Who Needs the Ocean? You Can Go Surfin’ on Any of the Great Lakes

Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to surf; but being landlocked, it wasn’t to be. The next best thing was skateboards; or, throwing a boogie board into a swimming pool, take a flying leap and actually surf for a split second before falling into the pool.

Little did I realize I could have gone surfin’ in any of our Great Lakes (and it’s surfIN’....not surfING). The Great Lakes have approximately 10,500 miles of total coastline and is known as the country’s "Third Coast."

Can you really go surfin’ on the Great Lakes? Oh, yeah.

Get our free mobile app

I wasn’t the only surfer wannabe in Michigan – there were other Michiganders who were influenced by the surf music that came out of California during the 1960s. It was only a matter of time until the first surfers hit the Great Lakes. It took place in Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York during the 1960s, and possibly as early as the 1940s.

Known by some as inland seas, all five Great Lakes carry the capabilities to go surfin’.

In Lake Michigan, there are almost endless places to surf on Michigan shores: Charlevoix South Pier, Empire, Grand Haven, Holland, Montague, Muskegon, New Buffalo, Pere Marquette Park, Seol Choix Point, Sleeping Bear Dunes, South Haven, St. Joseph, and Whiting.

For Lake Huron, try Bay City, Forester/Sanilac, Lakeport, Lexington, Port Austin, and Port Huron.

The  best sites in Lake Superior include Beaver Bay, Grand Marais, Marquette, Stoney Point, and The Zoo.

In Lake Erie, surfers go to Luna Pier and Sterling State Park.

Lake Ontario doesn’t touch any part of Michigan, but there are numerous places for good surfin’.

The best times to go surfin’ in the Great Lakes are between mid-September and early April – that's right, during the coldest months of the year, the surf is excellent. Thanks to the Great Lakes’ almost-ocean-type characteristics, winds get strong and provide perfect surfin’ weather. There are instructions online on what you should wear if you surf during these months.

Make sure you choose a larger, thicker-than-normal surfboard, since the Great Lakes have no salt as do the oceans....lack of salt means less floatation ability.