NorthernOhioTourism.com is getting the word out: Northern Ohio is filled with exciting attractions for summer escapades! Among special places highlighted in a recent news release is Perry’s Cave and Family Fun Center, to which they add, “According to the Dept. of Natural Resources, ‘Ohio is home to more than 200 caves ranging in length from 10 feet to over 3 miles.'”
Perry’s Cave lies 52 feet below the surface of South Bass Island in Lake Erie. The discovery of the cave, in 1813, is credited to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the battle of Lake Erie. The cave is 208 feet long by 165 feet wide. View stalactites, stalagmites and cave pearls on the cave’s walls, ceiling and floor created by heavily encrusted calcium carbonate deposits from centuries of water dripping from the ceiling. The temperature remains in the vicinity of 50° year-round.
A rare Underground Lake is also located in the cave. The water level rises and falls with that of Lake Erie, indicating subterranean connections. Recent findings reveal that after Perry’s men became ill, they used the fresh cold water from Perry’s Cave Lake to drink. The luxurious Victory Hotel, once the largest hotel in the world, also used the water from the cave’s lake. The hotel burned in 1919 and its ruins are visible at the South Bass Island State Park.