Gulf of Cleveland: what actually changed
Cleveland City Council voted 13-1 on September 14, 2026, to call a two-mile strip of Lake Erie off the city shoreline the Gulf of Cleveland. It does not rename the lake. Ferries, charts, and Put-in-Bay still say Lake Erie.
What Council passed
Resolution 1047-2026 is the document. Council member Kris Harsh introduced it. NBC News reported the vote as 13-1, according to a City Council spokesperson. The named water is the lake from Cleveland's easternmost shoreline point to its westernmost point, and two miles offshore.
City departments are told to use the name on city-generated maps and documents. The clerk is told to notify state and federal offices and to mail mapping companies. Cleveland19 and CBS coverage both stress the same limit the resolution itself states: like other recent renaming orders, this one only binds the government that passed it.
You can read the adopted text in Resolution 1047-2026. Local write-ups from Cleveland19 and NBC News ran the next day.
Why it exists
Harsh said it was a response to federal renaming of other water bodies, including the Gulf of Mexico and a proposed Lake Ontario change. He told NBC he wanted to jump to the end of the line and pick something obviously silly. The resolution language about branding and not being left behind is doing the same job: it is satire written as an emergency measure.
That is why national feeds picked it up so fast. It is also why it is a weak reason to change a Lake Erie itinerary.
What the name actually covers
Two miles off Cleveland is downtown water. Put-in-Bay is a different trip: drive west toward Catawba or Port Clinton, then take a boat. Cedar Point is on the Sandusky peninsula. None of that water is in the resolution.
| Water | In the resolution? | What a visitor still uses |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland shoreline, 2 miles out | Yes | City maps and city paperwork |
| Put-in-Bay / South Bass | No | Miller Ferry, Jet Express, NOAA |
| Kelleys Island / Marblehead | No | Kelleys Island Ferry, NWS LEZ143 |
| Cedar Point / Sandusky | No | Park, NWS Cleveland |
What a visitor should do with this
Keep saying Lake Erie. The Coast Guard, NWS Cleveland, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Miller Ferry, and Jet Express will. If a Cleveland parks sign eventually prints "Gulf of Cleveland," that is a downtown waterfront quirk, not a new destination between Port Clinton and the islands.
Flying into Cleveland Hopkins and driving to the islands is still the same airport-to-ferry hop it was last week. The water you swim, fish, and ferry across for a Put-in-Bay day trip is still the western basin of Lake Erie. For conditions, use the wave forecast and the algae bloom tracker, not a council nickname.
The lake did not move
If this search brought you here because you are actually trying to get to the islands, skip the rename and look at boats and beds.
Compare Put-in-Bay ferries · Cedar Point & Sandusky
Check Put-in-Bay hotel pricesGulf of Cleveland FAQ
Did Cleveland rename Lake Erie the Gulf of Cleveland?
No. On September 14, 2026, Cleveland City Council passed Resolution 1047-2026, 13-1, to use "Gulf of Cleveland" for the water from the city's east shoreline to its west shoreline and two miles out. That binds city departments and city maps. It does not rename the lake.
Will Apple Maps or Google Maps say Gulf of Cleveland?
Do not plan on it. The resolution tells the clerk to mail mapping companies and ask them to print the new name. Councilman Kris Harsh framed that as a joke about other recent map changes. NOAA charts, the Coast Guard, and the ferries still say Lake Erie.
Does the Gulf of Cleveland include Put-in-Bay or Cedar Point?
No. The described box is Cleveland's own shoreline plus two miles of water. Put-in-Bay, Kelleys Island, and Cedar Point sit well west of that strip. Your island trip does not get a new body of water.
Do I need a different ferry ticket now?
No. Miller Ferry from Catawba and Jet Express from Port Clinton and Sandusky still run Lake Erie routes under the same names and the same 2026 schedules. The Put-in-Bay ferry guide has the current boats.
I fly into Cleveland. Is the lake by the airport the Gulf of Cleveland?
Only if you mean the two-mile strip off the city shoreline on city paperwork. Hopkins sits south of downtown. The water you see from Edgewater or the Rock Hall is still Lake Erie on NOAA charts. The island ferries are an hour-plus drive west, then a boat across the western basin.
Is the Gulf of Cleveland a real gulf?
Geographically, no. Lake Erie is still a lake. The resolution is a local name the city says it will use on its own paperwork. Harsh told NBC News he picked the dumbest name he could think of to show how absurd the renaming fights have gotten.
Vote, shoreline description, and sponsor from Cleveland City Council Resolution 1047-2026 (for passage September 14, 2026) and contemporaneous reporting by NBC News, Cleveland19/WOIO, and CBS. This page will be updated if a mapping company or federal agency actually adopts the name. As of September 16, 2026, none have.