Events & What’s Happening
The world-famous Cedar Point amusement park opens for the season, featuring over 70 rides including record-breaking roller coasters and Camp Snoopy for young children.
💡Opening weekend is busy — consider visiting the second or third weekend of May for shorter lines and full ride availability.
Annual celebration of Lake Erie's fishing heritage featuring fresh perch and walleye dinners, live entertainment, and activities along the Sandusky waterfront.
💡Kids love the fishing demonstrations — arrive by late morning to snag a good spot along the waterfront before crowds build.
Outdoor concert series held at Washington Park in downtown Sandusky featuring local and regional bands across multiple summer evenings.
💡Bring a blanket and picnic dinner — Washington Park has open lawn space that's perfect for kids to roam while you enjoy the music.
One of Ohio's beloved county fairs held at the Erie County Fairgrounds, featuring livestock shows, carnival rides, 4-H exhibits, demolition derbies, and local food vendors.
💡The 4-H animal barns are free to walk through and a huge hit with younger kids — budget extra time there.
Cedar Point's annual fall Halloween event running weekends from mid-September through late October, featuring kid-friendly trick-or-treating during the day and scarier haunted houses after dark.
💡Daytime hours (before 6pm) are family-friendly with trick-or-treat trails and costume contests — save the night hours for older kids and teens.
Annual holiday parade through downtown Sandusky featuring floats, marching bands, and a visit from Santa Claus, kicking off the Christmas season in the city.
💡Stake out a spot along Columbus Avenue early and dress warmly — Lake Erie winds make it feel much colder than the thermometer reads.
Cedar Point's seasonal winter event featuring millions of holiday lights, select rides, ice skating, holiday shows, carolers, and visits with Santa in a festive park atmosphere.
💡This is genuinely magical for young children — the light displays along the midway are stunning after dark and wait times for Santa are shorter on weekday evenings.
Weekly story time sessions at the Sandusky Library for toddlers and preschoolers, featuring books, songs, and simple crafts led by children's librarians.
💡Check the library's calendar as sessions are sometimes split by age group — the toddler session tends to fill up, so arrive 10 minutes early.
Weekend morning nature walks along the Lake Erie shoreline and wetland areas near Sandusky, led by local naturalists focusing on migratory birds, native plants, and lake ecology.
💡Bring binoculars if you have them — spring migration season brings dozens of warbler species through the Lake Erie corridor and kids love spotting them.
Weekly Saturday morning farmers market in downtown Sandusky offering fresh local produce, baked goods, honey, flowers, and handmade crafts from regional vendors.
💡Come hungry — local bakers sell out of pastries and fresh bread by 10am, and many vendors offer samples kids will enjoy.
Cedar Point's adjacent waterpark open seasonally, featuring wave pools, water slides for all ages, and dedicated splash zones for toddlers and young children.
💡Waterpark admission is separate from Cedar Point but heavily discounted when bundled — buy tickets online in advance to save and skip the gate lines.
Planning Your Visit
Neighborhoods & Areas
Local Tips for Families
- 💡Cedar Point's opening hour is officially 10am, but resort hotel guests staying at Hotel Breakers, Castaway Bay, or Lighthouse Point can enter the park at 9am through Early Entry — on peak summer days, this one-hour head start lets families ride Millennium Force and Steel Vengeance before lines hit 60+ minutes.
- 💡The Jet Express ferry from Jackson Street Pier in downtown Sandusky to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island runs round trips for about $30/adult and $10/child — book the first morning departure around 9am and you'll reach Put-in-Bay before the day-tripper crowds arrive from Port Clinton.
- 💡Kelleys Island State Park, accessible via the Kelleys Island Ferry from Marblehead (about 20 minutes from downtown Sandusky), has Inscription Rock — a glacially grooved limestone formation and one of Ohio's most significant Native American historical sites — which kids can touch and explore for free once you're on the island.
- 💡Cedar Point's Soak City water park is included with full park admission, but the entrance is on the opposite side of the main parking lot from the Cedar Point gate — families with young kids often skip it because they don't realize it's a separate walk; park in the Soak City lot off Cedar Point Road to access it directly.
- 💡The Sandusky Fish Company on Venice Road sells Lake Erie yellow perch and walleye caught the same morning — buying a pound of fried perch for around $12–15 is a genuinely local lunch experience that no chain restaurant in the Cedar Point corridor can replicate.
- 💡On weekdays in June before July 4th, Cedar Point attendance drops significantly and many major coasters run 15–20 minute waits even without Fast Lane — families who can pull kids from school for a Thursday visit in mid-June will have a dramatically different experience than a Saturday in late July.
- 💡The Merry-Go-Round Museum on Jackson Street in downtown Sandusky houses a working 1939 Allan Herschell carousel that kids can actually ride; admission is around $7 for adults and $5 for children, and it's one of the only places in the country with a functioning carousel restoration workshop open to public view.
- 💡Parking at Cedar Point in the general lot costs $30–35 per day; families visiting for two or more days should know that purchasing a Cedar Point Resort Parking Pass online before arrival locks in a lower rate and also covers Soak City parking — the gate price is always higher.