About Whiskey Island Marina
Whiskey Island Marina is a private 400-slip recreational marina occupying the Cuyahoga-facing western edge of the Whiskey Island peninsula. It is best known locally for its Sunset Grille restaurant and for the view — directly across the river's mouth to downtown Cleveland, with the full Terminal Tower skyline as the backdrop to every summer sunset.
History
A Recreational Toehold
The marina was developed in the 1980s on land that had previously been part of the rail-yard and ore-handling complex of Whiskey Island's industrial era. As Great Lakes shipping volumes declined through the 1970s and 1980s, the Port of Cleveland released portions of its Whiskey Island footprint for non-industrial uses — first the Cleveland Metroparks' Wendy Park in 1979, then the marina in the early 1980s.
It remains a private operation (not part of the public Metroparks marina system) and one of the larger full-service recreational marinas on the central Cleveland shoreline. Winter haul-out, fuel, and year-round events make it a busy operation regardless of season.
Today
The Sunset View
The Sunset Grille — a casual, sand-on-the-floor bar and grill at the marina's southern tip — may have the most photographed sunset view in the city, directly across the Cuyahoga's mouth with downtown framed behind. Summer weekend wait times for tables run well past 90 minutes.
The marina itself caters principally to mid-sized recreational powerboats and small sailing craft. Its proximity to the lake (out the Cuyahoga mouth and into the open water in five minutes) and the downtown skyline view give it an identity very different from the more utilitarian Edgewater Marina a mile to the west.
Nearby on the Shoreline