Headlands Beach State Park
Mentor, OH
Headlands Beach State Park in Mentor has the largest natural sand beach in Ohio, about a mile long, popular with swimmers, picnickers, and birdwatchers. At the east end, a walk through the Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve, a rare beach-dune ecosystem, leads to the 1925 Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse.
Ohio's biggest natural sand beach with dunes and a lighthouse walk, though summer weekends are packed.
How we score beachesWalk east through the dunes preserve and out along the breakwall toward the lighthouse at sunset.
Free parking in large lots along the beach.
Paved paths lead from the lots to the sand.
Pets are not permitted in the Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve.
The beach is busiest on hot July weekends. Spring and fall migration make the dunes a birding hotspot.
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