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A Glacier-Like Experience at The Lake Erie Shores & Islands – When The Ice Comes Alive!

A Glacier-Like Experience at The Lake Erie Shores & Islands – When The Ice Comes Alive!

Every so often Mother Nature does something so awe inspiring that you can’t help but be taken aback, stand back and be amazed at the experience.  It could be anything from a glowing sunset on unruffled placid water to those perfectly crafted snowflakes that fall gently and plentifully enough to make you feel like you’re in a personal snow globe.  Sometimes though, the right rare conditions can produce something that can seem other-worldly and that’s precisely what it feels like at the Marblehead Light House State Park in Ohio right now. 

Marblehead Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes, has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822 and is undoubtedly one of Lake Erie’s best known and most photographed landmarks.  Backed up by the colorful coastal town of Marblehead and surrounded by water on all of its northern sides, this historical landmark is nestled on an absolutely gorgeous spot.  While most visitors tend to flock here in the summer months due to warmer weather and boating opportunities, the unique glacial-looking blue ice that has stacked up along the shores has camera-bearers trickling in a lot earlier this season.  And after parking your car and stepping out onto the wind swept park grounds, you immediately realize what all the fuss has been about.  

A Glacier-Like Experience at The Lake Erie Shores & Islands – When The Ice Comes Alive!

 The brilliant, deep blue ice catches your eye almost instantly and looks as if someone much larger than yourself purposely broke apart a gigantic glacier and created a personal, life sized Lego set.  With children and families lining up for photos in front of the stacked ice, some of the spires look to be as much as 15 feet high.  

 Speaking with some nearby locals you can quickly gather that this phenomenon hasn’t happened for a long time and whether it’s a local or an area visitor, everyone is wearing the same bewildered expression on their face.  One passerby appropriately described the sight as a “blanket that’s been pushed to the end of a bed.”  And even though I like to think it looks like Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, essentially he’s right.  The proper winds, ice compression, and cold temperatures have all come perfectly together to create this crumpled up blue ice blanket on the front step of the Marblehead Lighthouse. 

A Glacier-Like Experience at The Lake Erie Shores & Islands – When The Ice Comes Alive!
To be perfectly honest it’s extremely hard to describe through words and pictures alone – and it must be seen in person to be truly experienced.  Sometimes I think we forget just how incredible this planet is and to be reminded through something this immense and unusual, quickly reopens your eyes.  The brilliant shades of blue seem uncountable and multiply with every different angle from which you look.  Contrast this with the lingering white snow, sunlight breaking through the moisture-soaked clouds and all of a sudden you’re on a distant planet on an unfamiliar world.  If it wasn’t for the apexes of Cedar Point’s roller coasters in the distance reminding us that we’re still on planet Earth, you just might forget. 

 For anyone looking to experience this microcosm of Antarctica, hurry because the window of this experience is quite small.  Although there is no real sign that winter is slowing, it is March and warmer weather is on the horizon.  Soon these large, Great Lakes ice cubes will melt and flow right back into liquid form making way for boats like the Miller Ferry to shuffle visitors to the surrounding Lake Erie Islands. 

A Glacier-Like Experience at The Lake Erie Shores & Islands – When The Ice Comes Alive!A Glacier-Like Experience at The Lake Erie Shores & Islands – When The Ice Comes Alive!A Glacier-Like Experience at The Lake Erie Shores & Islands – When The Ice Comes Alive!