Shop small and score big...

Don Mould's Plantation

Visit Lorain County is a great place to start when looking to shop small and score big this Saturday or any day of the year! Lorain County boasts unique and quality shops to suit anyone on your holiday list. From a walk about Main Street in one of our many eclectic villages and towns, to a country drive to a fantastic out of the way shop that you have yet to discover.

With a simple click of our shopping link you will discover great shopping options. Many having those great deals you are hunting for this weekend and as a bonus, many Main Street Organizations have holiday events kicking off this Saturday making it the perfect day to explore our city centers and enjoy the festivities and shops all a-glow.

While you are out and about you are sure to work up an appetite! You are in luck, you are another click away from a palate pleasing experience. With so many dining options from which to choose, you can plan breakfast, lunch and dinner with ease and maybe a wine tasting in between!

Cork's and Stubby's 

Discover too much for just one day? Thought so! No worries, we have a couple clicks for that too...hotels, bed & breakfasts and lodges throughout the county await.

Small Business Saturday is a great excuse to get out there and shop small in a big way!

Gobble up a local Thanksgiving feast!

Looking for a no muss no fuss scrumptious Thanksgiving Day feast...a few Lorain County restaurants will serve up a great meal with all of the trimmings this Thursday! 

The Oberlin Inn is dishing up their feast by buffet or a served dinner. Seating every half hour between 11 and 4.  The Buffet Feast includes: slow roasted turkey, pork tenderloin with cranberry, sliced roast beef with mushroom sauce, battered fried white fish, 15 traditional side dishes and salad favorites, dessert table. The served meal includes a tossed salad, marshmallow sweet potatoes, herb sage dressing, home-style green beans, rolls and pumpkin pie.

Oberlin Inn reservations required call 440.775.1111.

Or choose The Lube! Quaker Steak & Lube in Sheffield and Vermilion; both are serving a great menu of your holiday favorites buffet style: chef-carved oven roasted turkey, chef-carved slow roasted beef sirloin, honey glazed ham topped w/pineapple, sweet potatoes in butter rum sauce, homemade stuffing, whipped potatoes & gravy, award-winning wings, green bean casserole, shrimp pasta in golden garlic cream sauce,  penne pasta w/bolognese sauce, New England clam chowder, Italian wedding soup, full salad bar, harvest dessert patch featuring pumpkin and pecan pies, and sugar free selections. 

Call for reservations Sheffield: 440.934.9464 Vermilion:440.967.3724

Want to burn off some of that meal with a family activity? Head to Rebman's in Lorain for family bowling from 5 to midnight.

Or take in a movie before or after dinner at the Apollo in Oberlin. Catch Frozen between 1pm and 9:30pm and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire between 12:30pm and 10:15pm.

And at the Lorain Palace Theater, THOR The Dark World is in 3D at 7pm!

Lastly, if you would like to step out and toast your family.... Fort's Tavern in Wellington will be open at 8:30pm. They have a spiced apple martini and 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale on tap.

Click here for a cornucopia of fun! Plenty of events happening over the holiday weekend! 
And if your house is as stuffed as your turkey for the holidays...your problem is solved with nearby lodging! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This weather is for the birds! Literally!

The month of November has blown in with gusto!  Often times when the weather is not great for us, it can be a great opportunity for bird watching...the winds can drive birds inland and right into view.

Lorain County is a fabulous birding destination. With more than a dozen birding locations in the Huron & Lorain Loop of the Lake Erie Birding Trail you will find a plethora of options to see various species of birds. So bundle up and grab your binoculars and camera and step out into nature!

We visited a couple areas on the Lake Erie Birding Trail this week and, WOW, the color in our fall foliage is a tremendous backdrop for bird watching.

Inland at Lorain County Metro Park's Sandy Ridge Reservation in North Ridgeville birders marveled at the majestic Bald Eagles. The area attracts about 250 species through out the year. The wetlands at Sandy Ridge provide a safe haven for shorebirds in the fall and the beautiful wooded areas draw songbirds during fall migration.





Our fall foliage is peaking and our birding along Lake Erie is as well. November through early January, or whenever Lake Erie freezes, marks prime time for birds to flock to the Lorain Harbor. See flocks of gulls, from the common to the rare seeking shelter.                

Just east of the beautifully renovated Mile Long Pier overlooking the harbor is a perfect spot to enjoy songbirds in migration. A newly constructed platform extends out over the water for optimal viewing.



We have given you a glimpse at birding in north central Ohio, now it's up to you to get out there and step into nature. And when you need to warm up, stop in at Jackalope Lakeside for a bite to eat, located at the base of the Mile Long Pier. Or select from a number of dining options around Lorain County. And since you can't complete the birding loop and take in our picturesque fall foliage in just one day, you can cozy up in one of our B&B's or a nice hotel room. If you would like assistance in planning a bird watching adventure don't hesitate to call us at 1.800.334.1673.