Grand Lake St. Marys State Park - Recreation

Recreation

Grand Lake St. Marys State Park is open for year-round recreation, including boating, hunting, fishing, swimming and picnicking. The campground has 216 sites of which 135 are equipped with electricity. Facilities include modern restroom facilities, a laundry and a dump station. Pets are permitted. On the lake near the camping area there is a “camper’s only” swimming beach and a boat dock and launch. Two small and three large cabins are available to rent May–October. Two modern cabins are available for daily or weekly rental.

Grand Lake St. Marys is open to boating, fishing, swimming and water skiing. Boats with unlimited horsepower are permitted on the lake. The state maintains five launch ramps provide access to the lake. A 300-foot (91 m) no wake zone has been established around the lake’s 52 miles (84 km) of shore. Boats are prohibited from entering a wildlife refuge on the southwest corner of the lake.

The lake is open to fishing year-round. Common game fish include warm water fish such as crappie, bass, yellow perch, and bluegill. Hunting is permitted in designated zones. Grand Lake St. Marys provides a habitat for a variety of waterfowl. The state owns ninety duck blinds spread throughout the designated hunting zones.

There are four public swimming beaches as well as other swimming areas provided for boaters, although as of 2010 the water was deemed unsafe for swimming. and so the beaches are now closed until further notice. There are several picnic areas and picnic shelters.

The camp store loans games, fishing and sporting equipment to registered campers. Bike rentals are available at the campground. The park also has a miniature golf course, along with basketball and volleyball courts, horseshoe pits and playground equipment.

St. Marys Fish Hatchery, located on the lake's eastern shore is operated by the ODNR Division of Wildlife. The hatchery raises saugeye, walleye, channel catfish and bass for stocking in the public fishing waters of the state.

The Grand Lake St. Marys Seaplane Base also operates on the lake and serves as Ohio's only airport for seaplanes.

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