Summer fun ahead at Presque Isle State Park includes new play space, extended festival, more

Summer hasn't even started but there's already a lot to look forward to at Presque Isle State Park.

Beaches will open for swimming on Memorial Day weekend, a new play area is already in use, the Presque Isle Lighthouse is welcoming visitors and organizers of the UPMC Sunset Music Series and Discover Presque Isle have dates set for both events.

"Last year, it was planning at the last minute, not knowing what summer would be like (due to COVID-19)," said Jon DeMarco, executive director of the Presque Isle Partnership, which canceled its Sunset Music Series and Discover Presque Isle in 2020. In 2021, it was July before the partnership announced that modified versions of both events would take place. While some details are still being fine-tuned, the partnership is well into planning for the Sunset Music Series and Discover Presque Isle.

"We're excited to be back on the beach," DeMarco said.

State park and Presque Isle Lighthouse staff are also preparing for a summer that's expected to be a little more like the pre-pandemic days. The season unofficially starts on Memorial Day weekend, when beaches open for swimming. Visitors might notice a few additions and improvements along with the favorite features that draw them back to the peninsula.

New play space at Tom Ridge Environmental Center

In late April, officials unveiled a nature play space behind the park's Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive. The space, which is free and open to the public, was built with the cooperation of Chivers Construction Co. and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"It's a place for kids to be creative," said Matt Greene, Presque Isle operations manager.

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Rather than manufactured equipment, the play area has rocks, logs, dirt and other outdoor features, Greene said. He said it's meant to help children grow up to be the next generation of stewards for the environment.

"We really are big on connecting kids to the outdoors," Greene said.

The new area is similar to but smaller than one located at the park's Beach 11.

Presque Isle, Land lighthouses open

The Presque Isle Lighthouse was to open for the season on May 5 and will offer some new things for visitors this year, said Emily Butler, executive director of the Presque Isle Light Station. That nonprofit operates both the Presque Isle Lighthouse on the peninsula and the Erie Land Lighthouse in the city of Erie.

The Presque Isle Lighthouse will be open to visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Exploring the grounds will remain free, entering the house will cost $5. A climb to the top of the tower, which includes a visit inside the house, will be $8, Butler said. Tower tours will be offered every 20 minutes but visitors must be at least 44 inches tall to make the climb.

New this year, Butler said, will be a 45-minute fully guided tour of the lighthouse costing $15. The longer tour will initially be offered at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. but more times could be added, she said.

People who toured the lighthouse as recently as 2021 will notice a difference.

"We did do a pretty intensive restoration," Butler said.

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The lighthouse had been used as a private residence until 2014. Butler said carpeting and tile had been put down over the wood flooring, a bedroom was turned into a bathroom, drywall covered plaster and drop ceilings hid the original ceilings.

"We removed all those elements and restored all the original features of the home," she said. "So really the house just looks spectacular."

She said work is continuing on a new exhibit design, which will be phased in. Coming this summer will be an audio tour.

Butler said an app-based self-guided audio tour, requiring users to have a smartphone or tablet, will be piloted in June at the Erie Land Lighthouse and probably by July at the Presque Isle Lighthouse. She said signs about the audio tour will be posted at the sites.

From 2021:Erie Land Lighthouse, Presque Isle Lighthouse opening for tours, visitors allowed to climb towers

Erie Land Lighthouse, 12 Lighthouse St., is scheduled to be open to the public on Fridays through Mondays starting May 20. The grounds will be open from dawn to dusk for free but climbing the tower between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. will cost $6, Butler said.

Swimming starts May 28 at Presque Isle beaches

Lifeguards will man Presque Isle beaches on May 28, the start of the swimming season at the peninsula. Swimming is only allowed in guarded areas, which are posted on signs at the park each day. Beaches without lifeguards are still open for recreational activities other than swimming.

Greene said in April that the park's beaches were looking in better condition this year due to lower Lake Erie water levels and winter ice that provided protection from erosion.

Spring 2022:Presque Isle beach conditions encouraging in wake of winter ice, lower water

In the Beach 8 area, park staff were to build two outdoor showers so people can rinse off after spending time at the shore, Greene said.

"We're going to try to keep all the sand we can," he added jokingly.

Greene and DeMarco also said a Surf Splash foot shower would be installed at Beach 11. DeMarco described it as "an automatic car wash for your knees down."

The park and partnership also were working to add two new lifeguard stations, like one already used at Beach 8. DeMarco and Greene said the new lifeguard towers will be installed at Beach 3 and Beach 11.

DeMarco said they're meant "just to keep the beaches a little bit safer" and partnership fundraisers helped pay for them, as well as the foot shower.

Buy a wood chip

One way the partnership previously raised money was by selling souvenir buttons decorated with frogs during Discover Presque Isle. However, last year the nonprofit switched to round keepsake wood chips with a Presque Isle logo that could be picked up on five weekends at a peninsula parking lot.

"It was a great success," DeMarco said, adding that the 2021 effort raised more than $20,000.

This year's chips, which will again require a minimum donation of $5 and come with a coupon for a free ice cream or yogurt at Sara's Restaurant, will feature piping plover artwork done by the Edinboro Beehive, Edinboro University's Center for Branding and Strategic Communication, DeMarco said.

Chip purchasers can register the unique number on the back of each disc at the partnership's website for a chance to win prizes, including Presque Isle gifts and $1,000, he said.

Chips will be available May 27-29, June 24-26, July 25-31, Aug. 26-28 and Sept. 23-25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sturgeon Bay parking lot, which is between the Feather Observation Platform and the Public Safety Building. The Presque Isle Gallery & Gifts shop in the Ridge Center will carry the chips, which also will be available at the Sunset Music Series and Discover Presque Isle.

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DeMarco said that in addition to helping pay for lifeguard stations and the foot shower, proceeds from such partnership fundraisers will be used for:

• Another beach wheelchair available to be signed out for daily use from the Public Safety Building.

• 15 new picnic tables with steel bases and wood tops.

• A personal watercraft rescue tow to assist in emergencies.

• Hardscaping, such as installing connecting sidewalk, around the emergency water intake gear tower in the Waterworks area.

• Continuing to pay so that the viewing scopes at the Perry Monument and turtle observation deck at Graveyard Pond are free for the public to use.

UPMC Sunset Music Series

Although starting later in the season than past versions, this year's Sunset Music Series will feature six nights of songs on the shore.

The series will kick off June 22 and continue on Wednesdays through July 27. DeMarco said the music will start at 5:30 p.m. each week, with the second performer on stage from 7 to 8:40 p.m. He said to watch the partnership's website for the band lineup.

The performances were moved in 2021 to Beach 11 and will return there this year. DeMarco said it has more parking capacity and is also accessible by boat. He said the parking area at Beach 1, where the series was previously held, is being used to stage equipment for work at the park, which limits parking there.

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DeMarco said Beach 11 is farther out on the peninsula and doesn't provide a view of the sunset. However, he said it offers visitors an opportunity to see more of the peninsula on their way to and from the concerts, including numerous vistas for seeing the sunset.

Returning this year for the series will be a variety of food trucks, Connie's Ice Cream and a hula hoop playshop, he said.

While the Sunset Music Series is on the calendar, DeMarco said the partnership has no immediate plans for another Best Summer Night concert on the beach. The first of the large events, in 2012, featured Crosby, Stills & Nash, followed by a Steely Dan concert in 2014. Bad weather forced the postponement and movement of the 2018 event with Peter Frampton and the Steve Miller Band, which was shifted from June 2018 at Beach 11 to that September at Erie Insurance Arena.

Rather than another BSN concert now, DeMarco said, "We are focusing on breathing life into existing programs of more manageable size and scope."

Discover Presque Isle

The final Sunset Music Series concert will take place during Discover Presque Isle. What had historically been a three-day festival celebrating the peninsula was turned into a five-day event in 2021 due to the large crowds already visiting the park during the pandemic. DeMarco said the extended version was well received so this year it's going to last seven days, July 25-31.

"Each day there will be various programs going on," he said. Some might take place one day and others might go on all week.

Greene said the longer festival leads to less congestion, which is better for people and the peninsula.

"That really lessens the impact on the park," he said.

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Popular returning events will include the Presque Isle Rotary Club's pancake breakfast, the Kite Beach Illumination at Sunset Point, the sand sculpture competition and the giant bonfire. Emphasizing the outdoors will be activities such as archery and history hikes. As part of the Lake Erie Cyclefest, Presque Isle will be the site of a Sunrise Ride during Discover Presque Isle. S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie will hold a fish fry and both the Presque Isle Gallery & Gifts and the Presque Isle Lighthouse will host artist showcases, DeMarco said.

However, like the 2021 event, there won't be a craft and food vendor area. Because of concerns about crowds, the vendor area wasn't included in 2021. DeMarco said July is peak visitation time for Presque Isle, which also has been drawing more visitors due to the pandemic, and the vendor area added to the congestion. He said the partnership is working to establish a separate weekend for a Presque Isle art festival in 2023.

Swim, bike and run

The Presque Isle Triathlon will return to the peninsula on Aug. 6 after a two-year break due to the pandemic. This will be the 20th edition of the swim, bike and run event starting and finishing at Beach 10.

DeMarco said it has a maximum of 450 participants.

"In past years, we've sold out well in advance," he said, advising people to get their entries in as soon as possible.

Volunteers needed

The Presque Isle Partnership and the Presque Isle Light Station need help this summer.

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DeMarco said volunteers were being sought to help paint the new lifeguard towers and assemble the new picnic tables as well as to help at Discover Presque Isle. For more information about volunteering, call 814-838-5138 or visit www.discoverpi.com. He said to check the website for more event details as they become available.

Butler said volunteers are needed at both lighthouses. She said anyone interested in helping can call 814-833-3604 or visit presqueislelighthouse.org. She encouraged people to also watch the website for details on special events at the lighthouses.

Contact Dana Massing at dmassing@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNmassing.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Discover Presque Isle, Sunset Music Series, lighthouse, more at peninsula