Planning a trip to Niagara Falls from Michigan but driving along Lake Erie?

Question

I'm driving from Michigan to Niagara Falls, Ontario but taking the longer route along Lake Erie. I was wondering if there are any areas that are worth spending one night in along the way. I will be driving through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
The attractions can pretty much be anything fun/exciting. I'm willing to drive out of the way a little bit as well. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I just made that trip, as we sort of took a circle around Lake Erie.

The Lake Erie Islands are quite nice, and its an easy ferry ride to Put-in-Bay or Kelley's Island. Cleveland has a lot to do, with the Rock and Roll Hall and the Flats district, plus plenty of sports. Buffalo has its attractions too, although it is an easy day trip from Niagara Falls. And the Falls themselves are great. Make sure you go down the gorge a ways.

Answer 2

The upper Great Lakes surface elevation is roughly 330 feet higher above sea level than Lake Ontario, Lake Erie's greatest depth is 210' which is still a 120' drop to Lake Ontario. I'd expect some flooding as the Niagara River gorge widens into the lake bottom and Lake Erie slowly drains to become the Erie River which may be a series of smaller lakes, falls and rapids. That's assuming we don't have another ice age come along to significantly alter the topography of the Great Lakes basin first.

Answer 3

Where from Michigan? That's the route we took when we went a week and a half ago...going there, we went to Syracuse for a few days and then stopped in the Falls overnight on the way home...driving straight from the Falls to home in Toledo took 5 hours. If you're going for several days, maybe you want to consider stopping at Cedar Point for a day, staying overnight there and leaving the next morning. Other than that...not too much along that route - we did stop at a big outlet mall in Niagara Falls though.

Answer 4

I second the Sandusky suggestion. Cedar Point is really worth the trip if you like roller coasters. Sea World is right around there too, if you're into that kind of thing. Erie has a fun waterpark, Waldameer. The whole Presque Isle is nice. It's a park area.

Answer 5

There's always Sandusky, Ohio -- home of Cedar Point (and I believe there's a Great Bear Lodge there too). You may also want to check out Put-In-Bay, which you can get to by boat from the Sandusky area.