Portage Lakes State Park By vsimeone on Aug 06, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

A couple weeks ago, my husband had another twinge of mid life crisis. He bought a pontoon boat! It was already in the water and the dock paid through the end of the year at Portage Lakes State Park. Portage Lakes is located in northeast Ohio, just outside of Akron. While it is only almost exactly 15 minutes from our house to the dock, we really hadn't spent much time at the park prior to purchasing the boat. Needless to say, during the past several weeks, we have been there almost every day!

The area is a wonderful mix of activities. On the weekends, the bars and restaurants that are on the lake are packed and there are hundreds of boats on the water. During the week, it is quiet and peaceful. You can choose to make the experience whichever you wish or, like us, combine all the activities!

The wildlife is amazing. In just the few weeks we have been there, we have seen some loons, deer, Canada geese, mallard ducks, trumpeter swans, muskrats and osprey to name a few. My husband and son have had a blast fishing and have caught large mouth bass, rock bass, blue gill and catfish.

We are so glad that we made this purchase and can't wait to spend the rest of the summer on the lake!