Put-in-Bay, a village on South Bass Island in Lake Erie , is popular with boaters - and even more popular with drinkers.

PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio — Four men in their 20s wobbled down this island's main drag on a Tuesday afternoon with red buckets on their heads. An hour earlier the buckets were full of beer. Now drained, they made convenient, if curious, headgear as the men slithered into another bar, their fourth of the afternoon.

"Huh," mused Will Fitten , 52, visiting from Columbus. "They must be doing that because it was just raining."

"No," said Teri Truss , his girlfriend of three years. "That's not why."

"Is it because they're idiots?" Fitten said.

"Yup."

Behavior of that sort runs high in this island village planted in Lake Erie : red bucket hats, boozy young people breaking off cartwheels in the park and fist-pumping sing-a-longs to yesteryear's radio hits. But, hey, sometimes you just need to walk down the street with a bucket on your head. Fitten certainly didn't mind.

"It's all just having fun," he said. "You're supposed to do that on an island vacation."

Yet 5 miles east, on Lake Erie's other major island escape, Kelleys Island , the charms are more subtle: beach lounging, hiking and biking, marveling at deep glacial grooves left in limestone and searching for an abandoned stone winery in the woods. There are just a few bars, and between them, a winery and a tiny brewery, there also is opportunity for night life. It's just a calmer night life.

Nearly 20 small islands are clustered in this scenic area of walleye-rich western Lake Erie , but at the heart of the action are South Bass (the party island, which is home to Put-in-Bay ) and Kelleys (the quieter one). They have plenty in common: virtually no chain businesses, lovely, rocky cliffs perched above Lake Erie and a year-round population in the hundreds that explodes during the gentle Midwestern summer. But they also present uniquely different destinations, barely recognizable as the geographical brothers they are.

"They're more like stepbrothers, maybe," said Kathy Kennedy , 42, of Gurnee, Ill. , who is living temporarily in the Netherlands . She is a veteran of both islands who stayed a recent weekend on Kelleys with her husband and two children. She spent a chunk of her 20s on South Bass but now favors Kelleys. "As a mother, if I went back to Put-in-Bay , I'd have to make sure my children were off the island by a certain time."

— South Bass Island

To many visitors, South Bass Island is about two things: golf carts and partying. The golf carts are everywhere. They swarm the downtown like flies. People rent them to traverse the island's 4-mile length and mile-and-a-quarter width. Cops have golf carts that flash red and blue, and pizza places use golf carts to deliver their pies. A dozen places rent them, usually for $50 a day.

But partying seems to be the real draw, and visitors are so aggressively "on vacation" and "having fun" that what's left is a mind-blowing amalgam of Key West meets Las Vegas meets ... Cleveland . The place is long on college kids and also popular with people for whom college was decades ago but who are ready to relive the highlights.

No wonder, then, that the oldest business on the island is the Roundhouse, a bar built in 1873. Or that one of the largest businesses on the island — with a capacity of more than 2,000 — is the Beer Barrel Saloon, a bar so cavernously impersonal that it would make Vegas jealous. The Beer Barrel also boasts the Guinness World Records-sanctioned longest bar in the world, accomplished not in a straight line but by being shaped sort of like a hand. It's impossible to overstate how at home the gimmick is on the island.

Most bars also feature live music, and the performers give the masses just what they want — entertaining them and drinking with them. At the Beer Barrel one weekday afternoon, pianist Kenny Kidd sipped from a tall can of Bud Light between rollicking cover songs and said, "I get to drinkin' too many of these I can't say musician, I say magician. When I say magician, I can make it float."

Then he held the beer can in his palm, leaned back on his bench, and, back parallel to the floor, poured the remainder of the can into his mouth. He launched into "Blueberry Hill," pausing at the points where he knew the audience, middle-agers in polo and Hawaiian shirts, could belt out the lyrics. Hair dangerously close to a mullet, Kidd handled the rest, and quite well, tickling those ivories like a pro.

That's one secret to the success of this place: It's all expertly run. About five families have had a hand in turning the island into what it is, from the bars and restaurants to the ferry lines to the contrived holidays that are this island's lifeblood: Mardi Gras weekend in May, Jimmy Buffett weekend in June and the biggest of the big, the sloppiest of the sloppy and the schlockiest of the schlocky, Christmas in July.

Not that the rest of tourist season — Memorial Day to Labor Day — is lacking. Look no further than the Put-in-Bay Gazette's July front-page headline: "It's Always a Good Time at Put-in-Bay ." Indeed, you could browse the fine selection of Put-in-Bay T-shirts (my favorite: " My Mom Is Hotter Than Your Mom," and no, it wasn't for a baby). Or you could look for, um, affection, another Put-in-Bay staple.

"The girls are awesome — the quantity," said Matt Brown , 28, a plumber from Pittsburgh . The girls are so awesome that many South Bass B&Bs host only couples because singles have had a habit of returning to their rooms with, shall we say, unregistered guests.

To be sure, there are family-friendly opportunities: miniature golf or the 352-foot Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, opened in 1915 to honor the American-British Battle of Lake Erie (we won!). The memorial's outdoor observation deck, at 317 feet, is one of the highest in the country but unfortunately is scheduled to close for an estimated two-year remodeling Oct. 1 .

Better still you could just behave like a local, avoid downtown on the weekends and wade into the island's loveliness: thick woods in parts (though not as thick as Kelleys'), rock cliffs dropping into the lake, and small public beaches at the ends of side streets.

"A lot of the visitors don't see this," said Terri Barnes , 49, up to her waist in Lake Erie on the island's western shore (the opposite side from the bars) while her husband snorkeled above an old shipwreck. The couple have spent summers on the island for 16 years. "A lot of people look at this place as just a party area and a good time, but you can just relax and have a good time without being involved in all that."

— Kelleys Island

While you need to make an effort to flee the party on South Bass, on Kelleys you need to make an effort to find it. Here it feels more as if you're joining something — a community, a mind-set, an intersection of life and character that already was and will continue to be after you leave. South Bass is largely transients, a bunch of Ohio mainlanders who weren't there Wednesday and won't be there Monday.

Just after arriving on Kelleys, I got lost trying to find my B&B and came across a woman hanging laundry who offered instructions, then said with homespun warmth, "Welcome to the island." I realized that not only had I not heard those words at Put-in-Bay , I hadn't heard that tone. Not that people weren't friendly at Put-in-Bay . But everything was about business.

That night on Kelleys, at The Casino, a waterfront bar that is one of the island's most popular drinking spots, I ran into the laundry-hanging woman as she sipped a hulking Bloody Maria — a Bloody Mary with tequila instead of vodka. Tonya Purcell , 59, has run a cleaning service on Kelleys for 11 years but also worked two of those years at a Put-in-Bay coffee shop. By ferry, the islands are 20 minutes apart.

"I hated it on Put-in-Bay ," she said. "I thought the people were rude. But on this island those same people would be nice. I never figured it out. It's just that this is laid back and Put-in-Bay is hyped up."

Much of that might be attributable to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources , which owns or manages nearly a quarter of 2,800-acre Kelleys but just 2 percent of 1,600-acre South Bass. Undisturbed land is something of a Kelleys hallmark: Kelleys Island State Park at the north end of the island offers about 5 miles of easy, pretty hiking. What locals call the fire trails, in the middle of the island, loop around a water-filled former quarry so jagged that it looks more like the West than the Midwest. And the Scheele Preserve on the northeast side of the island has 24 acres of trees and grassland.

To be sure, there also was a party going on — Bag the Moon is known for its $2 shots of strawberry liqueur in a hollowed-out strawberry and topped with whipped cream (yum), and The Village Pump is beloved for its icy brandy Alexander (eh). For higher-quality booze, there also is the Kelley's Island Wine Co. and the Kelleys Island Brewery , the latter of which offers decent beer and an outdoor patio beside the bobbing lake.

—Your pick

Though the islands are similar in some respects and different in arguably many more, most people seem to identify with one or the other. Either you love South Bass because there are many more bars and restaurants, shopping and live bands, or you prefer Kelleys because it has less of all that and more nature in which to stretch your legs. You can't help feeling more at home at one or the other, depending on your interests.

"Kelleys people always refer to Put-in-Bay as 'the other island,' and they call us 'the other island,' " said Mark Volz , 57, who owns the Eagle's Nest Bed and Breakfast on Kelleys. "We're pretty different, I guess. Not to speak negatively of Put-in-Bay , but they attract the party people."

He paused.

"Then again, we do too. We party hard. But they party harder."

———

IF YOU GO:

WHEN TO VISIT: South Bass and Kelleys Islands are busiest at the height of summer. Locals say the best time to be there is pre- Memorial Day May and post- Labor Day September and October. The weather is favorable, and restaurants and bars are open.

GETTING THERE: Private boats and small planes travel regularly to the islands, but the most common route is by ferry from the mainland. All operate first come, first served, but different lines originate from different ports.

South Bass: With a car, the only option is Miller Boat Line (millerferry.com; 800-500-2421), which departs Port Clinton on the mainland. Jet Express (jet-express.com; 800-245-1538) departs Port Clinton and Sandusky but doesn't take cars.

Kelleys: With a car, the only option is Kelleys Island Ferry (www.kelleysislandferry.com; 419-798-9763), which departs Marblehead on the mainland. Jet Express also comes here, departing Port Clinton and Sandusky on the mainland. The only option between Kelleys and South Bass is Jet Express. To take your car from one island to the other, you must return to the mainland.

STAY:

South Bass: The hotels can be meat markets, but BayShore Resort ( 328 Toledo Ave. ; 866-422-9746; bayshoreresortpib.com) is clean, and its rooms overlook the lake. B&Bs are generally the best bet but often accommodate only couples. Bodee's Bungalow ( 385 Dollar Ave.; 419-967-0837; bodeesbungalow.com) is modern and immaculate; ask for a room overlooking the woods. The folks at Ashley's Island House ( 557 Catawba Ave. ; 419-285-2844; ashleysislandhouse.com) are endlessly kind and helpful, and their best deal is for two couples or a large family: the suite of two queen rooms and a private bath. The Anchor Inn (anchorinn.info; 419-285-5055) is lovely and another great bet.

Kelleys: There is a lot to like about the Fly Inn ( 103 Edgewood Lane ; 419-746-2525; kiflyinn.com). It is bright, airy and home to the island's only nail salon. Plus, the hostess makes a wonderful breakfast, and there's a pool out back. Eagles Nest Bed and Breakfast ( 216 Cameron Rd. ; 419-746-2708; eaglesnestbnb.com) is clean and cozy, plus it's near the lake. If history is your thing, check out Cameron House ( 441 W. Lakeshore Drive ; 517 Division St.; 419-746-2520), where the owners have preserved the building's 19th Century character. Venture Resort ( 441 W. Lakeshore Drive ; kiventureresort.com; 419-746-2900) is a new, large, clean hotel that faces the lake.

EAT:

South Bass: Nearly every menu on the islands offers fried perch and walleye. Most of it is fine, but it's also easy to dread after a while. Just when I thought I couldn't eat another piece of whitefish, the fried perch tacos at Goat Soup and Whiskey ( 820 Catawba Ave. ; 419-285-4628) saved the day: crunchy, savory and tangy. Most things on the menu are homemade. Skyway ( 1324 Langram Rd. ; 419-285-4331) is quality bar food away from the downtown madness and where locals eat. Axel and Harry's ( 227 Bayview Ave. ; 419-285-2572; axelandharrys.com) is finer dining — no fried perch here — and affords handsome waterfront views, but it's expensive. Go for lunch, when prices are half what they are at night. Tipper's (corner of Catawba and Delaware Avenues ; 419-285-8477; beerbarrelpib.com/tippers) offers an impressive daily special for meat eaters. My 8-ounce New York strip, with mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans, was surprisingly good, especially for the price — $8.95 , plus tax.

Kelleys: The best meal I had on the islands was at Island House (131 Division St.; 419-746-2800). Another fine-dining spot that goes beyond typical island fare — for me, it was scallops with baby spinach and Gouda scalloped potatoes. Entrees are in the $30 range but far more satisfying than fried perch. Kelley's Island Wine Co. ( 418 Woodford Rd. ; 419-746-2678; kelleysislandwine.com) makes decent wine and an OK pizza. (It is far better than the winery on South Bass Island , Heineman's.) Dockers ( 114 W. Lakeshore Drive ; 419-746-2100) offers one of the better breakfasts on the island. The best beer on the island is just west of downtown, at Kelleys Island Brewery ( 504 W. Lakeshore Drive ; 419-746-2314; kelleysislandbrewpub.com).

MORE INFORMATION:

South Bass: visitputinbay.com

Kelleys: kelleysislandchamber.com

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services