Take: Rocky River Park, Rocky River, Ohio
Take: Rocky River Park, Rocky River, Ohio
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20250 Beach Cliff Blvd, Rocky River, OH 44116
41.4868°N, 81.8446°W
20250 Beach Cliff Blvd, Rocky River, OH 44116
41.4868°N, 81.8446°W
Glassing Score: 7/10
Hours: All Rocky River City Parks open at dawn and close at dusk.
Swimming: The Rocky River City Parks website lists this beach with "no swimming."
Public Restroom: Yes. In the parking lot there is a small building that remains open year-round during park hours. The bathrooms are plumbed with sinks and multiple stalls.
Stairs: The playground and upper park is accessible to those with a wheelchair. To reach the beach there is a flight of stairs, or one can go down a rough patch of gravel near the playground. Neither are wheelchair accessible.
Other Amenities: Picnic Pavilion, "Pirate Ship" playground, swings and Roundabout, sledding hill, observation deck, adult swing chairs.
This beach is another hidden gem in Northeast Ohio, and is the beach I have visited most frequently since becoming interested in beach glass.
I can't remember how I discovered Rocky River Park, but the first time I visited, I knew that we would be back.
Why do I keep coming back? There are a few things about Rocky River Park that I absolutely love. First, the way the water brings in glass shifts constantly. On any given day, you may find a wealth of glass at the very edge of the accessible beach near the stairs and on another day you might find it along the western end near the line of debris.
The tide varies greatly throughout the year at Rocky River Park and sometimes makes it impossible to reach the western end of the beach.
The gravel and zebra mussel shells that collect get pushed further and further from the water until they reach the bluff. Even if the lake is frozen over, or the sand is smooth at the water's edge, you can usually dig for treasures in those dry piles. You can pretty much always find at least one spot to find sparkly glass, which makes visiting this park a reliably fun hunt.
The park itself is lovely and feels safe, with many people walking their pups or bringing their children to play on the pirate ship playground (which my kids love). If you're a glassing parent, this park can be a bit frustrating because your children will want to abscond to the playground and you cannot see them from the beach.
Another reason this has become one of my most frequented beaches is the restroom.
Recently, I visited a large beach with multiple restrooms. I didn't read carefully though, and those restrooms were locked from Nov. 1 through May 1. Oops.
As a middle aged mom of four with some residual symptoms from losing my gallbladder after birthing my second child, let's just say, bathroom location and distance is an important piece of information for me.
I love that Rocky River keeps this restroom open during park hours year-round. I can easily reach it from any point on the beach and it's also appreciated when I have the kiddos with me. See: the time I suggested a desperate boy child pee behind a rock and he heard "go stand up on top of that rock where literally everyone can see you and pee off of it."
So, if you want a reliable glassing spot with a great park attached, check out Rocky River Park.
Glass collected in one afternoon at Rocky River Park. The pieces tend to be rougher and less refined, but some are still delightfully rounded.
Glassing Score: 7/10
Glassing Score: 7/10
Colors 7/10: - This beach is a great place to find green, amber and clear pieces. We have also found some bonfire glass (glass fused with sand or other glass and reshaped by being in a fire) and some pieces of blue and red.
Quality 7/10: The glass here is occasionally mature, but I also find a lot of glass that isn't yet mature and has to be tossed back. In general, the bulk of pieces I find at this beach are moderately mature and sometimes frosted.
Size 6/10: I have found some large pieces here, but I would say most of the glass ranges from tiny chips to small nuggets. Glassers should pay attention to where the small pebbles are along the waterline and then also look at the band of larger pebbles and rocks behind that. You will likely find small chips and pieces in the tiny gravel, and then the larger pieces tend to travel with the larger stones and hide in between them. If you're digging back by the bluff, you'll probably find mostly small little pieces. I like the small pieces and chips though, because when making jars of glass, they fill in the open spaces.
Ease 6.5/10: Finding glass at Rocky River Park is mildly to moderately challenging. The trickiest part is figuring out where the glass has been washing up on any given day. I joke with my kids that I always find the "hot spot" five minutes before we have to leave. At times, I have dug into the smooth sand to see if there were pebbles underneath and then sifted through those to find glass. Some days, based on the surf, you'll walk along the edge and find lovely, larger pieces. In the winter, you'll be digging in a pile of old, washed up debris. It can also be difficult to find glass during the fall and winter because fallen leaves wash up on shore and mix with/cover the sand.
Overall Experience 8.5/10: Sunsets on this beach are incredible. The small rock breakwall that divides the beach in half is visually striking and allows me to identify photos of sunsets at Rocky River Park pretty handily. The park and restrooms are well-maintained and have lots of enjoyable amenities. The locals are friendly and the park feels safe, even at the very end of dusk. What I love most about this beach is the fun of the hunt. The waves rewrite this beach daily, so it's like discovering a new beach each time.
Overall Glassing Score: 7/10 You may not leave with pounds of glass (or you may), but either way, you will enjoy your visit to Rocky River Park. Happy glassing!
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