Lakeland Lodges Revisited

Vintage Postcard

A recent photo of the great Lakeland Lodges sign

Just a little bit west of Snider’s Shore Acres (the subject of yesterday’s post) is Lakeland Lodges Motel. The small cottage resort is located one and a half mile west of Vermilion.

I did an earlier post about Lakeland Lodges back in 2012 (here).

The back of the vintage postcard above (published by Richard Koontz, Vermilion, Ohio) shown above gives a nice description of the place in the old days:

Lakeland Lodge, 1 1/2 Miles West of Vermilion, Ohio on Routes 2 & 6. A seasonable, strictly modern Motel on the shores of Lake Erie. Catering to Weekly Reservations. Most rooms with Kitchenettes. Splendid private beach. 3/4 of a Mile from Public Golf Course, Dancing, Tennis, Bowling and other forms of Recreation and fine Restaurants near by.

Here’s another vintage postcard view (below).

Since Lakeland Lodges is still in business, the description is pretty accurate. As to be expected, some modern amenities are now offered; cottages are equipped with air-conditioning, heat, cable TV and Wi-Fi.

Here’s the link to the Lakeland Lodges website. It includes some photos of the cottages today, such as this one (below), seen on the far right of the vintage postcard.

Courtesy Lakeland Lodges website

And here’s the best I can do as for a “now” photo to match the vintage postcard at the top of this post.

It’s nice when some things in life don’t change, and Lakeland Lodges appears to be one of them. I’m sure their longtime customers are glad.

Lakeland Lodges Motel & Cottages

I love driving west out of Lorain along U.S. Route 6, mainly because it's a trip back in time if you're an old road enthusiast. Various small cottages and Mom-and-Pop motels dot the lakefront side of the road between Vermilion to Sandusky. No big motel chains here, and that's the way it should be.

About a year ago I mentioned Mari-Dor Beach lakefront cottages on this blog. Another one of those Mom-and-Pop places is Lakeland Lodges, located just 1.5 miles west of Vermilion. I've always admired their classic nautical sign (shown above) and I'm glad that they haven't modernized the sign or, in fact, their name. A garish, modern sign would spoil the whole effect.

Their website features photos of their sandy beach, as well as their cute cottages, which are available in two sizes, one for 1-2 persons and a larger size that will accommodate a maximum of 5 people. There are also motel units.

I emailed the owners for a brochure last year and received one in the mail promptly with a handwritten note. Since I live in Sheffield Lake (a former cottage community itself) I'm not planning a stay at Lakeland Lodges anytime soon, but it looks like a great place for some rest and relaxation.

Here's an aerial view of the property. As their sign says, it's "the place with the beach" and it looks like a good one.