by Denise Gabbard

Created on: July 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 23, 2009

Cleveland has an abundance of attractions, and many of them are free. Take advantage of these opportunities while the kids are out of school for summer. If you are searching for a job, taking a day off from the search and spending it with your kids is a worthwhile idea.

Beaches

Gather up your beach towels and sunscreen, pack a picnic lunch and spend the day on the sand and in the water!

Out of towners that haven't spent time here in the summer have no idea we even have beaches, yet we are blessed with a number of them within easy driving distance of downtown.

Headlands Beach State Park: Mentor, OH From downtown, about a half hour drive. Take Rt. 2 east to the OH 44 exit and turn left (North) and you'll run right into the park. Headlands offers picknicking, swimming, beach volleyball, windsurfing, and jet skiing. There are 19 parking areas in the park, picnic shelters, grills and tables. Headlands beach is a mile long, and the widest and sandiest beach in our area. Edgewater : Just off the Shoreway heading west towards Lakewood from downtown, Edgewater is a 131 acre park with a large swimming beach and two picnic shelters. The upper part of Edgewater, which is connected by an athletic trail, has a reservable pavillion. Edgewater has gone through some major renovations since the State of Ohio took it over.

Huntington Beach Lake Rd. (Rt. 6) just west of Cahoon Rd. in Bay Village. You have to climb down a long set of steps, and the beach isn't all that big- but this is the young folks people watching beach! Euclid Beach: Part of the old Euclid Beach Amusement Park, Euclid Beach is 650 feet long, and their is an observation pier as well as lamp posts and benches in keeping with the history of the area. Villa Angela/Wildwood: Just east of Euclid Beach, there is a new section that's been added as part of the lakefront state park Bowwow Beach (Just for our four-legged friends.) About a mile south of Rt. 303 on Stow Rd. in Stow, OH is this completely fenced, off-leash beach and park just for man's best friend. There are dogs of all sizes and 99% of them are friendly and well-behaved. Take some tennis balls and some towels and spend a great afternoon with your buddy.

Parks

The Emerald Necklace, Towpath Trail, and Cuyahoga Valley National Parks: We are truly blessed to have such an abundance of wonderful parks in our area. I have never seen another park system anywhere in the country that rivals this. All of our parks interconnect with bike trails,

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