At the foot of State Street, on Dobbin’s Landing just beyond the Bicentennial Tower, there are two sea animal sculptures – a dolphin and a sea lion — that kids love to climb on. Have you ever wondered why they are on a freshwater lake?
There’s a large smokestack in front of the Blasco Library. Have you ever pondered what it was, why it’s still there, and what is to become of it?
Ever noticed the growing flow of dove silhouettes in the windows of the library and thought about what they symbolize?
Sign up for a guided walking tour with Tour Erie, a new Erie business that launched in June, to get the answers to these and many more questions you didn't know you had while also getting a little bit of exercise and fresh air.
 A recent Tour Erie group. |
“We love Erie, and we want others to love it, too,” said Heather Cass, who founded Tour Erie with her daughter, Lauren, a Penn State Behrend Communication student who had been doing admissions tours for the college for three years. “We are so inspired by all the improvements and development happening in the city and along the waterfront, and we’re proud to show it off to the thousands who visit Erie and to residents, too. Everyone is bound to learn something.”
Tour Erie is currently offering a “Best of Erie” bayfront tour, which offers an overview of the city and bayfront. Tour guide Lauren covers everything from the origins of the Bicentennial Tower to the feud between Oliver Hazard Perry and Daniel Dobbins to the reason we have avid anglers to thank for access to the entire waterfront.
Book now
The “Best of Erie” bayfront tour is currently offered on Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat., and Sun at 11 a.m. and Mon. and Wed. evenings at 6 p.m. All tours start and finish at the flagpole on Dobbin’s Landing, 1 State Street, and are about 1.25 miles and 90 minutes to two hours long. Cost is $25 for adults and $10 for students in K-12. Kids under 4 are free. Book online at www.toureriepa.com.
Eerie Erie tour coming later this summer!
An “Eerie Stories, Legends, and Lore” sunset tour is slated to begin in late August and will highlight some strange local legends, true scary stories, and other spooky events that have taken place in the Erie region. This tour will begin an hour or so before sunset, so the times will fluctuate as the days get shorter in early fall. See the schedule at toureriepa.com by clicking on “book now.”
Tours will be offered regularly through October and by appointment in the winter months. The Cass duo have plans to expand and offer more tours in 2025.
“We have so many ideas, including a family fun tour,” Heather Cass said. “There’s no shortage of interesting things to highlight in Erie.”
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