Sometime in March of 2022, my friend, Kevin, KE8ONI, posted on the POTA Facebook page asking if anyone was interested in putting together a POTA trip to North Bass Island in Lake Erie. I quickly jumped in and said YES! Kevin and I first met on Facebook’s Parks On The Air group. About a year prior to our North Bass Island adventure, we met up at Malabar Farm State Park, which is about 7 miles from my house. We hit it off right away – we both are just a couple of big kids that like to have fun.
About North Bass Island
North Bass Island is located in Lake Erie about 2 miles from the Canadian border, and about 18 miles from the Ohio mainland. It is of particular interest to us POTA activators because its a bit difficult to get to. Unlike the more popular islands in Lake Erie, is that the only way to get there is either by a chartered air service, private plane, or private boat. Because there is no regular air or ferry service, activating North Bass Island is more difficult than most other parks. Fortunately, Kevin’s brother-in-law and sister own a boat.
North Bass Island is mostly undeveloped and historically been used as a vineyard. There are roughly two dozen residents on the island. Most of the islands 688 acres is part of the North Bass Island State Park.
The Plan…
Since Kevin’s family was vacationing for a week in August, I reserved a campsite at East Harbor State Park for three nights. One of the reasons was because the weather on Lake Erie is unpredictable. We figured if we gave ourselves a three day window, we should be able to get our POTA activations in. This also allowed me to activate East Harbor State Park during those three days as well – not to mention some quality beach time with my daughter and her kids.
Additionally Kevin reached out to N8NI, who was going to be on Pelee Island operating POTA, which is only 7 miles from North Bass Island. We were able to work Nathan on 2 meters so we got the Park to Park!