Travel Ideas Within 2 Hours of Cleveland

Hi! I live in Cleveland now, but grew up in Erie, PA. It's not your typical big city with a ton of well-known hot spots, but it should be. There is tons to do there.

You've got the Presque Isle beaches. Beach 6 is probably one of the best. It also includes volleyball courts. The beach is free! http://www.presqueisle.org/

Waldameer Park. It's an amusement park. Right at the top of the beach. Admission to the park is free and you can buy tickets for rides or a ride-a-rama if you prefer. There is also a waterpark there which is optional (and is charged separately) http://www.waldameer.com/

There's the new casino there. It's not near the beach, but it's not too far of a drive. It has horse racing and slot machines. No table games yet. (But probably not for the whole family) http://www.presqueisledowns.com/

If you like boats, there's the dock. You can ride the victorian princess. http://www.victorianprincess.com/

You've got the Erie Zoo. It is less spread out than the Cleveland Zoo and includes a special kiddie zoo... http://www.eriezoo.org/ And if you have a membership to the Cleveland Zoo, it will work at the Erie Zoo too.

Of course there is also Splash Lagoon... http://www.splashlagoon.com/ The kids absolutely love that place.

There is also a children's museum down near the dock, if you decide to ride the Victorian Princess, that would be nearby.... http://www.eriechildrensmuseum.org/

I can probably think of more. What I like about Erie is that nothing is usually more than a 15 minute drive away... It might take 25 minutes max to get from one end of town to the other.

Oh, and there are plenty of sports teams there too such as the Erie Seawolves if you like baseball. (A lot cheaper than going to see the Indians) http://www.seawolves.com/

Oh and some of those things are seasonal, such as Waldameer, some of the beaches may be closed, and the baseball season may be over, so you may want to consider going before Labor Day, if you can.

My family loves Salt Fork Lake and we've also been to Maumee Bay in Toledo. These are Ohio State resorts. So this means like a hotel not camping. There is a newer one near Mentor but I don't remember the name. These are family friendly and fun. There a swimming pools and other activities near by.

How about the Big Wolf Lodge in Sandusky. Can be a bit pricey, but it's very nice. Great hotel rooms and the indoor/outdoor pool activities are a blast for kids.

Since you never kow what the weather might be in the fall, I'd say go for one of the many indoor water parks around here.

There's Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari Resort and Castaway Bay in Sandusky. Splash Lagoon in Erie, PA. and Fort Rapids in Columbus.

I've only been to Great Wolf, Kalahari and Fort Rapids. With kids as little as yours (and another on the way) I would recommend Fort Rapids. It's a little farther than the others, but it's a bit smaller and easier to manage with smaller kids. Plus, the splash area for toddlers is HUGE! Way bigger than at Great Wolf (and much less expensive than Kalahari). It's a refurbished Holiday Inn so there is a good variety of room styles and prices. There's also a Babies R Us right nearby in case you forget anything.

Have a great trip!