Begin the day at Painesville Township Park as close to first light as possible. If the weather is uncooperative, park just to the left of the stairs for a good view of Lake Erie from inside your vehicle. Depending on the day and the wind, you could see all sorts of waterfowl streaming by including some rare treats. Check flocks of mergansers for an eider among them, have your camera ready for a flight shot of a jaeger, and be on the lookout for Brant. Morning flights of passerines can also be observed at this lakeside location with flocks of Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, Evening Grosbeaks and other winter finches flying along the lakeshore. The lucky lake watcher might even see a Cave Swallow! As you drive through the park to leave, pay close attention to the geese in the baseball fields in case there are other species with them.

The 37-acre Painesville Township Park is located on Hardy Road at Lake Road in Painesville Township.

The park was established in the early 1920s as a popular recreational area featuring a bathing beach, baseball fields, dance hall, picnic areas and an open-air pavilion. The beach and original pavilion have both been lost to erosion. Lake Metroparks has operated and managed the park since 1991.

Amenities at the site include five regulation softball fields, picnic areas, playground equipment, concessions, and benches overlooking Lake Erie. There is no trail access to the water due to erosion at the base of the bluff. A fence lining the top of the bluff prohibits access.

The fully-renovated Painesville Township Park Community Center and Dance Hall is also on site. It is a reservable facility that includes a 5,000-square foot wooden dance floor, kitchen, meeting space, and restrooms

Located on Lake Erie’s shore, this 37-acre park was established in the early 1920s as a popular recreational area offering baseball fields, a dance hall, picnic areas, an open-air pavilion and a beach.

Through the years, Lake Erie has claimed the beach arid pavilion by erosion, but five softball fields and the dance hall remain as featured attractions. Lake Metroparks entered a cooperative lease agreement in 1991 with the Painesville Township Park commissioners to operate and manage the park. Since that time, more than $1 million worth of improvements have been made to the park, including an extensive renovation of the dance hall and ball fields.

The park’s 1,637-foot-long shore is partially shaded with deciduous trees. Benches overlooking Lake Erie are spaced behind a wooden split-rail fence that runs the length of the park separating the upper park from a re-graded bluff.

Parking is available in lots along the park’s access road, John Bailey Drive, which loops the perimeter of the park.