Lakeview Park

Lakeview Park (Huron & Lorain Loop)

As Lakeview Park is right on Lake Erie, interesting and unexpected species can turn up in the park during migratory periods, such as American Woodcock. The best birding area is the beach that runs the length of the park.

Key Species by Season

Spring

• Brown Creeper
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Tree Swallow

Summer

• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Downy Woodpecker
• Common Tern

Fall

• Forster's Tern
• Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
• Red-Breasted Merganser

Winter

• Great Black-Backed Gull
• Common Merganser
• Lesser Black-Backed Gull

At-a-Glance

37 - Lakeview Park
Lorain County Metro Parks
1800 West Erie Avenue,
Lorain, OH 44052

440.245.1193

Public Access
Open sunrise to sunset April through October, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November through March

Amenities
Hiking Trails, Restrooms, Picnic Area, Handicap Accessible Trails

Driving Directions
Follow U.S. Route 6 into Lorain. Lakeview Park will be on the north side of the street.

What to Look For

Most of the park is well manicured but has an overstory of large oak trees. Good numbers of songbirds can be found in these trees in migration. As Lakeview Park is right on Lake Erie, interesting and unexpected species can turn up in the park during migratory periods, such as American Woodcock. The best birding area is the beach that runs the length of the park. Large numbers of gulls and terns often loaf here, and good numbers of waterfowl can be seen in offshore waters, especially in late fall and early winter.

Noteworthy Rarities

Ohio’s last record of Black-backed Woodpecker came from Lakeview Park, on September 27, 1984. Purple Sandpiper has been found on the rocky offshore jetties, and all three scoter species are occasionally seen in late fall and early winter.

Local Resources

Lorain County Metroparks  
Lorain County Visitors Bureau 

About the Huron & Lorain Loop

Scores of serious birders flock to the sites on this loop. Some of Ohio's legendary "lake-watching" sites are here, such as the Huron Harbor West Pier and Sherod Park. Chances of finding a fall jaeger at these spots are about as good as anywhere in the state.

The section of Lake Erie between the cities of Huron and Lorain encompasses the “bottom of the bowl;” the southernmost curve of the lake. The fourteen sites in this region offer some of the finest birding in Ohio. The varied habitats include a power plant’s warm water outlet, sandy beaches, expansive woodlands, marshes, and reservoirs. The total species list for this loop is 325.

What to Look For

Some of Ohio's legendary "lake-watching" sites are on this loop, such as the Huron Harbor West Pier and Sherod Park. Chances of finding a fall jaeger at these spots are about as good as anywhere in the state. Lorain Harbor and vicinity has produced scores of rare birds, and is always interesting in peak migratory periods. If you can endure the cold, the open waters behind the power plant, adjacent to Miller Road Park, harbor outstanding duck and gull concentrations in the dead of winter.

Slightly inland are Oberlin and Wellington reservoirs; magnets for ducks. Nearly all of the common species can be found on their waters, and rarer birds such as scoters and Long-tailed Duck are regularly found. Findley State Park and Vermilion River Reservation are two sites that offer excellent woodland birding, and massive restored wetlands at Sandy Ridge Reservation have become famous for wetlands species such as bitterns, rails, and Sandhill Crane.

Noteworthy Rarities

There is a reason that scores of serious birders flock to the sites on this loop. This part of Lake Erie regularly produces vagrants and exciting rarities. Six species—Tufted Duck, Pacific Loon, Spotted Redshank, Heermann's Gull, Royal Tern, and Green-tailed Towhee—have only been at sites on the Huron and Lorain Loop. The records of the duck, redshank, gull, and tern are the only Ohio records.

Natural Features

Many of these sites on the Huron and Lorain loop are not "natural"; they are highly altered habitats that nonetheless offer great vistas of Lake Erie and in season can produce an abundance of birds. Old Woman Creek and Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve contain outstanding examples of undisturbed wetlands and beach. A number of rare animals and plants occur at these sites. Vermilion River Reservation flanks the visually stunning Vermilion River and offers a taste of big woods and forest diversity.