10 Favorite Places to Read Outdoors

The Read House, which is next door to Mentor Library's Main Branch, is a cozy place for an outdoor read.

I love autumn. Summer can get too hot; winter, too cold; and everything makes me sneeze in the spring.

But autumn’s just about perfect. And one of my favorite things to do in the fall is read outside.

I grab a good book, which is easy to do because I work in a library. Then I find somewhere cozy to read, preferably with some fall foliage.

I’m in my glory with a good book and a cozy nook to read in. Fortunately, we’re blessed with a plethora of beautiful locations around Lake County.

In no particular order, my ten favorite places to read outside in Lake County are:

1. Wildwood Cultural Center & Park. I love to sit on one of the benches right outside of the Tudor home and enjoy the architecture and arboreal atmosphere.
2. Squire’s Castle. The perfect place for a medieval tale.
3. Mentor Beach Park. Headlands Beach State Park is beautiful too—anywhere along the lake, really—but Mentor Beach Park in Mentor-on-the-Lake is a personal favorite because it’s quiet and cozy.
4. Holden Arboretum. There are a lot of picturesque places around the arboretum. My favorite—the lantern court gardens.
5. Veterans Park. There is more than one Veterans Park in Lake County. I’m talking about the one in Mentor, though I have a soft spot for the Painesville park too. I like to sit at the edge of the dock and dangle my feet over Granger Pond as I read.
6. Mentor Marsh/Mentor Lagoons. Two different, but adjacent nature preserves. Both are tranquil, lovely and perfect for Saturday afternoon reading.
7. Wes Point Park. In the middle of busy downtown Willoughby, you have this pretty slice of verdure. Visit when they have the farmers markets and grab something to eat between chapters.
8. Eleanor Garfield Park. I like to sit on the bridge that crosses the pond and listen to the ducks while I read.
9. James A. Garfield National Historic Site. The president was an avid reader with more than 3,000 books in his library, so it makes sense that his Lake County home is such a cozy place to read. There are cozy, secluded picnic tables sprinkled around the park, but I like the bench behind the visitor’s center.
10. Mentor Public Library’s Read House. During my lunch breaks, I enjoy going next door, sitting on Roberts Round Stage and appreciating a quiet corner of the city that’s right off Mentor Avenue.

By the way, Mentor Public Library has Little Free Libraries at parks all around town in case you forget to bring a book with you.

And if you need a reading recommendation? Well, we’re good for that too.

Where’s your favorite place to read outdoors in Lake County?