Buck Creek State Park in Clark County is a great option for planting your tent or beach umbrella and putting your toes in the sand.
Caesar Creek State Park Beach is a whopping 1,800 feet long and offers great sand, sun, big waves, clean water, and lots of fun.
It’s August, it’s hot outside here in Greene County and there’s plenty of summer still to go. What we need are some sandy beaches and lazy shores not too far away.
The pandemic has put a hold on most people’s travel plans to popular American beach towns such as Daytona Beach, Panama City and Myrtle Beach, so what do you do? Where do we go to cool off, plant our beach towel and put our toes in the sand?
Well, you’re not completely out of luck. Ohio has plenty of beaches, believe it or not, more than 100 in fact. Yes, that’s not a typo, Ohio has more than 100 beaches. These little known gems include manicured white sand beaches at 4-star resorts on Lake Erie, public beaches at state parks and private/public beaches at campgrounds.
Locally, we have a nice handful of beaches just a short drive from home.
The great thing about Ohio beaches is that they are clean, close by (versus to going to Florida), have great parking, have no sharks, no jellyfish nor any salt, and they are free. Not a bad deal at all!
Most Ohio beaches have playgrounds, picnic tables, and outdoor grills. Indian Lake’s Old Field Beach even has a Frisbee golf course. Some have concerts on the beach, and bonfires and beach parties from time to time. Most even have big waves, which are created from the boats and jets skies passing by and/or the wind. On a windy day it is even possible to go surf boarding.
So hop in the car and take that short drive over to the beach for a day at Ceasar Creek Beach, or maybe even Buck Creek, or Indian Lake if you’re in the mood for a little scenic road trip. You’re gonna love it!
Here are some area beaches that only take about 30 minutes to just over an hour’s drive to find.
Ceasar Creek State Park Beach
This top 10 ranked Ohio beach just south of Greene County is located in the Waynesville area. This very large, 1,800-foot “Daytona-style” beach is very scenic with lots of good sand, big water, big waves, and hot sun. A large changing pavilion with a huge parking area is available, so pack a lunch to take to the large picnic area equipped with outdoor grills. A boat swim area, and dog swim area are also available. A separate kayak and Jet ski launching beach is just north on the main beach.
Buck Creek State Park Beach
This is a popular local Springfield beach, with nice views, good waves and a solid rocky bottom. Enjoy swimming, dog walking, beach jogging, windsurfing, kite surfing, paddle surfing, kite flying, and picnicking. It is also a great beach for sand castle building. A changing area, and parking are available. Many patrons bring a beach tent, beach umbrella or pop-up canopy/cabana.
Cowan Lake State Park Beach
This 1,000-foot beach is located on the south shore. It has great sand for building sand castles and pretty good waves with lots of sun. Pack a lunch and picnic right on the beach. Pets are not allowed on the beach. Enjoy watching the sailboats go by as you take it easy at the beach.
Kiser Lake State Park Beach
This spring-fed lake has reportedly the cleanest, purest lake waters in the state of Ohio. A very nice beach west of Urbana with top notch park workers who do a great job maintaining and raking the beach daily for beach goers. This is a nice swim and sand castle building beach with panoramic views. It’s an excellent beach to launch a kayak or paddleboard from and take a quick dip to cool off.
Fox Island Beach at Indian Lake
This is a must see, curved beach on a small island on Indian Lake. A large parking area and picnic areas with outdoor grills welcome visitors. It’s accessible by bike, boat, kayak, or car via causeway. Very cool!
Old Field Beach at Indian Lake State Park
A top five ranked beach in Ohio, Old Field Beach is a beautiful beach with nice sand, sun, waves, and very clean water. This is a very long beach with scenic views, hiking trails, large covered modern beach pavilions, nice changing areas and great picnic areas. A boat swim and dog swim area are also available. This beach has a playground, dog park, biking paths, and Frisbee golf course. Old Field Beach is host to the annual “Party at the Beach,” Rock the Lake concert, and many other festivals and events.
Campground Beach at Indian Lake
A beautiful beach located at the state park campground with great water, huge waves, and nice sand, this beach has incredible panoramic views. It’s a highly-rated, nice beach.
Deer Creek State Park Beach
This is a very big beach with playgrounds for the kids. A large changing pavilion with plenty of parking is available. This beach has big waves and lots of sun. This is a very good swimming beach and is a great beach for jogging, walking, dog walking, kite surfing, windsurfing, paddle surfing, kite flying and sand castle building. Check out the nearby hiking trails and mountain biking trails.
Lake Loramie State Park Beach
This is a small beautiful sandy beach on Lake Loramie with very clean water, nice waves and good sun. It’s also a good hiking beach and dog walking beach.
There’s plenty of summer left and maybe even an Indian summer to follow so get out and get cooled off.
Ron Brohm is an outdoors writer and regular contributor to this newspaper.
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