Lake Michigan is in its ‘Golden Age of Surfing’

Stepping inside the Lake Effect Surf Shop, customers will note the walls lined with surfboards of every color, and a store overflowing with merch celebrating Lake Michigan’s surfing culture. This little shop on Capitol Drive is a first stop for many hoping to get involved with Milwaukee’s bustling surfing community that keeps growing every year.

“Wisconsin has a great community of surfers,” said Jake Bresste, owner of the shop. “That’s probably the best part of us living in what I call the golden age of Great Lakes surfing right now.”

While it’s hard to pin down the exact date that people began surfing Lake Michigan, some local surfers say it may have started sometime in the 1940s. However, most documentation of surfing on the lake begins in the 1960s. The shop displays a photo of a dozen surfers in Sheboygan dated from 1968. 

“There’s been a lot of people surfing here for a long time,” said Besste. “It’s just I feel like people haven’t really caught on to it now until social media, and news outlets that make you a little more aware of it. Whereas, I have friends personally that have surfed here back in the 70s and 80s.”

Milwaukee is a good place for many beginner surfers to start. While the beaches have much smaller waves, most only reaching 4 to 6 feet, the surfers here are typically very welcoming to beginners, unlike in some coastal communities. 

“In comparison with ocean surfing culture, which has localism, the Midwest is more friendly and outgoing,” said Danny Dewitt, a local surfer who offers lessons through his business, High 5 Surf. “People want to connect and meet new surfers and share waves.”

Through social media and national attention, surfing on Lake Michigan has steadily gained more popularity in recent years. On good weather days, up to 20 surfers can be seen at one beach, with popular spots being Atwater and Bradford. 

“There’s definitely been an increase, and I would say continues on that trajectory,” said Bessette. “More people are becoming aware of it. More people pick it up.”

While the surfing scene in Milwaukee is thriving, daylight savings and the cold weather can make it tough for some people to enjoy the waves. 

“If there’s waves when people can be off of work on weekends, and it’s light out, then there’ll be like, 10 to 20 people out there,” said Issac Quiones, an employee at the Lake Effect Surf Shop, “but because it’s dark at 4:30, and there’s not a lot of people that get off of work before four, it can be tough in the winter.”

Although it can be a pricey sport for beginners to get into, there are ways to lower the initial costs of getting started, such as buying second-hand gear. The Lake Effect Surf Shop, and other outdoor gear stores, offer rental boards so that people can try out surfing before committing to buying a board, which can cost between $300 and $800. 

Surfing season really picks up in Wisconsin from August through the spring and includes some of the coldest months of the year. Many worry about the chillness of Lake Michigan, which is too cold for some even in the middle of summer. However, wetsuits have been developed to help surfers stay warm in icy cold water.

“Wetsuits are warmer than you’d think,” said Dayton Simenz, a local surfer. “The technology is super cool. They allow a layer of water to get into the suit, then between that layer and the material of the suit, so your body heats up the water inside of the suit, but this water inside of the suit stays there. So, you eventually get pretty darn warm.” 

According to the local surfing community, Lake Michigan seems to be entering a “Golden Age” of surfing, as more and more people discover the great waves the lake has to offer. 

“I’m glad that I learned here, because it was a smaller scene, and I didn’t feel like I was getting in people’s way. It’s a lot more self-exploratory,” said Quiones. “It’s cold sometimes, but the people are nice.”