Connected at one end to Lake Erie, Sandusky Bay is considered a large, shallow lake. Weather conditions affect it differently than Lake Erie. Winds that rile the lake may hardly ripple the bay and at other times the bay can be extremely choppy when Lake Erie is quite calm. Wind-driven seiches can cause major changes in water level. Water depths tend to be particularly low during southwesterly winds as well.

Powerboat skippers can cruise through the bascule railroad bridge and under a fixed highway bridge (43-foot vertical clearance) to the upper stretches of the bay for about 5 miles. Shallow-draft boats can continue to the far end of the bay and up the Sandusky River as far as Freemont. The trip takes most of a day but provides plenty of scenic river cruising.