LOOP
IN
THE
C O N T I N U E D
LAKE ERIE COMMUNITY
PARK — PERFECT FOR
PASSIVE RECREATION
AND MUSIC
Summers are fleeting here on the North
Coast. That’s why it’s important to make every
warm day and evening count. Wouldn’t it be
nice to find a spot that isn’t overwhelmed
with the masses, and possibly where you may
have not been before?
Go west, my friend! But not too far.
Hidden away just off Route 5 in Girard
Township is a gem of a park that has plenty
of potential. Lake Erie Community Park isn’t
really new – it’s been around since 1939.
Recently Girard Township stepped up efforts
to showcase the park, which features nearly
a mile of pristine shoreline and wild open-
viewed bluff above
Lake Erie. Here,
you’ll find soaring
eagles and eye-
popping views.
Feeling
adventurous?
Then find the trail
dropping down
into the ravines
constraining Kelly’s
Run Creek on the
south end of the
park. The northern
boundary, of course,
is defined by Lake
Erie, but the entire
shoreline of this park
is wild and scenic,
with the vantage point of the bluff offering
some of the region’s best opportunities for
sunset viewing.
LECP packs the agenda in summer,
highlighted by the “Music in the Park” series
of weekly concerts, which elevates summer
evenings to a whole new level. No, it’s not a
Chautauqua Amp-like venue, but then again,
open-air lawn seating whilst tapping your toes
to a wide range of featured local musicians
with the setting sun at your back is truly
North Coast unique. Here’s the capper: the
concerts are FREE, thanks to West County
business sponsors who value tune-filled
summer evenings and your patronage!
When the Music in the Park concerts
wind down, don’t be too quick to write off
summer. In late August (8/22), the park’s
annual Sunset Cruise-In fills the park with
hot rods and all manner of vintage four-
wheeled art. The venue is a welcome change
for cars owners, as they are released from
the confines of asphalt and curbs, parking
instead on the lawn and under shade trees
with nothing but the lake beyond as a
backdrop.
Early-arriving spectators can enjoy the
special visual and auditory thrills as cars
and trucks rumble into the park’s entrance,
navigating the tight and twisty passage down
through the ravine and clambering up onto
the bluff. Once the lawn chairs are set out,
the serious spectating commences. As all
car buffs know, every vehicle has a story and
a special reason it should be treasured. The
live music of the Carl Hultman Band is going
to rock the park with tunes appropriately
matched to the gathered gaggle of bad
boys and their rods. This event is an annual
fundraiser for the park, with a huge Chinese
auction, 50/50 raffle, and the requisite food
truck. It ends when the sun melts into Lake
Erie.
Don’t turn back as summer fades! Long
after the leaves have dropped inland, the
lake’s warm waters preserve the absolute
best of late-fall foliage. And LECP’s Winter
Fest (Brrrr!) brings yet more opportunities
for snowshoeing and frosty photographic
images of North Coasters pining for spring.
For a full listing of concerts this summer,
go to girardtownship.com/lake-erie-
community-park. Concerts are every
Wednesday from 7-9 p.m., June 13 through
August 15, and cover every musical genre. n
WEST COUNTY
❘
SUMMER 2018
11