Headlands Beach State Park | |
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Location | Lake County, Ohio, United States |
Coordinates | 41°45′30″N 81°17′14″W / 41.75833°N 81.28722°W [1] |
Area | 120 acres (49 ha) [2] |
Elevation | 584 ft (178 m) [1] |
Opened | 1953 |
Administered by | Ohio Department of Natural Resources |
Designation | Ohio state park |
Website | Headlands Beach State Park |
Headlands Beach State Park is a public beach in Mentor and Painesville Township, Ohio, United States. It is the longest natural beach in Ohio [3] and attracts two million visitors annually. [4] The breakwall at the eastern end of the park, frequented by fishermen, is surmounted by the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light. The park features a 35-acre beach for sunbathing, swimming, and beach glass hunting along with picnicking facilities and seasonal concessionaire. [3]
Headlands Beach State Park is at the northern terminus of State Route 44 and the Buckeye Trail. [5] The park is between the Mentor Marsh and the Grand River. It is next to Fairport Harbor Coast Guard station and a Morton Salt mine [6] and abuts two other protected areas, Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve to the east and Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve to the west. [7] [8]
The state began acquiring land for the park during the period 1951-1952. It opened under the name Painesville Beach State Park in 1953, with its name changed to Headlands Beach two years later. [3]
In 1995, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland ranked Headlands as Ohio's best beach. [9] In 2013, CNN listed Headlands Beach among the top 20 beaches in the United States per the nomination of readers of “CNN Travel.” [3]
As with other state parks in Ohio, per Ohio Revised Code, both men and women are allowed to wear thong swimwear, and women are allowed to be topless, a practice upheld by Ohio courts in the 1990s, though discouraged by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in the interest of promoting "a wholesome family environment." [10]
ODNR figures show that Headlands Beach S.P. draws two million visits annually—much of that still only from two counties.