This Midwest State Is Home To 'The North's Key West'
By Hillary Louise Johnson
VACATIONS
Put-in-Bay, a lazy little tourist town on South Bass Island in Ohio's Lake Erie, can give visitors Sunshine State vibes in the Buckeye State. The best way to get there is by ferry.
Put-in-Bay has been a resort town since 1888. It got the nickname of the Key West of the North because it's similar to the iconic party destination in the Florida area.
The area has a 1917 carousel, a chocolate cafe, a butterfly house, an 18-hole miniature golf course, paddleboarding, sport fishing, jet skiing, and much more outdoorsy fun.
Key West's famous pool parties are mirrored in Put-in-Bay. You can party at swim-up bars like the Blue Marlin Bar and try 30 margarita flavors at Margarita's On the Rock.
Live music performers who winter in Key West sometimes come to Put-in-Bay for the summer, like Ray Fogg, a singer-songwriter you could call the Northern Jimmy Buffet.