| Headlands Beach State Park | |
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  Headlands Beach State Park Location in Ohio Show map of Ohio Headlands Beach State Park Headlands Beach State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Lake County, Ohio,United States |
| Coordinates | 41°45′30″N81°17′14″W / 41.75833°N 81.28722°W /41.75833; -81.28722[1] |
| Area | 120 acres (49 ha)[2] |
| Elevation | 584 ft (178 m)[1] |
| Opened | 1953 |
| Administered by | Ohio Department of Natural Resources |
| Designation | Ohio state park |
| Website | Headlands Beach State Park |
Headlands Beach State Park is a publicbeach inMentor andPainesville Township, Ohio,United States. It is the longest natural beach in Ohio[3] and attracts two million visitors annually.[4] Thebreakwall at the eastern end of the park, frequented by fishermen, is surmounted by theFairport Harbor West Breakwater Light. The park features a 35-acre beach for sunbathing, swimming, and beach glass hunting along with picnicking facilities and seasonal concessionaire.[3]
Headlands Beach State Park is at the northern terminus ofState Route 44 and theBuckeye Trail.[5] The park is between the Mentor Marsh and theGrand River. It is next toFairport HarborCoast Guard station and aMorton Salt mine[6] and abuts two other protected areas,Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve to the east andMentor Marsh State Nature Preserve to the west.[7][8]
The state began acquiring land for the park during the period 1951-1952. It opened under the name Painesville Beach State Park in 1953, with its name changed to Headlands Beach two years later.[3]
In 1995,The Plain Dealer of Cleveland ranked Headlands as Ohio's best beach.[9] In 2013,CNN listed Headlands Beach among the top 20 beaches in the United States per the nomination of readers of “CNN Travel.”[3]
As with other state parks in Ohio, perOhio Revised Code, both men and women are allowed to wearthong swimwear, and women are allowed to betopless, a practice upheld by Ohio courts in the 1990s, though discouraged by theOhio Department of Natural Resources in the interest of promoting "a wholesome family environment."[10]
ODNR figures show that Headlands Beach S.P. draws two million visits annually—much of that still only from two counties.
Media related toHeadlands Beach State Park at Wikimedia Commons