Take: Kenneth J. Sims Park, Euclid, Ohio
Take: Kenneth J. Sims Park, Euclid, Ohio
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23131 Lakeshore Blvd, Euclid, OH 44123
41.64665228583701, -81.53422789667655
23131 Lakeshore Blvd, Euclid, OH 44123
41.64665228583701, -81.53422789667655
Glassing Score: 8.4/10
Hours: All Euclid City Parks close at dusk.
Swimming: Swimming and other forms of water contact are not permitted at public beaches by Section 947.13 of the Euclid Codified Ordinances.
Public Restroom: Yes. West of the mansion is a small restroom building that has always been open during park hours. It is a metal, outdoor-style toilet with flush.
Stairs: There are stairs, but there is also a non-stairs point of access East of the mansion.
Other Amenities: Walking trails, disc golf, playground, pier, Hen Mansion event space, pavilion, grills.
The first time your parents sell a home, you learn an important lesson - you can never go back - not really. I'm sure there are small children out there who have experienced more serious permanent change, but for little me, age 8, moving out of our first home was a tectonic shift. Once we took the last box out and drove away, we had lost access to that space where everything had happened, we couldn't go back.
Still, at age 41, I sometimes drive by our old house. Not that first one, but the one we lived in from ages 8 to 14. Bar Harbor Lane was the street in a small subdevelopment named Kittery Cove.
When I drive through, I can almost see riding bikes with neighborhood friends and breaking Mrs. Loparo's Lladro porcelain statue while swinging a stuffed bunny by its very long ears. But, I can't go back. I don't even know if Mrs. Loparo is still with us, my old house is now green (instead of grey and blue), and I can't go back there either, not really.
There is one place, though, I can visit. I can go sit in a cove along the lake shore, with my view of the shiny new pier blocked by the rocks, and feel old childhood feelings of awe and excitement. I'm back there when my great grandma used to take me (on foot, since she never in her 100 years owned or drove a car) all the way down to Lakeshore Blvd from her home near the library. She used to paint this beach, and I distinctly remember paintings that look just like our favorite spots along the shore.
As a child this was my outer banks. It was my ocean. This was where captain Ahab fought the white whale and where the Old Man in the Sea found his marlin.
It might sound like an exaggeration, but I promise, to my little 8-year-old self, that beach was the real deal. I had never even been a few miles west to Edgewater or further east to Headlands. Say what you will about the great beaches of Lake Erie and the world, Simms Park will always be the OG in my mind.
In the years after we moved, I still returned to Sims Park with my great grandma to visit. Then, we celebrated her 90th birthday in Hen Mansion, the historical home and event space in the park. In college, I played violin for a wedding on the grand staircase of the mansion.
Things have changed a bit since I was a kid (and since college). The neighborhood surrounding the beach has experienced decline. I have a family member, who lives about a mile away from the beach, who has experienced firsthand the increase in crime and decrease in overall feeling of safety.
Even still, I enjoy spending time there with my family. The beach is still extraordinarily beautiful and for a beachcomber, it's paradise. It's also a "hidden gem." I have never shared this beach with another person and had them say "oh, of course, Sims Park."
Continued below is the "Glassing Score."
Glassing Score: 8.4/10
Glassing Score: 8.4/10
Sims Park is genuinely one of my favorite beaches to find glass. The current and waves in Sims wash up rounded stones from small gravel to large stones and they get pushed up onto the beach. Like every beach, the weather, the tide, the current and other factors impact where and how you will find glass.
If you walk west from the pier to the very last cove, that's my favorite place to find glass washing up. Sometimes you can even hear the tinkle of the glass on the rocks as it washes in. In the other coves, look to the ends near the larger rocks to find the smaller stone patches, which is the best place to find glass.
Colors 9/10: - This is the beach where I most consistently find deep blue glass. I haven't found many super rare colors here, but I've found some decently sized pieces of deep blue and some wonderful teal and light blue glass as well. There is plenty of green, clear and brown as well.
Quality 10/10: This beach has the most mature glass I have found around town thus far. Nearly every piece I find at Sims is rounded, smooth and frosted. Rarely do I see glass that looks like it was just broken apart. This makes the glass at Sims so gorgeous. In fact, I keep my Sims glass in its own jar because it has a beautiful, somewhat uniform look to it.
Size 9/10: I have found some large pieces here, but I would say most of the glass is medium sized. Some beaches are mostly flecks and tiny pieces, but there are some generous sized pieces at Sims.
Ease 6.5/10: Finding glass at Sims Park is mildly to moderately challenging. There are a number of places along each of the multiple coves where glass is visible just by walking and looking. That said, to find the most glass (and rarer colors), I highly recommend digging through the stones near the shore. The glass washes up and quickly gets covered by similarly-sized rocks, so shifting the top layer of those rocks often reveals at least 1-2 pieces of glass. I have seen other people looking for beach glass here before, and when a few people comb the beach, you can feel frustrated by not finding items on the surface if that's the only place you are looking.
Generally, I find at least a snack ziploc bag worth of glass, but with more time I can find as much as a sandwich bag full. That definitely includes time spent digging, but for me, that's half of the fun.
Overall Experience 7.5/10: The beach is incredibly beautiful. The brand new pier and walking paths are wonderful. I love Hen Mansion, which is a beautiful piece of local history, and the park ground above the beach is also well-kept and lovely. Occasionally, I have seen people who appear to be houseless or struggling camping out on the beach. That said, I have also seen lots of families and friendly people at the beach as well and my children have found little friends to play with on a number of occasions.
I would suggest going with a friend or family member and being aware of your surroundings. This the same I would suggest at Edgewater or any of the other downtown-area beaches.
Overall Glassing Score: 8.4/10 You will not regret visiting the gorgeous Sims Park, especially if you are into hunting for beach glass. Happy glassing!
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