Grand Lake St. Marys

I had to work down there about 10 yrs ago, and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. The shower water smelled like seaweed back then...bleeeee

Yeppers - we took a road trip in the mid-1990s to the lake and it was a brackish, algae-ridden, dying lake back then. The stench and appearance of the lake meant that we were reluctant to even put our feet in the water, let alone swim in the brown liquid. The presence of plenty of dead fish on the beach was also a clue that this was not the best of recreation spots.

The place sounds lovely... :)

SensorG; It used to be... St Mary's was one of the best kept secrets around as was Indian Lake. I don't know if it was neglect, agriculture chemical interference or over/under EPA controls but it is a terrible loss. I heard there is a patrolium smell at St.Marys now they can't trace.

For Toledoans, the vacation destination always seemed to be Devil's, Round, or Wamplers Lake. Or many of the other Lakes in the Irish Hills that were pretty close to Toledo, but seemed countless hours away when you were 10 years old and going there for a weeks cottage rental. I still remember the Tasty Freeze on the way to Devil's Lake and stopping for sweet corn along the way...

I've never been to St. Mary's, but I'm always looking for places to camp and fish with the kids. Doesn't sound like it will make the short list soon however...

I also grew up going to Wamplers and camping out at Hayes State park and I still go swimming there a couple of times per year. Also I grew up going to Lakeside, Ohio. It’s still one of my favorite places and it’s been a special treat sharing it with my wife and kids. I keep promising myself I’ll by a cottage there one day.

Of course we also had Crane Creek too, though that’s gone now.

We’ve been camping/swimming out at Harrison Lake State Park our in Pioneer the last couple of years. I get to use my Ohio fishing license and the place is pretty nice of my young kids.

The only viler body of water I have visited was the Salton Sea, SensorG. And yes: I have been swimming in the Detroit River, the Rouge River, and the Maumee, so I know my polluted waters. :-)

"I have been swimming in the Detroit River, the Rouge River, and the Maumee"

That explains a lot. :)

I'm compelled to mention that I've peed in all four of those bodies of water!Sorry, couldn't resist.:)

Used to fish with my dad and brother at Lake St. Mary's in the early eighties. The fishing was great, as I recall. Wow, sorry to hear it's become a giant puddle of stench.

There is a professor named Mike,
Who swam in polluted streams like a pike.
There was nobody braver;
Didn't need a life saver,
Mark Spitz and him are alike.

We spend quite a bit of time in the Irish Hills - some of my family members have a cottage there.

Actually, we took the kids up there this weekend. I'm bummed that most of the kitschy attractions closed. It was always fun as a kid to venture over to Mystery Hill, etc. on days when the water was cold.

Add me to the list of Wamplers lake goers. Been going since I was a child. I remember the wooden bathhouse and concession stand buildings.
The first thing we used to do was hike up the hill. Anyone remember when there used to be a huge boulder up on top of the hill?

I'm resurrecting this thread to see if anybody's been down to Grand Lake lately. I have a friend on FB who owns a cottage and a boat on the lake and she's been posting pics all Summer. It looks beautiful. She's more of an acquaintance so I don't feel like saying, "hey I heard that place is crap..." but I know her enough to know that her and her family wouldn't just settle for Grand Lake if it wasn't a nice place.

Am I right in remembering that Grand Lake is a man made lake? And the whole thing is the same depth?

It's the one I was thinking of:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/grndlake/tabid/737/Default.aspx

Looks like it's still a mess though:
"Recreational Public Health Advisory: WARNING • High levels of algal toxins have been detected • Swimming and wading are not recommended for the very old, the very young or those with compromised immune systems"

I remember reading about a dog that died in that lake a year or two ago after jumping in to retrieve a ball. Scary.

idinspired - yes it is man made. It was used for the Miami and Erie Canal although I am not sure how. We had college friends from St Henry and would drive by it occasionally. I think the best bet is to fill it in. Yuck.

"In 1837, work commenced on a reservoir for the Miami-Erie canal to maintain the canal’s five-foot water depth • Workers using hand tools were paid 35 cents a day and a jigger of whiskey to keep malaria away • At its completion in 1845, 13,500-acre Grand Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world • The lake was connected to the canal by a three-mile feeder

The canal prospered until the coming of the railroads in the 1870s • The area experienced another boom in the late 1890s when oil was discovered • For a time the lake was dotted with oil derricks • Today a pile of rocks near the center of the lake marks the spot of the last producing well.

Grand Lake St. Marys and other canal feeder lakes in the state were the first areas to be dedicated as Ohio state parks in 1949."

I remember reading last year that the state was using huge amounts of alum to try to combat the algae. I guess it hasn't worked that well.
It's a damn shame, it's a beautiful lake, and huge. When we went there last year, it was shocking to see litterally almost no one on the lake.