Five Great Reasons To Come To Put-in-Bay in September!
Only two months to go until South Bass Island transitions into winter mode, a sleepy town of about 200 people, one store, one restaurant, and only accessible by plane. But you can get a lot done in two months, and we certainly intend to at Put-in-Bay. We’ve got a jampacked September and we’re hoping to get to share at least a couple of days of it with you!
It’s always a good time to come to the Bay of course, but if you want to know what specifically makes September great, read on!
Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 4-7
The final of the big three holidays of the Put-in-Bay season. They actually serve as pretty good guidestones of the Put-in-Bay calendar, with Memorial Day as when things really ramp up, July 4th as the peak, and Labor Day as the marker when things begin to wind down. However, that winding down doesn’t include Labor Day weekend itself, which will find the island at capacity!
A lot of families come to the Bay for Labor Day weekend so while you’ll see a crowd that rivals any our biggest summer weekends have to offer, you’ll find it to be at least a little more family oriented. Though if you want to come up to party, don’t fret there will be plenty of that as well. There’s limited island lodging still available but that won’t be true for long. Start with the places listed right below here for your search!
2026 putinbayohio.com’s Best Places To Stay!
- Island Club Rentals (islandclub.com) – 216-898-9951
- Commodore Resort (commodoreresort.com) – 419-285-3101
- Bird’s Nest Resort (birdsnestresort.com) – 419-285-6119
- Put-in-Bay Condos (putinbaycondos.com) 216-898-1105
- Victory Station Hotel (putinbayvictorystation.com) 419-285-0120
Historical Weekend, Sept. 11-13
If you’re a history buff, this is the one for you. Every year on this weekend Put-in-Bay celebrates the most significant moment of its history. It was on September 10, 1813 that the Battle of Lake Erie took place in the waters surrounding South Bass Island. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (whose name will be familiar if you’ve ever been to the island and done, well, anything) led his fleet to victory against the British navy, securing Lake Erie and completely turning the tide of the War of 1812.
We commemorate these events on Historical weekend! There’s plenty of modern fun to be had including a parade and live performances, and you’ll find a ton of historical exhibits like encampments, demonstrations and educational programs. It is of course, still also early September, so you should expect warm weather and be able to enjoy everything Put-in-Bay has to offer in present times as well as historical!
The Put-in-Bay Road Races, Sept. 15-17
Another island event with some historical flair. Back in the ’50s and ’60s there was a huge street racing tradition on South Bass Island, and streets would be closed and haybales set up to turn the entire island into a road circuit. The community has revived this event with vintage sports cars!
The Put-in-Bay Road Races are one of the great annual island traditions, and somewhat unique in that they happen midweek. So if you have that kind of flexibility in your schedule, you can experience a PIB event with the rare combination of incredible fun, but smaller crowds!
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A Collection Of Great Events, Sept. 19
There’s all sorts of unrelated stuff going on on September 19th. The Miller Ferry’s annual 5k run takes place in the morning, many downtown bars participate in a mock St. Patrick’s day event, Halfway to St. Patrick’s day, the Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center hosts its Monarch Festival, celebrating the most famous butterfly, and in a recent island tradition, the evening will see the Roper Romp, a downtown bar crawl centered around the Round House, where everyone dresses as Mrs. Roper from Three’s Company.
Big Day At The Bay, Sept. 26
One of the final big “event” days of the season, meant to celebrate the year that was, and provide a last big occasion for everyone to get together before the pace on the island starts to wind down, Big Day at the Bay is a combination of what was a few separate local favorite events stacked together to create one great day of fun!
The centerpiece is the downtown festival, with a kid’s carnival, and casino like street games (don’t worry no real gambling!). The Fire Department also holds its annual Clambake fundraiser at the Chicken Patio, and across the entire rest of the island, the locals, as well as island businesses getting ready to shut down for the year, participate in a massive island wide garage sale!
Not Many Chances Left!
All of that of course brings us to the elephant in the room. The biggest reason to come to Put-in-Bay in September is that after September, there’s three weeks of October, and then your chance to spend some quality time at Put-in-Bay is OVER until 2027.
Between the calendar info in this blog, and the links scattered throughout, you should be able to jump right from here to plan a visit. We know that the Island Club and Put-in-Bay Condos currently have great group rates for September, and if you’re only a pair, you should check out the Commodore Resort. The clock is ticking, let’s make a September Put-in-Bay visit a reality!