Stony Point Beach
Duluth, MN
Stony Point is a rocky point of land on the North Shore Scenic Drive between Duluth and Two Harbors, reached by a short loop road. It's known as the premier surf spot on the Great Lakes, an exposed reef break about 10 miles up the shore from Duluth where wetsuit-clad surfers ride storm waves, sometimes with ice frozen into their beards. The rest of the time it's a quiet place to sit on the rocks.
The Great Lakes' most famous surf break and a great storm-watching spot, though it's all rock and no sand.
How we score beachesCome on a stormy fall day with a northeast wind to watch Lake Superior surfers in action.
Pull-offs along the Stony Point loop road.
A short walk from the road to the rocky shore.
Summer is usually flat. The real surf comes with fall and winter storms, when strong northeast winds push big swells onto the reef.
More Great Lakes beaches

Sleeping Bear Dunes Beach
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Freshwater Lake Michigan surf below towering sand dunes, some over 400 feet tall, with water clear enough to rival a coastline and a hike back up the dune to burn it off.
New Buffalo City Beach
New Buffalo, MI · Great Lakes
New Buffalo City Beach is the first real Lake Michigan beach you hit crossing from Indiana, a wide stretch of sand at the end of Whittaker Street beside the harbor and the Galien River channel. Chicago weekenders fill it in summer. The town's shops and restaurants are a five minute walk back up the street.
Warren Dunes State Park
Sawyer, MI · Great Lakes
Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer has roughly three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and some of the tallest dunes in southwest Michigan. Tower Hill rises about 260 feet above the lake, and climbing it and running back down is a rite of passage. On a hot July Saturday the beach feels like a small city.
