There’s more of a relaxed atmosphere in Portage Lakes, a neighborhood surrounding a chain of lakes about 7 miles south of downtown Akron. “The thing about Portage Lakes is that nobody cares who’s rich,” says John Scaglione, a Realtor at Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realty, who has lived there since 1997. “The guy who owns a lakefront house here is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and he has a beat-up pickup truck in the driveway. The neighborhood is based on hard-working people who care.” That’s evident in the number of charity events in which the community participates. Portage Lakes State Park is the site for the annual Portage Lakes Polar Bear Jump in February, which all proceeds go to the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank. In July, Dragons on the Lake is a Dragon Boat Festival that raises money for an area organization that consists of breast cancer survivors who competitively race those types of boats. “We have breast cancer survivors speak, and people go out and race against each other, and we have no idea what we’re doing. It’s just fun,” says Sarah Urbano, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realty.
Portage Lakes is a cluster of lakes joined together by community.
Boaters can relax and watch the sunset over Portage Lakes for a tranquil evening.
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Portage Lakes restaurant raises money after a tragedy
One restaurant with plenty of dock parking and a large patio conducive to waterfront dining is Upper Deck Bar & Grill. In November 2024, a few weeks after a Portage Lakes family lost two high school students in a house fire, the restaurant held a benefit dinner for three hours on a Sunday afternoon, with all the proceeds going to the family. “We raised $5,700 in that time frame,” says Jack Primack, who works at Upper Deck. There’s an indoor and outdoor stage for live music, and it’s a gathering place for Ohio State football games on Saturdays and Cleveland Browns games on Sundays during football season. Lala’s In The Lakes is a more upscale restaurant that still emphasizes casual dining. Steak, seafood and pasta are some of the favorites. There’s live music on the first Thursday of every month. Grocery store options include Save A Lot, Buehler’s Fresh Foods and Acme Fresh Market.
Upper Deck in the Portage Lakes is a popular destination to see life on the lake.
From date night to family dinner, Lala's In The Lakes makes every night special.
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Speakeasy origins in Portage Lakes
The original houses in the Portage Lakes neighborhoods were small cottages by the lakes. While some of those original houses are still around, many people have either torn down the old house and rebuilt it or added to the original. “When I bought my house, it was 600 square feet, and I added 3,000 square feet,” Scaglione says. “I bought it for $170,000 in 1997 - today, the lot without the house would be worth $700,000.” Many of the cottages date back to the 1920s, around Prohibition. “This was a big speakeasy area,” he adds. “Every once in a while, I’ll notice a still in a basement.” Homes with a view of the lake range from $440,000 to over $1 million. The lakes in the neighborhood are part of a dam system, so severe flooding is rare. The exception is the homes near Long Lake Channel in the north of the neighborhood, which are not on the dam system and are susceptible to severe flooding during heavy rains. Homes away from the water are priced between $100,000 and $360,000. Popular styles are multiple-story contemporary lake houses on the water, modest bungalows and ranch-style designs elsewhere. Most people are full-time residents, though some spend winter in a warmer climate.
Beautiful, well-maintained homes line the Portage Lakes for boaters to enjoy.
There are many types of homes throughout Portage Lakes.
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Parks and Portage Lakes State Park
It’s a short drive south to reach Portage Lakes State Park, which has a public beach on the shore of Turkeyfoot Lake. It’s the site for the July Dragon Boat race and the winter Polar Bear event. The park also has a disc golf course, a dog park and plenty of boating and fishing opportunities. It’s been a few years, but ice fishing and snowmobiling occur on the lake when the ice is thick enough. With the neighborhood surrounded by lakes, there are several opportunities for fishing and sites for boat launching. For those who prefer the occasional water hazard on an 18-hole course rather than frolicking in or near the water, there are a couple of opportunities to do that. Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links has been around for almost 100 years and is a public course. Firestone Country Club is a private members-only facility with three 18-hole courses. Until 2018, the PGA held the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at this course, which Tiger Woods won eight times. It’s the current host course for the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, a stop on the PGA Champions circuit, a men’s senior golf tour.
Swimmers enjoy taking a dip at Portage Lakes State Park.
Locals head over to Firestone Country Club for a round of golf in Portage Lakes.
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Coventry school chain
The Coventry Local School District is where public school students who live in Portage Lakes attend. Coventry Elementary School is rated a B and teaches kids through fourth grade. Fifth graders advance to Coventry Middle School, rated a B-minus. Coventry High School is rated a C-plus and has a 15-to-1 student-teacher ratio. The school has been in its current location for 10 years, and the old location was at the present Coventry Elementary School building. St. Francis de Sales is a private Catholic school that teaches prekindergarten through eighth grade. It does not have a rating on Niche or GreatSchools.org.
Coventry Elementary School is where young minds start to achieve greatness.
Coventry Middle School is building foundations to success in Portage Lakes.
Coventry High School offers several types of after school programs in Portage Lakes.
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Akron METRO Bus
Many of the streets in the neighborhood are narrow, and there are no sidewalks. The public bus option is the Akron METRO system, which has stops on Manchester Road in the northern part of the neighborhood. Interstate 77 is about 5 miles to the east, and it’s a 9-mile trip to the Goodyear Tire Headquarters, one of the largest employers in Akron. The Akron-Canton Airport is 13 miles to the south, and four airlines serve it. Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport is a little more than 40 miles north.
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GreatSchools:
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