Conneaut Township Park: A Cobalt Blue Seaglass Hotspot
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I have been collecting seaglass for well over a decade. About 13 years ago, Mike and I lived on a beautiful island off the coast of Maine called Islesboro. It was here that we learned about seaglass from local residents, and since then, it has become a passion of mine to seek out these frosty gems. This small island is one of the top places in the country for finding seaglass; I found so many beautiful rare cobalt blue pieces during my time living there. Recently, we moved to the Cleveland metro and learned that Lake Erie is another seaglass collector’s dream.
Since moving here, we have been driving out to various beaches and have accumulated a pretty decent collection in the past year or so. To date, we mostly have found white, brown, green, along with some turquoise, and blue. Thanks to the lake’s industrial past and use as a landfill, tons of seaglass now populates the shores of most beaches. Conneaut Township Park near Ashtabula is known for its’ abundance of blue seaglass. This is the best place in the area to find the not-so-common colors. It was a long 1.5 hour drive from Cleveland, but worth it for the amazing opportunity to find so much blue all in one place. As you can see in the photo above, we found more blue than any other color. I will definitely be planning several trips here to see what else I can find.
What is Seaglass?
Seaglass is basically the definition of trash turned treasure. Beaches and other bodies of water often served as public dumps back in the day. Not environmentally friendly of course, but fortunately we put an end to this practice. These former pieces of discarded glass have had decades to tumble around in the water and on the rocks, thus turning into smooth, frosty gem like pieces which are smooth to the touch. Most often you will find green, white, and brown – the most common colors of beer bottles and other types of common glass. If you are lucky, you may find a rare orange, red, purple, or my favorite cobalt blue.
The international Seaglass Association offers some tips on determining real from fake seaglass.
How rare is cobalt blue?
Living in Islesboro, I learned from local residents (and longtime collectors) that blue is one of the rarest colors to find. The beaches here are loaded with blue and it was not rare for me to find at least a handful at any beach. I lucked out- I found so many treasured pieces at the isolated beach directly across from my house rental. Every morning, I would go out and look for treasures and come back with a ziploc bag or more.
The striking blue color comes from old medicine bottles. Production of Phillip’s Milk of Magnesia bottles began in the late 1870’s. I have found many pieces with portions of the word milk or Phillips on the glass which is pretty cool. The best thing about blue seaglass is that, although it is rare, it is really easy to find. Brown and white pieces (which are way more common) tend to blend in with the rocks. When you see a piece of blue (no matter how tiny), it really stands out!
Blue Seaglasss in Conneaut
I have visited Ashtabula on multiple occasions to tour the beautiful historic bridges and spent some time at the beaches. I found a little bit of glass at Walnut St. Beach, but nothing too amazing. After exploring many of the closer beaches on Lake Erie, I decided it was time to plan a trip over to Conneaut Township Park to see if there really was a lot of blue to be found. Even though we arrived later in the morning (I prefer to look early to find the best pieces) we still found a decent amount. In fact, we found more blue here than the common colors which is pretty crazy. We found the tiniest pieces (not like the gigantic ones we found in Maine), but a beautiful assortment nonetheless.
We saw lots of locals out digging in the sand looking for pieces. I heard someone say that they found a red which is pretty cool. In addition to blue, I also found a really cool orange piece. We were strolling the sand for almost 2 hours in the hot sun. After a few hours, we were hot, tired, and our backs hurt, but we were rewarded with a lot of new pieces to add to our ever growing collection. We found most of our larger pieces on the far end of the beach near the big rocks (the opposite direction of the lighthouse). I figure most people did not want to walk out this way: it was a much more peaceful experience.
Update: I recently visited this beach again on a rainy late spring day in March of 2026. The beach was completely empty and the seaglass abundant after the winter snowmelt. It was a gorgeous overcast day with cool but pleasant temps in the high 50’s which I think is ideal for seaglass hunting.
Late winter/early spring when the ice is gone is a great time to beachcomb and we were not disappointed with our finds. It was so nice having the beach pretty much to ourselves with the exception of one other couple. In comparison to the busy summer months, this was a nice change of pace!
Besides collecting glass, this beach is also popular for swimming. We saw a lot of locals out enjoying the water. It looked too rocky in my opinion, but to each his own. There is a gorgeous lighthouse here which makes for a pretty backdrop for a day of sunbathing or a nature stroll. There is a small snack stand as well as restrooms and a water fountain on site.
Additional Details
Address: 480 Lake Rd, Conneaut, OH 44030. No fee to park.
Best place to find seaglass: Look near the tide line where the glass is usually mixed in with the rocks. I also found bigger pieces by the big rocks (near the end of the beach in the opposite direction of walking towards the lighthouse).
Best time to look for seaglass: After a storm, early in the morning before all the other beachcombers arrive.
Where to eat in the area: I usually stop at Harbor Perk Coffeehouse in Ashtabula on the way. I love the ambiance with the brick walls and both their coffees and bagels are decent.
What else can you do in the area?
There are 2 beautiful historic bridges you can check out. Middle Road Covered bridge, built in 1868, underwent reconstruction in 1984. I love the scenic setting over Conneaut Creek. Harpersfield Covered Bridge, at 228 feet, is the second longest covered bridge in the state after Smolen-Gulf.
Also, Ashtabula is basically the king of covered bridges with more than 20 located within a small area. It’s home to both the longest and shortest bridge, and many others in between. You can read about bridges and more in my Ashtabula guide. I plan to take a roadtrip this fall (when temps are a bit cooler) to explore them all. Update: I finally made it to all the bridges! Check out my self-guided tour of these gorgeous historic bridges. Basically we made 3-4 trips out here to see them all but you could see them all in one day if you are up for a lot of driving.
Looking for a great daytrip? In my Ohio Travel Guide, I feature a lot of attractions around the Cleveland metro including the world-class art museum, Little Italy, Rockefeller Greenhouse, the Lake Erie beaches, and so much more.
