Barcelona Harbor and the Sea Lion Ship

Barcelona Harbor 

and the 

Sea Lion Ship!!

Located off Route 5 on the Seaway Trail you'll find this harbor and pier. A beautiful view of Lake Erie awaits you once you pull in. The Great Lakes Seaway Trail is a 518 mile  National Scenic Byway in the Northeastern United States, mostly in New York with a small segment in Pennsylvania.  The harbor is an excellent spot for fishing, deep sea fishing, boating, beautiful sunsets, bird watching and awesome rocky shores.  The visitor center is opened from Memorial day until Labor Day.

Barcelona Falls is located along the base of the cliff and comes from an unnamed creek that flows into Lake Erie.  The falls has a height of 18 feet , a crest width of 4 feet and faces north. The crest of the falls is said to be Siltstone.   It is a light gray quartzes siltstone and dates from the Late Devonian Period, giving the rock an age of around 372 million years. There are additional waterfalls along the cliff.

A view of Lake Erie

 The Sea Lion has been through a lot, it's a reproduction of a late 16 century three masted English sailing ship.  It first sailed on Chautauqua Lake in 1985.  In 1992 it was old to the Buffalo Maritime Society and was transported to Barcelona Harbor. Then it was towed to Buffalo, New York and operated there until it sank in 1999.  The Sea Lion was raised in 2000 and towed back to Barcelona Harbor.  At the time of this photo it was resting on dry dock waiting to be restored.

 The Sea Lion is finally on its way to Henricus Historical park in Virginia to be restored and used for educational purposes.  This gem is a beauty as it is, I can't wait to visit once it's restored.

This photo doesn't give Lake Erie justice.   

The birds are are plentiful on the lake. It can get pretty windy and cols during the spring!

As you approach Barcelona Harbor you can't miss the 350 feet lighthouse. Made from local fieldstone, the lighthouse was built by Judge Thomas Campbell in 1828.  The first lighthouse keeper was Joshua Lane, who served from 1829 to 1846.  the lighthouse was fueled by oil and in 1931 natural gas, was piped to the tower and was used to fuel the light. It is said that this is the first lighthouse to use natural gas for light.  The lighthouse was decommissioned  in 1859 and is now a private home.

Enjoying The Journey,