba Island wineries

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
ODNR park finder (search this park)
Location confidence
Verified property location
Catawba Island State Park, 4049 E Moores Dock Rd, Port Clinton
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Hunting or permits
Not permitted within the park.

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

Hiking trails

Minimal — this is a launch and shoreline park, not a hiking destination.

Wildlife you might see

  • Shorebirds and gulls along the limestone shoreline
  • Migratory waterfowl in the western basin
  • Monarchs staging on the peninsula in late summer

Birding

Catawba Island State Park sits on the Lake Erie shoreline, part of the same migration corridor that funnels warblers past Magee Marsh each May, plus gulls, terns and waterfowl through the colder months.

  • Belted Kingfisher
  • Indigo Bunting
  • Wood Duck
  • Common Loon (migrant)
  • Brown Thrasher
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • Orchard Oriole
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Herring Gull
  • Yellow Warbler
  • Osprey

Early-to-mid May is peak songbird migration along the shore; late fall through winter brings waterfowl and gulls. For a full, current checklist, search this park's name on eBird's Hotspot Explorer.

Fishing

  • Lake Erie western basin: walleye and yellow perch, plus smallmouth bass along the rocky shoreline. One of the busiest launch points for the walleye run.

Hunting

Not permitted within the park.

The Island That Isn't

Catawba Island is a peninsula, not an island, though a marshy neck once made the difference harder to see. The name comes from the Catawba grape, which grew so well here that the peninsula became part of the wine country that made the Lake Erie islands famous in the 1800s. The Catawba Island Wine Company building still stands, listed on the National Register.

The lake moderates the climate enough to give the peninsula an unusually long growing season, the same quirk that made South Bass and the other islands productive. Fruit and grapes went out by boat for a century.

Behind the legend

The wine story is documented, and the name is the local joke. What the park does now is simpler: it is one of the busiest boat launches on Lake Erie's western basin, with eighteen acres of limestone shoreline, a big ramp and direct access to the walleye and perch grounds. The ferry to Put-in-Bay leaves from nearby.

For many anglers, it is the door to the lake.

If you go

Watch the boats launch at dawn, then look for the old wine company building nearby. If you take the ferry to Put-in-Bay, the ride starts a few minutes from here.

Historic sites near Catawba Island State Park

Forts, villages, furnaces and lighthouses within reach of this park. Tap one for its story and visiting details.

Johnson's Island Confederate Cemetery

Marblehead · Ottawa County · Lake Erie
A Civil War prison island in Lake Erie whose Confederate cemetery is the only part open to the public.
National Historic Landmark
About 6 miles from this park · 1862–1865

Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum

Milan · Erie County · North-central Ohio
A small brick cottage in Milan, once a canal grain port, where Thomas Edison was born and spent his first seven years.
National Historic Landmark
About 30 miles from this park · 1841; born 1847

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

Fremont · Sandusky County · Northwest Ohio
The home, museum and library of the 19th president in Fremont, on the grounds where he and Lucy Hayes are buried.
First presidential library
About 30 miles from this park · 1859–1863; library opened 1916

Beaches at Catawba Island State Park

Lake Erie beach details for this park. Check for water advisories before you swim.

Catawba Island State Park Beach

Port Clinton · Ottawa County
A small stone beach at Catawba Island State Park, with a fishing pier, picnic shelter and boat ramp.
State parkA small stone beach
Lifeguards: None listed

Day use only. The launch gets extremely busy during the spring walleye run — arrive early on a good-weather weekend.

Where to camp nearby

East Harbor State Park
Full state campground on Lake Erie, about 10 minutes away
Directions

Restaurants nearby

Dock's Beach House
Private beach and deck on the lake, open daily. Get the perch
Directions
The Brick House
Fresh-baked bread, good pizza and perch, open late
Directions

Gas stations nearby

FriendShip Kitchen
24 hours with a full kitchen — the reliable stop before a launch
Directions
Mobil
24 hours next door
Directions

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date? Email hello@fieldnotesohio.com.