We always associate surfing with warm climates and oceans with lots of waves. Popular surfing places exist not just in Southern California and Hawaii, but surfing is also big in exotic locales as far-flung as Fiji and Tahiti. Some of the biggest waves roar off the coasts of Australia. It’s harder to connect surfing to rivers, but river surfing is a very popular sport. But what about calmer bodies of water?
Is it possible to surf on a lake? Yes, lake surfing happens on lakes that have a large enough surface area for the wind to produce waves, although there is a small window of time to catch waves. Lake waves are created by storms carried by strong winds that are near the lakes, compared to ocean surfers who surf waves produced by storms hundreds of miles away.
Lakes are freshwater, whereas oceans contain salt. This difference makes lakes less buoyant, so there’s more drag against the surfboard making paddling more difficult.
Yet there are advantages to surfing in lakes compared to the sea. The water is “sweet,” meaning the water is fresh and does not contain salt. This means it can be swallowed and not spit back up as oceans surfers do. Also, there’s no concern for dangerous, life-threatening marine life like sharks or jellyfish to contend with.
Where are The Best Places To Lake Surf?
Two areas where lake surfing is possible are Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California border and the Great Lakes which border Canada and the United States.
Surfing the “Malibu of the Midwest”
Sheboygan, a city in Wisconsin, from 1988 to 2012 hosted an event called the Dairyland Surf Classic. This was the largest organized surfing competition in the world while it was running.
Waves form, usually in the colder time of the year, when the wind gusts to 25 miles per hour from the northeast to the southwest.
Surfing on Lake Michigan in Sheboygan has become even more popular in the past decade. This is due to advancements in wetsuit and drysuit technology. These outfits keep surfers warmer and drier than they used to.
Clubs formed for lake surfing in areas near the Great Lakes, including Chicago, Toronto, parts of Michigan and Duluth, Minnesota. Lake surfing happens in all five of the Great Lakes, and waves can be surprisingly high, but they occur quickly and dissipate almost the moment after they form. Some waves have been reported to be as high as 30 feet, which falls into the big wave professional surfing competition category.
How Do Waves Form On The Great Lakes?
Waves are formed in part by the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon. Waves are part of the normal tidal flow of the oceans.
The highest lake tides that occur in the spring are only 2 inches in height. The Great Lakes, then, are classified as non-tidal.
If you’ve ever seen water slop and splashback and forth in a pool, in a cup of water or a bathtub, the phenomenon occurs on a much larger scale in the Great Lakes.
This phenomenon, called a “seiche,” is caused by strong winds and the rapid changes in atmospheric pressure that push water from one end of the lake to the other.
When the wind stops, the water comes back in full force to the opposite side, then oscillates back and forth, just like the way it occurs in a swimming pool. This oscillation can last for several hours or even a few days.
Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, is especially known for seiche activity, acting on winds blowing from the southwest to the northeast.
In 2008, seiches occurred, creating waves as high as 17 feet, causing flooding in the city of Buffalo in New York.
Seiches move large bodies of water to one side of the lake, only to rebound and move all the volume of water to the other side, and back again, like a ping pong ball during a game of table tennis. The water’s force does not diminish for hours.
What Is The Best Way To Surf In The Great Lakes?
Surfers hit the lakes in late summer through the winter, the period when powerful storms pass over the lake and cause the seiche activity to occur.
Surfers with experience surfing the lakes tell novice surfers to be especially aware of the hazards on lakes that they won’t encounter in the ocean.
Too many surfers assume that just because the waves occur on a lake that they’re not as formidable as waves in the ocean. The Great Lakes combined make up one-fifth of the freshwater on the planet. This means there is an enormous amount of water in the Great Lakes and the sheer size of the lakes can create dangerous wave activity.
Bring The Right Equipment
The weather changes rapidly on the lakes which in itself can be a hazard. Hypothermia can occur when surfers don’t bring a wetsuit or a dry suit. The neoprene in wetsuits will insulate the body against the cold water as well as the fierce winds that cross over the lakes.
The water temperature in the lakes can go down to the low 40s in the wintertime, so make sure your wetsuit is thick.
Go Lake Surfing With A Partner
Keep track of weather conditions and keep a watch for changing weather patterns. Just in case you’re out there and you’re hit by one fast-moving wave after another after the wind picks up, it’s a great idea to have a friend or your life partner close by in the event of injury due to rapidly changing weave and wind patterns. If it looks dangerous, don’t paddle out until the winds calm down.
Surf Etiquette Is A Must
More and more people each year discover how incredible it is to surf on the Great Lakes. It’s important to give room to other surfers who also want to ride.
Keep hold of your board and keep an eye out for other surfers. Keep in control of your equipment and try to stay out of the way of others.
If you surf near one of the piers in the lake, the person closest to the pier is granted the next wave.
Once you’ve caught a wave, or you’re paddling out to one, spend the least amount of time as possible on the inside of the wave. Being inside is being in the way of others. Move to the outside to stay out of the way.
Know When It’s The Best Time To Surf
Typically, the best days to surf aren’t sunny days with clear skies. It’s the days when the onshore winds come or there’s rain or snow. You’re not looking for a big open beach break but rather protection for the best riding waves.
The best places to surf are near piers, bays, points and break walls. You can find fully formed waves to ride in these places yet pay attention to the direction of the wind to know which places will have the best waves.
Waves Can Be As High As 30 Feet
If you are near the Great Lakes and you wake up one morning and hear the wind howling outside and the rain pouring down, you’ve awoken to a great day to surf!
Grab your surfboard and your full body wetsuit and head out for the Great Lakes. Remember the waves will come one after the other, and they don’t break like ocean waves. They move in fast and are usually followed by another of equal size and strength.
The waves that form in the Great Lakes don’t peak like ocean waves either. They do not form like ocean waves do, which is from the action of the sun and the moon, and the force of gravity.
Instead, lake waves come when there are wind squalls of up to 75 miles an hour. The wind squalls cause the water to seiche from one side of the lake to the other and this causes waves to form rapidly.
Related Questions
What Kind Of Wetsuit Is Best For Lake Surfing?
You want to get a cold water wetsuit for lake surfing. The wetsuit should be no less than 7 mm of neoprene rubber thickness.
You must also get booties for the feet and gloves for your hands. The water temperature in the Great lakes in winter goes below 50 degrees and is too cold to get used to after being immersed in it.
Not having the right kind of protection can cause hypothermia, a potentially life-threatening condition.
What Is The Best Kind Of Surfboard To Use For Lake Surfing?
For advanced surfers, shortboards of about 6 feet in length are recommended. Beginner lake surfers should use longboards because of the added control they offer. Longboards also have more surface area to prevent falling off.
Don’t forget to bring your surfing leash!
Which One Of The 5 Great Lakes Is Best for Surfing?
One Great Lake is not preferred over another. You can have a great time at any of the five, but Lake Erie, the 4th largest of the 5, is the most popular spot for lake surfing.