Exploring Sterling State Park in Monroe, Michigan

We always enjoy visiting state parks throughout Michigan and Sterling State Park has been on our list. There is something unique about this park and that is that it is the only state park in Michigan located on Lake Erie. The park is located in Monroe, Michigan 

We really enjoy getting out on the water and knew that this would be the right spot to go to get out onto Lake Erie to paddleboard for the first time. After some research and planning we made it to Sterling State Park with a plan in mind. We launched our paddleboards on what we have found out to be called the "lagoons." These are on the opposite side of the park as the beach and Lake Erie. We started here with a plan in place to paddle out to Lake Erie through the River Raisin. 

The visit could not have started better. We pumped up our inflatable paddleboards and decided to bring our fishing rods. Within 5 minutes we both had caught including a nice drum that was a fun catch from a paddleboard. We weren't able to get a great photo of the drum so here is the best we got! Overall the paddle on the lagoon section was great! 

We made our way to the River Raisin, which quickly changed the entire scenery. This short section had great wildlife viewing and was a very cool transition from the river to Lake Erie. We were then paddling on Lake Erie for the first time, our 4th Great Lake we have paddled on! Along the coastline of Lake Erie is a large beach and any walleye fisherman were also out on Lake Erie. 

Overall we ended up spending about 3 hours paddling, which made for a great first part of the day at Sterling State Park. After the paddle was over we switched to exploring by foot. The park has approximately 7 miles of trails, including some trails that were freshly redone. There was great wildlife viewing along the trails. The trails wind throughout the park often times in between the lagoons and marsh areas.

After our time at Sterling State Park we were ready to eat were told to check out Detroit Beach Pizzeria and Venture Brewing, which are under 2 miles from the park. As we pulled up we realized these two places were about 50 feet away from each other and we could order a pizza and eat it at venture Brewing on the patio, so that is what we did. 

Let's start with Venture Brewing, the brewery has beer but also a great variety of coffee options so it is essentially a hybrid brewery and coffee shop so we had to sample a bit of everything. 

When we walked in to order from Detroit Beach Pizzeria, we said it was our first time and for their opinion on what we should get. We were quickly told to get the Detroit style deep dish hot honey pepperoni. This was the right choice! It was such a great pizza. There is the opportunity to dine inside at Detroit Beach but we got ours to go to have at Venture Brewing. 

Overall it was a great first experience in this area. Sterling State Park and Lake Erie was a lot of fun and the food and drinks were fantastic. 

Check out our full adventure from Sterling State Park and Monroe!