Glacial Grooves

Lake Erie Islands State Park
4049 East Moores Dock Road
Port Clinton, OH 43452
419-797-4025

The Glacial Grooves on the north side of Kelleys Island are the largest easily accessible such grooves in the world. They were scoured into solid limestone bedrock about 18,000 years ago by the great ice sheet which covered part of North America. A trough 400-feet long, 35-feet wide, and up to 10-feet deep remains today. The ice, probably hundreds of feet thick, flowed from the north in what is now the Lake Erie basin. The Devonian limestone containing the grooves contains marine fossils that are 350 to 400 million years old. Many other grooves were quarried away during the last century.

Fencing now protects this National Natural Landmark. A walkway and stairs permit visitors a good view of the grooves.

LOCATION

Glacial Grooves is located on Kelleys Island, Erie County, in Lake Erie 8 miles north of Sandusky. Ferries depart from Marblehead.

Note: The island is accessible by ferry from Marblehead daily from the first Saturday in April until the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Call the Neuman Boat Line at 419-626-5557 for ferry schedules.