Which states and provinces border Lake Erie?
Short answer
Lake Erie borders four U.S. states, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and one Canadian province, Ontario, which holds the whole north shore. The international boundary runs through the lake, as Wikipedia's article on the lake describes.
Key numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lighthouses in this gazetteer, Ohio / Pennsylvania / New York / Michigan / Ontario | 17[1] / 3[1] / 8[1] / 1[1] / 16[1] |
Five shores
The Encyclopaedia Britannica of 1911 described the lake as bounded on the west by Michigan, on the south and southeast by Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and on the north by Ontario, and that is still the map today.[2,3] The principal harbors listed by the same encyclopedia still trace the shores: Toledo, Sandusky, Huron, Vermilion, Lorain, Cleveland, Fairport, Ashtabula and Conneaut in Ohio; Erie in Pennsylvania; Dunkirk and Buffalo in New York; and Rondeau, Port Stanley, Port Burwell, Port Dover, Port Maitland and Port Colborne in Ontario. At Buffalo the lake empties into the Niagara River, which carries its water to Lake Ontario.[2]
A boundary through the water
The border between the United States and Canada runs down the lake, and some of its quirks are easy to visit on a map. Middle Island, a small island just south of Pelee Island, is the southernmost land in Canada, its southern tip only about 150 metres from the U.S. boundary.[4] Point Pelee, on the mainland nearby, is the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland.[5] A boat that crosses the line is crossing an international border, with the same border-security rules as any other crossing, as Wikipedia's article on the lake points out.[3] Between Ohio and Michigan, the state line crosses tiny Turtle Island near Toledo; a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision left the island's lighthouse on the Ohio side.[6]
Lighthouses by shore
This gazetteer counts 45[1] lighthouses around the lake: 17[1] in Ohio, 3[1] in Pennsylvania, 8[1] in New York, 1[1] in Michigan and 16[1] in Ontario.[1] Each shore has its own page listing its lights by how you can see them, from towers you can climb to ruins visible only from a boat.
Questions people ask
Which states touch Lake Erie?
Four: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The Canadian province of Ontario forms the whole north shore.
Is part of Lake Erie in Canada?
Yes. The U.S.–Canada boundary runs through the lake, and Ontario's waters include Pelee Island and Middle Island, the southernmost land in Canada.
Related questions
Sources
- Lake Erie Gazetteer data: this site's own compiled records (lighthouses, shipwrecks, storms), Lake Erie Gazetteer (WeldonPC). Accessed . Values computed by us from this data.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), "Erie (lake)", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), via Wikisource. Accessed .
- Lake Erie, Wikipedia. Accessed .
- Middle Island (Lake Erie), Wikipedia. Accessed .
- Point Pelee National Park, Parks Canada. Accessed .
- Lighthouses of the U.S.: Ohio, Russ Rowlett, The Lighthouse Directory (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Accessed .
Facts as of · page checked · Markdown version
How to cite
Lake Erie Gazetteer, What borders Lake Erie?, lakeerie.info/facts/states-and-provinces-bordering-lake-erie, accessed October 19, 2026.