SailorGuides.com:
A Trailer Boat Cruising Guide to Presque Isle, Erie Pennsylvania
Dobbins Landing
Dobbins Landing is the central attraction of the downtown waterfront. It is essentially a large cross-shaped pier nestled between two peninsulas, which provide excellent protection to the numerous docks tucked away behind each arm of the cross. The area has been transformed over the last few years and feels modern and upscale. Recent additions include the Bayfront Convention Center and a Sheraton hotel, which houses the Bayfront Grille restaurant and bar.
Tucked away behind the west arm of the cross is Wolverine Park Marina with 40 dedicated transient slips, complete with water and electricity. This is a full-service marina with pump-out, showers, laundry, and an on-site ship's store with basic boating and fishing supplies. There is even a little mini-golf course on the grounds. The only service they don't provide is fuel—there is no fuel dock on Dobbins landing. The marina offers dockage by the hour at a rate of $5 per hour for those wishing to stop off and tour Dobbins Landing and the downtown attractions by foot. Or, if you're planning just a short stay, you can tie up at the 60-foot public dock along the south side of the Sheraton for up to 2 hours for free!
The massive Bicentennial Tower crowns the top of the Dobbins Landing cross. At the base of the tower you will find a small food concession and gift shop. For $3 you can ride the elevator to what they whimsically call the "third floor", which is actually an observation deck at the top of the tower. From here you get an absolutely breathtaking view of the surrounding area.
For a small fee, a water taxi will take you from Dobbins Landing to both Liberty Park and the Waterworks area of the state park and bring you back when you're finished. The distinctive Victorian Princess cruise boat also departs from here for sightseeing excursions as well as lunch, dinner, and evening cruises.
On the east arm of the cross, you will find a surviving bit of the old Erie waterfront, including Anchor Marine, which operates a marina on the back side of the basin with a single transient slip and, more importantly, a full-service ship's store, where you can pick up a new anchor if you happen to throw yours overboard without the rode attached (of course, none of us have ever done that, have we!)
If you're hungry, the Smuggler's Wharf next door is a local landmark, offering an upscale menu of lunch and dinner entrees along with a full-service bar in the tradition of Key West.
Just behind Dobbin's Landing on the left is the very cool Erie Maritime Museum, which serves as home port to the restored brig Niagara--the ship that turned the tide at the Battle of Lake Erie. The museum features lots of displays showing what life aboard the ship was like in addition to a lot of entertainingly displayed information about Great Lakes shipping in general. The Niagara is a travelling ambassador and training ship and isn't always in port but, when she is, museum visitors are welcome to board her and see first-hand what it was like to sail with Perry's battle fleet. There is a public library next door to the Maritime Museum that could be an entertaining place to hang out if you get stuck at dock waiting out some bad weather.
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