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'Presque Isle State Park' is a Pennsylvania state park on of a long, arching sandy peninsula that juts out into Lake Erie, west of the city of Erie, in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The peninsula sweeps eastward for more than , neatly surrounding Presque Isle Bay along the park's southern coast. Presque Isle is serviced by well-paved roads and of recreational trails, with a monument to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval squadron leader during the War of 1812, near the eastern end of the peninsula. A U.S. Coast Guard station sits near the main channel for ship traffic entering and exiting Presque Isle Bay.
The park, operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, hosts over 4 million visitors per year, the most of any Pennsylvania state park.^[1] Popular recreational activities include swimming, hiking, biking, in-line skating and bird watching. Presque Isle, which can be reached by automobile or boat, closes at dark and in certain winter months. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 832, also known as Peninsula Drive. Presque Isle State Park is one of twenty-one chosen by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Parks for its "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks" list.^[2]

Contents

History

Erielhonan

War of 1812

U.S. Coast Guard Station

Lighthouses

Habitat

Geology

Recreation

Boating

Water skiing and scuba diving

Fishing and hunting

Swimming and picnics

Tom Ridge Environmental Center

Nearby state parks

External links

References

History

Main articles: History of Presque Isle

Erielhonan

The Erielhonan a tribe of Native Americans were the first known group of people to inhabit the Lake Erie area, in fact the name "Erie" comes from their name. The Erielhonan were also called the "Cat" or the "Raccoon" people. An Erielhonan legend taught that the Great Spirit lead them to Presque Isle because of the wealth of game, the abundance of clean fresh water, and the cool breezes "coming from the land of snow and ice" (Canada).^[3] They were ultimately destroyed by the Iroquois, who adopted some of the survivors into their own group, these being primarily absorbed into the Senecas.
Another legend tells us that the Eriez (a shorter name for the Erielhonan) ventured into Lake Erie in search of the land where the sun set. The spirit of the lake blew a fierce storm to keep the Eriez from finding the sun. To protect the Eriez from the storm, their god laid his outstreatched arm into the lake, giving them safety during the storm. The god's arm would remain in the lake, protecting the tribe's future generations.

War of 1812

Presque Isle played a part in the victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812. Oliver Hazard Perry commanded the fleet in battle. He strategically used the peninsula’s bay as a pier and, a place to construct six out of nine of the ships in his fleet. Using this location protected the men by creating an obstacle for potential attackers because they would have to travel all the way around the peninsula to reach them. The small bay near the tip of the peninsula (next to the current Perry's Monument) was later named Misery Bay, because of the hardships that took place there after the men returned from battle, during the winters of 1812–1814. Many men suffered from smallpox and were kept in quarantine in the area of the bay. A great deal of the infected died and were buried in a pond now called Grave Yard Pond.

U.S. Coast Guard Station

United States Life-Saving Service District 9 opened a life-saving station (LSS) at Presque Isle in 1876 pursuant to an Act of Congress two years earlier. William Clark was keeper from 1877 until he drowned in 1891. He was succeeded by Andrew Jansen, who was keeper until 1914. When the Life-Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service merged in 1915 to become the United States Coast Guard, LSS Presque Isle, also called the Erie life-saving station, became Coast Guard Station #236. The station remains in operation to this day, assigned to the Ninth District (Great Lakes) of the U.S. Coast Guard. See the Ninth District web page

Lighthouses

Two lighthouses can be found in the park. On the far east side of the park, near the inlet between the lake and the bay, is the Erie Harbor North Pier Light. It began as a wooden tower, erected in 1830. A stronger steel structure was brought from France and constructed at Erie to replace the wooden beacon, which was damaged by a schooner.
On the north is the Presque Isle Lighthouse, which was constructed in 1872 and lit on 12 July 1873. It was the second lighthouse constructed on Lake Erie. Presque Isle Lighthouse is tall with a red brick house that is used as a park residence. The lighthouse is maintained by the United States Coast Guard and flashes a white light to warn oncoming ships of the sandy peninsula that juts out into Lake Erie.

Habitat

There are seven different ecological zones in Presque Isle State Park. Each zone has a different plant and animal community. They are: Lake Erie; the bay and shoreline; sandy plain and new ponds; sand dunes and ridges; marshes and old ponds; thicket and sub-climax forest; and climax forests. Many different species of plants and animals can be found at Presque Isle State Park due to the wide variety of ecological zones.
Of all the animals at the park, birds are the most studied. The peninsula is located on the Atlantic Flyway, a major migratory path. The diversity of habitats on the peninsula makes it an ideal home for over 320 species of birds.

Geology

The name presque-isle literally means "almost an island" in French. Interestingly, Presque Isle, has actually been an island for brief periods of its history. It has been cut off from the mainland four times since 1819 and each time the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has worked to reconnect it. Fifty-eight breakwaters have been built to slow the effects of erosion. These breakwaters have "captured" the sand and prevented it from being pushed to the east. The result has been a build up of sand and larger beaches.
Presque Isle protects the natural Presque Isle Bay. This bay creates a deep and wide harbor for the city of Erie. The bay is oftentimes filled with pleasure craft as well as cargo ships from all over the world that use the Great Lakes shipping port.

Recreation

Presque Isle State Park provides countless opportunities for recreational activity along its many miles of Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay coastline, as well as on its inland trails and lagoons. Boating, fishing, and water skiing are favorite summertime water sports, while canoing, hiking, biking, inline skating, and bird watching are just some of the inland activities. Ice fishing, ice boating, and ice skating occupy winter visitors.

Boating

Boats of nearly any variety are permitted on Lake Erie at Presque Isle State Park. Boats with internal combustion engines are prohibited in the interior lagoons, except for Grave Yard Pond which is the location of the 500 slip marina. A boat rental concession at the marina provides a variety of powered and non powered boats for recreational use. All boats must have a current registration from any state. 'Water conditions on Lake Erie can change with little notice. All boaters are asked to monitor marine channel 16, the Coast Guard Emergency Channel on a VHF radio for emergency updates and NOAA Weather Radio 162.400 MHz for current boating conditions.'

Water skiing and scuba diving

Water skiing and scuba diving are permitted at Presque State Park in designated waters of Lake Erie. Water skiing must take place in Presque Isle Bay or out on Lake Erie and is prohibited within of the shore. Scuba divers must be certified and are required to register at the park office to obtain information on the waters that are open to diving.

Fishing and hunting

There are two distinct fishing zones at Presque Isle State Park. Lake Erie is the home to perch, trout, walleye, bass, and steelhead. Presque Isle Bay is the home of muskellunge, northern pike, crappie, smelt, and the other fish that swim in from the lake itself.
Hunting is prohibited at Presque Isle State Park with the exception of controlled duck and goose hunting seasons.

Swimming and picnics

Presque Isle State Park is home to the only surf swimming in Pennsylvania. There are 13 beaches that are open for swimming. Each beach opens Memorial Day weekend and closes Labor Day weekend. Lifeguards are on duty 10:00 a.m. until 7:30pm. There are extensive picnic facilities at most of the swimming areas.

Tom Ridge Environmental Center

Main articles: Tom Ridge Environmental Center

New to the park is the Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC), named after former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, which opened on 26 May 2006. This interpretive center has of interactive exhibits about local and regional flora, fauna, history, and culture. The center also offers an orientation film, a large-format movie theater, nature shop, and cafeteria, as well as a viewing tower that overlooks Lake Erie. In addition to these attractions, TREC also houses five classrooms for environmental education, eight research labs, and an administrative hub of conservation groups and agencies.

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within of Presque Isle State Park:

★ Erie Bluffs State Park (Erie County)

External links

★ Presque Isle State Park Official Site

★ Presque Isle Audubon Society

★ Presque Isle Partnership

★ 2007 General Highway Map Erie County Pennsylvania ''Note: shows Presque Isle State Park ''

References

1. Presque Isle State Park
2. Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks ''Note: Despite the title, there are twenty-one parks in the list, with Colton Point and Leonard Harrison State Parks treated as one.''
3. Presque Isle - History