Today we started meandering south in order to be home by the end of the week. We wandered from Michigan to Ohio through lots of attractive small towns. Our favorite town of the day was Van Wert, Ohio which is centered around this beautiful courthouse built in 1874.

Consulting our trusty Allstays app, Grand Lake St Marys State Park looked like a good stopping point for the night. The website said the lake had been constructed as a feeder for the Miami-Erie canal and was once one of the largest man made lakes in the world.

The campgound was almost empty and they let us cruise around and pick our spot. Site #7 was a bargain next to the beach at $26 including electricity.

The restroom facilities appeared to be almost new.

Several boat launching ramps and docks are available within the park.

The campground was nice and flat for easy bicycling. We peddled along the lake shore to a nearby Marina. We wondered why pumps were aerating the water around the boats. We’ve seen this in the winter to keep ice from forming, but never in the summer time.

Back at the campground we found the reason why very few folks were camping here. Toxic algae blooms are ruining this pretty lake.

The water does look like one of the examples on the sign. We hope that the clean-up efforts work as this is a beautiful facility that is totally underutilized.