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Pennsylvania can’t claim much of Lake Erie, with less than 100 miles of its nearly 900 miles of shoreline, but residents of the Keystone State can still be proud that their Great Lake made several USA TODAY 10Best lists.
Those in Erie County, which includes all of the lake’s shoreline in Pennsylvania, already know Erie is a great lake, whether they enjoy its sunsets, beaches or bluffs, swimming or boating, fishing or diving or even surfing.
How did Lake Erie do
Lake Erie appeared on three USAT 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards lists released Wednesday.
It was chosen as the Best Lake.
Geneva Lake in Wisconsin was second on that list, followed by Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Tahoe.
Lake Erie also came in first for Best Lake for Water Sports. It beat out contenders including Lake Murray in South Carolina, Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, Lake Michigan and Lake Martin in Alabama.
Going fishing in Lake Erie?: New fish cleaning station open at Lampe Marina in east Erie
Lake Erie was third on the Best Lake for Swimming List. It followed Lake Jocassee in South Carolina and Geneva Lake.
How were winners chosen
USA TODAY 10Best invites a panel of industry experts to nominate their favorite points of interest and attractions across a wide range of categories. 10Best editors then vet these nominations and select a final set of nominees to be presented to the voting public for a period.
The awards announced Wednesday also included Best River for Tubing, Best River for Fly Fishing and Best Fishing Lodge.
More about Lake Erie
Of the five Great Lakes, Lake Erie is the smallest in volume, according to the Great Lakes Commission.
Lake Erie measure 241 miles across and 57 miles from north to south. However, the distance across the lake between Canada and Pennsylvania is only about 25 miles in some spots. Numerous swimmers have crossed that over the years, typically starting at Long Point, Ontario, and ending at Freeport Beach in North East Township, a distance of 24.3 miles.
Crossing the lake: Distance across Lake Erie remains the same, but open-water swimming attempts may be harder
Lake Erie has 871 miles of shoreline that includes Ohio, New York and Michigan as well as Pennsylvania. The average depth of the lake is only about 62 feet, with a 210-foot maximum. It therefore warms rapidly in the spring and summer, and frequently freezes over in winter, according to the Great Lakes Commission.
Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Lake Erie tops two USA Today Best Lake lists, ranked third on another
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