Mentor Headlands State Park: Mentor, Ohio

My favorite Lake Erie beach; get as close to the northern wild edge as you can, past the end of the Buckeye trail, near the restored dunes and looking toward the lighthouse. In the banks of pebbles there, you can find (and leave) fragments of ancient fossil coral and tiny perfect periwinkle shells. The water is always the color of an eye—grey or green or blue or brown.