Rockhounding Ohio's Lake Erie Islands

A short ferry boat ride three miles from Ohio’s Lake Erie coastline is South Bass Island, better known as Put-in-Bay or the “Key West of the North.”

- BRUCE MCKAY

While bar hopping and entertainment here are reminiscent of Key West, South Bass Island also provides rockhounds with a unique cave visit.

THE CRYSTAL CAVE

The Crystal Cave on Put-In-Bay, where Paul Bunyan could have easily skipped a rock across the water border into Canada, is located at Heineman’s Winery.

Fortunately, it turns out that the wine-sipping part of the program comes after the cave and winery tours. In 1897, the winery owners were digging a well and broke through the top of a cave lined entirely with whiteish-blue crystals. They thought they had struck it rich, but they found strontium sulfate crystals, also known as celestite. They mined some of the cave’s interior to sell the material as an ingredient in fireworks but soon realized that the cave’s greatest value was a tourist attraction. During Prohibition, tours of the cave helped prevent the winery from going out of business.

The winery’s origins date to 1888 with founder German immigrant Gustav Heineman. The winery has been in the family since. They produce over 20 varieties of red, white and dessert wines from local grapes. When you enter the winery, you can sign up for the next cave and winery tour, the cost includes the cave tour, winery tour and a glass of wine or grape juice in the tasting room afterward.

THE CAVE TOUR

The cave tour starts with a walk down a flight of stairs into the cave, which is 40 feet below ground. As the main chamber fills with the tour group, the guide makes sure that everyone is careful not to touch the crystals or the sides of the cave. The delicate mineral growths in the cave cannot take being rubbed by endless groups of tourists.