Is swimming in the Great Lakes better than swimming in the ocean?

I was very fond of the Michigan coast, when a Chicagoan friend took me there as a weekend getaway. Sand dunes, nearby wineries. It was pretty cool.

Yes the fresh water sharks are a menace, Rose.

Oval Beach: soft white sand, few rocks, no jellyfish or sharks, big luscious waves, nothing but fresh water between you and Milwaukee. So, yes.

Well, you may encounter a sea lamprey in the Great Lakes, OP ...

Ring me up, OP.

I'll show you the best hard-to-fine spots.

Lake Superior is beautiful but is too cold to swim in (even during the hottest part of summer).

OP, your post is like a poem. Not a good poem, but a poem nonetheless.

Yes, OP, but please don't tell anybody.

OP. Go to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Gorgeous. And then go to Ludington, or Traverse City, or Petosky. YOu will not be sorry. Lake Michigan is gorgeous, all the Great Lakes are Fresh water.

Like the tourist T-shirts say: Unsalted and shark free!

Apparently Lake Michigan is the 'deadliest' Great Lake

Lak Superior is too cold--it's deep like an ocean. Southern Lake Michigan is really not clean enough to swim. Western Lake Erie has algae blooms in summer.

Lake Michigan is fine. It's FINE!

Never been to any but I thought they were dumping from grounds from the past and not ideal...

R15 and R14: Idiots of different sorts. The southern part of Lake Michigan is horrible for swimming--I used live in Chicago. Lake Erie is better than it used to be but has problems at the Toledo end--I grew-up in Cleveland, went to school in NW Ohio and keep up with things because I'm often back. There are 5 great lakes and what's around them and feeds them can change from one place to place.

How cold is the water in summer?

My parents would take us to the Yooperville area during the summer when we were kids. My father grew up there, and his mother was still in Ironwood, Michigan. We'd always go to Lake Superior a couple of times. But even in the summer it still seemed cold. We were used to the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica Bay.

I used to have a little collection of Petoskey stones from a visit to Traverse City in high school. I wonder what happened to them? That area is very pretty -- enjoy the cherries in the summer! (And, yes, the swimming there is fine.)

Are there any nude beaches on the Great Lakes? Surely Lake Michigan must have one or two.

The best place to swim in the Great Lakes is on the Michigan side of Lake Michigan - at the very southern end

Beautiful sand beaches, but don’t swim until August - otherwise the water will be too cold.

R20 - thanks for showing up, Whore

Those sea lampreys look like a trick I had once….he was uncut and had a dick that he’d both pierced and also tattooed…..(shudders)

R22 Prissssssssssss…….

Stay out of the lake when you have any open cuts on your skin, which make a person more susceptible to infection by flesh-eating bacteria. I out of 3 people infected die. People with cancer, diabetes, and some other conditions are also at higher risk of dying if infected by these bacteria.

Also, best to avoid swimming in lakes 24 to 48 hours after heavy rains, as there will be more run-off of pollutants from land and sewers.

Many communities/states will have online info on current condition of lakes and if there is a big concern, release info in media to warn residents. Research before you swim.

Oh, and another thing I remember from my post at R18 ... Is that there were often these swarms of flies that would bite. .. You can read about them at the attached article, which refers to them as "killer flies."

I didn't have much of a problem with them, but for some reason they loved my sister. .. We were out on the lake on a motorboat one time, and they were so bad that she was about to jump in the water.. lol. .. My father had to turn the boat around and head back to shore. It wasn't much better there, so we left that day. By the time we got back to grandma's house, my sister had these these huge welts on her arms and legs. Not fun at all.

AND - I forgot to actually answer OP’s original question -

For the most part, swimming in the Great Lakes is not better than swimming in the ocean. The lack of sharks (a big plus) is offset by the freezing temperatures.

[quote]Are there any nude beaches on the Great Lakes? Surely Lake Michigan must have one or two.

There used to be a nude beach adjacent to Saugatuck's Oval Beach but it's been gone for a long while now. It used to be very popular with the gays, though.

Average water temp in Saugatuck is 61˚F in June, 70.3˚F in July, 71.8˚F in August and 67.8˚F in September. It can change overnight from 80˚ to 60˚.

Grew up on the Atlantic coast; went to Northwestern for college -- Great Lakes swimming is nothing like ocean swimming, much less fun.

R30: Yeah, you don't have to worry as much about riptides. It's warmer than swimming in the Atlantic off Cape Cod---that took some getting used to.

You can scoff at OP all you want but Bull Sharks are regularly encountered in the Mississippi surprisingly far north, and the Bull Shark is one of the few species that can thrive in fresh water.

There are occasional sightings of Bulls in the Great Lakes and they’re usually thought to be hoaxes or cases of mistaken identity, but it is absolutely NOT outside the realm of possibility that they could get that far north. That said there haven’t been any confirmed sightings yet.

That’s likely to change over the next 20 years or so as the climate warms up. Safe to say Bulls will start migrating into the lakes. Oh, and the Bull Shark is THE most likely to attack humans.

Go swimming in your bathtub

Tsunamis naturally occur there. Oy!

Killer flies, flesh eating bacteria, algae blooms, and sea lampeys--sounds delightful!

I've been to Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. It has a nice beach on Lake Erie. I enjoyed it.

^ Smells better than my pussy!

OP, Lake Superior is beautiful and the UP of Michigan is fun to visit is you like somewhat remote areas. As others have said, Superior is really cold for swimming. The beaches - at least ones I saw - were made of small, often very beautiful pebbles, naturally polished by the lake. I brought some back and keep them in a bowl just for decoration.

I also had the most delicious fish I've ever eaten while I was in Sault Ste Marie: lake whitefish. It's in the salmon family, but the flesh is (duh) white and milder in flavor than salmon. The closest ocean fish I can think of is codfish. I don't normally like fish, but this was so delicious, especially fried, that I had it every night I was there. I guess it's available throughout the upper Great Lakes, but others here can confirm.

Geneva On he Lake (Ohio).

*the

This must be a jest, with swamps so accessible.

Presque Isle is nice, and one of the beaches there is a gay beach. Or used to be.

THe areas around Grand Traverse Bay Petosky, Harbor Springs, and Charlevoix is gorgeous. And the Lake is pristine, not filthy or filled with garbage. Stop with this bullshit. Go online a check it out...please don't just take what you read here as gospel. Northern Michigan also has lots of beautiful clean inland lakes.

My favorite "beach party" movie is the one filmed at Lake Superior, "Beach Blanket Aurora Borealis."

Annette plays an Ojibway maiden who loves to frug, and Frankie plays a far-out Mountie.

I’m an open water swimmer. I swim in Lake Michigan from April thru October. It’s heaven! No scary things in the water. Too cold for most people until mid June.

Love the ocean, too, but scared of sea monsters.

Geneva-on-the-Lake is a small resort that has seen better days. The Hells Angel's drove out the families for awhile in the 70s. Port Clinton and the Lake Erie Islands are nicer.

Greetings from the Coast! You Midwesterners and your little lakes are so cute. 😉

[quote] Geneva-on-the-Lake is a small resort that has seen better days.

Yeah, it's all fading and very Trumpy now. The famed burger place there was truly fucking inedible.

Put-In-Bay is a nice little spot if you (horror) find yourself in Ohio.

Lake Ontario is great. Toronto has nice beaches and a clothing optional gay beach that you take a ferry to. Prince Edward County has astonishing beaches with huge dunes, camping and cottage rentals.

R32 you got that right! Also, alien lake dragons are occasionally sighted in the Great Lakes and they’re usually thought to be hoaxes or cases of mistaken identity, but it is absolutely NOT outside the realm of possibility that they could inhabit the Great Lakes.. That said there haven’t been any confirmed sightings yet. But caution is advised if swimming this summer in the Great Lakes. Warnings about Burmese pythons and piranha should also be taken seriously. Best not to swim in these lakes, no doubt filled with man-eaters.

R4 Oval Beach is beautiful and some great houses in that area. I lived in Chicago and loved going to Saugatuck and Douglas with friends in the summer. That part of Michigan is definitely worth visiting and further north too.

No, it is not.

Coming from the ocean it's weird. No tides is strange. It doesn't smell good like the ocean. No salt so it doesn't hold you the same way. You can't get it in your mouth or your eyes.

In the spring they rake all the dead fish together into piles and set them on fire. It's surreal.

Yes, the Toledo end has terrible problems with algae due to chemical runoff. Anything near Chicago/NW Indiana probably has way too much industrial discharge left in it from over the years.......they open a bit of the lakefront in Lincoln Park and at the gay beaches farther north but you're definitely (a) not wading in too deep and (b) not alone.....it's as crowded as any seaside resort in the summer.

What's the beach in Chicago that's fitted out with actual palm trees during the season?

Oak street beach, R57

I grew up swimming in lakes in New England. Along with the Atlantic Ocean, of course. We never feared fresh water for diseases. Has something changed? Or are the Great Lakes unique toxic dumps?

They have palms at Oak Street beach? Hah, lived there for years but never knew that.

The beach was on the list of places, like Navy Pier, that are just clogged with people.....no thank you.

I’m sorry that you’re triggered by facts, r52, but you need to work on your sarcasm.

And yet those sharks are NOT in the Great Lakes, which is what OP asked about. MARY!

[quote]We never feared fresh water for diseases. Has something changed? Or are the Great Lakes unique toxic dumps?

I've never known anyone to get sick from swimming in Lake Michigan or Lake Superior. I have no experience with Erie, Ontario or Huron.

Hunny Lakes Michigan, Ontario, and Superior were just about the only decent lakes out there. I think one of them, maybe Lake Erie, actually caught fire from pollution. People in the Midwest considered Lake Huron the "blue collar" lake because so many factory families rented cottages along it's shores. It wasn't too bad.

R65 it wasn't the lake but the Cuyahoga river in Cleveland that caught fire.

However, that river does empty into the lake so sorta yes, technically.

[quote] And yet those sharks are NOT in the Great Lakes, which is what OP asked about. MARY!

And yet I didn’t say they were, MURRAY! I said there were *unconfirmed* reports they were, that they’ve gotten quite close (confirmed), and that with global warming, they’re predicted to start reaching the lakes within 20 years or so.

I’m not telling you. Better stick to the ocean.

The water is super cold, not really fun for swimming. But it is beautiful!

To add, we went up there for a summer a couple years ago; I never went swimming once, it was just too cold. But the water is clear and pristine.

The shallowest end of Lake Erie gets rather warm in the summer.

If it hasn't been said, Duluth, MN and the North Shore of MN on Lake Superior (north of Duluth) is really beautiful. And, yeah, Lake Superior is just too cold to swim in, even during the peak of summer. I'm sure it's done by a few people, but it's not the norm.

So for the now (and from millions of years ago until now) OP and everyone else should not be scared of sharks in the Great Lakes. Which is what he asked about, MARY!

Please, repeat yourself over and over again, o tedious cuntzilla.

I for one welcome our cartilaginous overlords.

Stop with this Great Lakes bullshit! They lie on the beach in the sun, they get drunk on beer, and fart a lot, and they eat hot dogs. The kids build sand castles and fill buckets but just putting your toe in the water you freeze. It is glacial. YOu actually will freeze your limbs so that they will fall off. There's always EMS trucks near by.

R65: You are so stupid---do you ever look stuff up before you post it. That was the Cuyahoga River (which is one of many rivers that feed into Lake Erie) that burned and that was 50 years ago. People can now fish in the Cuyahoga and regularly see kayakers on it when I'm back in Cleveland. There are plenty of rivers entering the Atlantic that are quite foul. the Potomac, for example.

No mention of how warm the Pacific isn't--surfing yes, swimming--well, it's like swimming around Cape Cod. The southern Great lakes are about the same temp as Rehoboth by the end of summer.

R76 is right: People do the same stuff at the beach whether they're in Michigan on a Great Lake or in Florida, you just have more risk of shark attack in Florida.

R77 is beyond so stupit,

I've swum many times in Lake Michigan in July and August (as far north as Glen Haven) and never found it freezing cold. Cool and refreshing, yes.

[quote] If it hasn't been said, Duluth, MN and the North Shore of MN on Lake Superior (north of Duluth) is really beautiful.

I had no idea that a Great Lake could be as tumultuous, or even more so, than the ocean.

The power of the weather is just incredible!

Look at how powerful these waves are on Lake Superior...

If I didn't know any better, I would think that this was the open ocean in the Pacific or Atlantic, and not a lake in the middle of a continent.

Surfing the Great Lakes.

Who knew?

"Grew up on the Atlantic coast; went to Northwestern for college -- Great Lakes swimming is nothing like ocean swimming, much less fun."

R30, didn't Northwestern have a private beach on Lake Michigan? There were Evanston beaches not far south of campus, and there was the NW sailing boathouse with a small strip of sand not far from Medill and the theater building (if I'm remembering correctly). But there also a beach north of the student athletic complex on north campus. Not sure if that was NW's or belonged to Evanston. It may not even be there anymore because NW really expanded the sports facilities on north campus and they hug the lake.

Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world.

It's unimaginably HUGE.

At over 31,000 square miles, it's actually larger than 10 U.S. states!

How did Michigan managed to get lake fronts on four lakes. It's a very odd state border drawn specifically so Michigan can border 4 of them. Was Michigan very powerful?

Michigan's lower peninsula naturally borders three of the Great Lakes, R86.

So it's not about the state having any kind of special pull when the borders were formed.

The only special part of Michigan is the Upper Peninsula, which borders Lake Superior. Otherwise, Michigan wouldn't have a border on four of the five lakes.

And truthfully, the UP should be part of Wisconsin, and not Michigan.

Not sure how that happened.

R84 - Yes. Most of the Lakefill Campus has giant square boulders along the shoreline but up north there was a beach.

I was there in the early 80s before that student athletic center was built (and I believe now is gone) - that whole upper lakefill was mostly just flat open space back then, save for the observatory, which has also been demolished. .

R88, "SPAC" - the student athletic complex when I was there from 92-96 is still there, but reconfigured. They added on to it and in addition to the pool and student fitness and recreational reas, there's an indoor tennis center and the crown jewel - the indoor football practice facility (with lake-facing full-wall windows with a view of the Chicago skyline) where they can also host lacrosse (definitely) and soccer (I think, but am not sure) indoors if the weather is bad.

Do you like rainbows caused by oil on the water?

Do you love dead carp under foot on the beech and slapping you in the head once you’re out in the water?

Do you like high winds that blow sand up your ass cheeks?

Do you enjoy hopscotching over vomit, lube, and used condoms at the dunes?

If you answered, “yes”, You’ll love Lake Michigan!

Lol R90!

Do you work for the Michigan Tourism Bureau?

PURE MICHIGAN!

Dead alewives were common on the Michigan side of Lake Michigan decades ago but I haven't seen one in many, many years.

R29 ‘s water temps are exactly the same as San Diego water temps in late summer.

R94: One of tegh many things about Southern California that disappointed on my early visits was the Pacific. Pretty to look at, but no one seemed to be in it outside of surf zones and the warmest months.

R90, I'm not sure what K-hole you're in imagining all that stuff, but it's not the Great Lakes. If you're jumping over lube and condoms, perhaps you're referring to The Dunes Resort in Saugatuck. Queens from all over the tri-state area (and beyond) love to frolic there.

R96, either R90 is referring to The Dunes (which is not on the lake and has no beach or waterfront) or to the dunes at Oval Beach, which as someone posted upthread hasn't been a sex spot for years now (yes, I've checked!). In any case I've never encountered any of the woes he lists anywhere on Lake Michigan.

r35, don't forget leeches !

If the water is cold, you can just wear a wet suit.

That's what the surfers were doing.

The Great Lakes don't hold a candle to the power and majesty of the ocean.

R49 That's interesting. How is it "Trumpy," just curious.

R100: The roar of Lake Superior or the many storms on Lake Erie (it's the most shallow and the most volatile) are way more interesting than the dull Pacific.

Those grand fresh-water seas of ours—Erie, and Ontario, and Huron, and Superior, and Michigan—possess an ocean-like expansiveness, with many of the ocean's noblest traits; with many of its rimmed varieties of races and of climes.

R103 I don't think people can truly grasp just how large Lake Superior really is.

Put in context, it's larger than the entire country of Austria.

It's truly an inland ocean.

The Great Lakes: version Datalounge. Flesh-eating Vibrio vulnificus, sharks, AIDS contaminated discarded rubbers.

[quote] Also, best to avoid swimming in lakes 24 to 48 hours after heavy rains, as there will be more run-off of pollutants from land and sewers.

Also true of the ocean unless you want an ear infection.

R102 And Cleveland is magical.

[quote] The roar of Lake Superior ... are way more interesting than the dull Pacific

Just watching this video makes me cold.

Huge waves and lots of ice.

It looks like the Arctic.

This thread is not complete without photos of iced-over lighthouses.

Can you swim in Lake Ontario? Is it still polluted?

Only on DL would we encounter an Ocean v. Great Lakes bitchy queen argument.

I swim in my bathtub

I love Mackinac Island

It is. And I won’t tell you where. There is a quasi nude beach in Illinois, at least there was a decade ago.

[quote] And Cleveland is magical.

If serious, R107 is extremely deluded or has extremely low standards.

Cleveland: We lower your standards, or exceed them greatly.

Parts of Lake Ontario are safe to swim in; other parts sometimes have restrictions like "Keep your head above water."

[quote] Parts of Lake Ontario are safe to swim in; other parts sometimes have restrictions like "Keep your head above water."

Why is that, R117?

And how can a lake that large get so polluted?

It's really ocean and coasts vs. lakes and murica.

R104 There's truly no such thing as an "inland ocean".

I live on the ocean, R120.

Trust me, it resembles an ocean.

R121 People who have lived in both places can tell the difference. You seem to be confused about something very, very basic.

It's hard to imagine that all of this power comes from just the wind on the lakes.

Have you been to the coast?

Lighthouse and sand dunes, Lake Michigan. Looks very much like an ocean view.

[quote] I'm fascinated by lakes, because I've never swam in one.

Oh, dear.

The past participle of swim is ‘swum.’

Maybe he should be kept after school.

R126 Greg02116, Swum seems...dirty...It's not euphonious.....

R125 If you wanna go to a lake in the Midwest and pretend you're at the ocean, you go right ahead. I don't blame you.

Nobody at the ocean is thinking "oh, this is so nice, it's almost Michigan".

It's unusual to find a brick lighthouse on the ocean, and never built on sand that close to the water. It simply wouldn't last.

You can see that the lake has no tides at all and that it is not an ocean ecosystem. Salt would change all the vegetation.

It looks nothing like a seashore.

R129, why do you hate the Great Lakes so much?

Enough New Yorkers like Lake Michigan enough for Delta to offer non stop flights out of LGA in the summer for $928 r/r

My grandpa was a lighthouse keeper on the Great Lakes. He had some thrilling and some dark stories. When coasties from ocean posts came to train with him they thought it would be a cakewalk and the lakes usually put the fear if God into them for at least one day of their visits

Can't we respect both the oceans and the Great Lakes on their own merits?

R132 Do I fly into Detroit? Will I get to see Kalamazoo? How can I avoid the great hordes elbowing their way onto that Marvelous Mitten.

R134 new here? DL's lowbrow vibe runs on binaries, good and bad, black and white.

R135. Nonstop. Connecting at DTW costs more

Somehow forgot to add those are nonstops to Traverse City from LGA that money.

What does the water in the Great Lakes taste like, when you go swimming?

I know you don't drink it, but surely you get some in your mouth.

Does it taste like tap water? Or worse?

Ocean water is salty, so all you taste is salt.

So when there's no salt in the lake water, does it just taste like regular water? Or pollution? Or sewage?

R139, did you never go swimming in a lake? I grew up in a town right on Long Island Sound, but we had public beaches on lakes as well as salt water—the two aren't mutually exclusive.

R39- EVERYTHING tastes good 👍 fried - even snickers bars.

R39 Lake whitefish doesn't really taste like anything at all.

I have a family cabin by a lake. It's tiny and it has no plumbing, water or electricity, but in summer it's heaven on earth. It's on the water, we can swim any time. It's lovely.

R3 there are sharks that can swim in fresh water.

R145 and yet there are no sharks in the Great Lakes. Burmese pythons now live in Florida. But they are not a danger in the Great Swamp of New Jersey. Do you see who this works, now?

R146 I'm making the point, that someone can put certain sharks into one of the great lakes and they'll survive.

There is no reason why there couldn't be sharks swimming around in there already, but no one has seen them yet.

Any body of water that deep and that large should be treated with caution and treated with the high potential of there being large animals in there that could harm humans and even eat them.

[quote] I have a family cabin by a lake. It's tiny and it has no plumbing, water or electricity, but in summer it's heaven on earth. It's on the water, we can swim any time. It's lovely.

Dare I ask what you do for plumbing, water, and electricity?

[quote] Any body of water that deep and that large should be treated with caution and treated with the high potential of there being large animals in there that could harm humans and even eat them.

You tell 'em, R147!

These are the largest creatures in the Great Lakes. They don't eat humans.

Not so fast, R150.

"Kamikaze sturgeon are a known and deadly threat elsewhere in the world. Great Lakes swimmers and fishers are advised to exercise extreme caution."

Leaping Sturgeon!

I had no idea that Sturgeon could grow this large.

If they're in the Great Lakes, then that's pretty scary.

It's the result of the Great Toledo War of 1835, R86. Ohio and Michigan contested the control of a strip of land parallel to Toledo. Both states claimed it. They almost went to war over it. The federal government offered a compromise. It would give the Upper Peninsula to Michigan if it renounced its claim on the strip of land and let Ohio have it.

You wonder why Ohio and Michigan are such bitter rivals?

Thank you R155! I forgot how many cities are on the lakes. Pennsylvania bought its 90 miles shore on Lake Erie, from the US government. Hotly contested. Connecticut and Massachusetts had claims to that triangle.

R130 It's not that unusual, there are brick lighthouses on the Outer Banks. Currituck Beach Lighthouse, for ex. Thisone is in Florida (Juniper Inlet Light):

*sorry, should be Jupiter

R157 They're far more common on fresh water. On the ocean, lighthouses are subjected to much harsher weather conditions such as higher winds, saltwater corrosion, and more violent storm surges, which degrade and erode brick over time.

Who knows what's down there.

Great Lakes vs the Oceans?

We have the fresh water and you won't get any without our OK.

Thanks for playing.

R161 We've got water. My state depends on the Great Lakes region for amusement only.

What about Lake Saint Clair? One of those industrialist mansions on the lakeshore, with a big pool, tennis courts, room for a pony?

I would love to have my own private island on one of the Great Lakes.

Not a care in the world!

It's cheaper to fly to Portugal.

R163 Probably not.

"As the flushable wipes stuck to the vegetation along the shore and fluttered in the breeze in the background, Miller looked into the camera and implored Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner James Nash to do something to clean up Oakland County’s mess. "

That mansion at R164 looks amazing, but I had to laugh at the cars in their driveway.

Why do they need cars on such a tiny little island??

Lots of roads, Probably not an island.

Some Great Camps on the Adirondack lakes come to market once and awhile. Including on islands in those lakes.

R159 I guess you'll have to tell that to the people who built them on the ocean.

"At 198 feet, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest in the United States and the second tallest brick light tower in the world."

[quote] R159 I guess you'll have to tell that to the people who built them on the ocean.

Why must EVERYTHING be a CONTEST??!!

The Great Lakes are vats of acid. Swim in them and all your skin will fall off after it boils and blisters and bubbles and puss runs out into the lakes replenishing the acidity. Go ahead. Do it. Fuckers.

R172 Because someone gave me an argument when I said the photo of a beach on Lake Michigan looked like it could be on the ocean, because it had a brick lighthouse. And kept it up when I showed some brick lighthouses on the ocean.

R136 It’s either Martha’s Vineyard or Marquette. #tastefulfriends

R171 Oh look you found a third one.

R176 Whatever. I originally posted a picture of Lake Michigan that I said looked like the ocean. Some "expert" on lighthouses had to try to prove me wrong. Two times.

R177 The Great Lakes do not look like the ocean. They do not smell like the ocean. They do not taste like the ocean. Do not feel like the ocean. They are in a different biome with different vegetation. They look like lakes. They smell like lakes. They taste like lakes. There is no salt, no sea life, no sea smell.

You may think it looks like the ocean because perhaps you only seen the ocean in pictures?

What a weird thing to get pissed off about. Why do you need your silly little lake to look like an ocean so badly? Why is that so important to you?

[quote] The Great Lakes do not look like the ocean. They do not smell like the ocean. They do not taste like the ocean. Do not feel like the ocean. They are in a different biome with different vegetation. They look like lakes. They smell like lakes. They taste like lakes. There is no salt, no sea life, no sea smell.

THAT IS WHAT THE OP ASKED, R178.

They have never been to a fresh water lake.

You have stated numerous things that fresh lakes ARE NOT.

Now would you be so kind as to tell us all what THEY ARE????

What does it taste like? What does it smell like?? Etc.

Do you NOT understand that some people have never been to a fresh water lake???

OP if you’re fascinated with lakes check this out.

R178 You're one ranting, here. As I said, someone said ocean lighthouses are rarely made of brick, which was stupid. That's all. The picture looked to me like a beach in Florida. Yes I have been to the ocean, I've lived on or near the Atlantic most of my life, have seen and swum in the Pacific as well, The Gulf, and a couple of the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes, Lake Winnepesaukee, Moosehead Lake, Lake Champlain, Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear, Long Island Sound, and a few ponds, rivers, and waterfalls. Now go shit in your hat.

R178 is being petty and disingenuous. Yes, the Great Lakes are in freshwater biome with different vegetation and so on, but their dunes, their waves, and their sheer size—you can't possibly see the other side of Lake Michigan or even Erie or Ontario from some vantage points—are oceanic to the observer. For me, who grew up going to the dunes and beaches on Cape Cod, there's an eerie disconnect to be in Lake Michigan, tossed by the big waves but tasting and smelling fresh water.

R181 It's okay if you can't tell the difference, or if you don't want to see any difference. It's okay now. It's gonna be okay.

They're definitely lakes, but they identify as oceans, and that has to be respected!

It ain't no Caspian Sea!!!!!

R182 If you want to see the ocean, then you go ahead and see the ocean. Enjoy it.

12 Best Lake Michigan Beaches With White Sand, Rolling Dunes, and Stunning Views

R181 If you spend a lot of time pretending that where you're living is not where you're living, maybe it's time to live someplace else.

R188 You're a psycho.

Arguing about lighthouses?

Less monsters

WILL YOU ALL PLEASE STOP FIGHTING!!!!!

Drinking my coffee, looking out at the boring bland ocean, wishing I was in Muskegon where the fun never stops.

Muskegon:

What's that light house made of?

R192 Caps lock is not needed.

We know that everyone in the group that you hang around with identifies as an ocean.

If you wish to transition to ocean we want to be part of your life. Please don't exclude us or harm yourself.

We promise to respect your boundaries and will address you only as an ocean from now on.

My how salty you are today.

Lakes or oceans, either way billions of fish pee in that water

R194 Are you joking with this?

Joking with what?

Why does the ocean have salty water while (most) lakes do not?

I know this sounds like a setup for a dad joke but it’s an actual question.

You could try Google.

Ocean salt primarily comes from rocks on land and openings in the seafloor. Salt in the ocean comes from two sources: runoff from the land and openings in the seafloor. Rocks on land are the major source of salts dissolved in seawater. Rainwater that falls on land is slightly acidic, so it erodes rocks

As children we went swimming in Lake Huron, by the Bluewater Bridge. Unsupervised - the olden days.

Small lakes can get really slimy and mucky when you step into the water. Where we swam in Lake Huron there were large, oval or rounded stones on the bottom, very smooth, much preferred to the muck.

[quote] Small lakes can get really slimy and mucky when you step into the water

Blech!

That sounds disgusting.

The irony is that fresh water often rests on top of huge salt deposits. Lake Erie has a couple of these--one near downtown Cleveland the other about 30 miles east. The latter was a huge source of Morton salt for many years.

R204 Small lakes can also have sand at the bottom, near the shore, and sandy beaches.

Some small lakes have sleep-away camps for horny teens staffed by studly counselors.

It's actually quite remarkable

Well this thread got very academic.

Canadian salt mines are fun.

True story. I went to a remote point off Lake Superior in Michigan. We’re talking 10 mile ride down gravel and no cell service. I get to this point. Get out and walk towards the end. Meet a couple guys. Casually chat. They say the area is good for swimming. Without clothes. Must have been a joke because they left and as I walked down to the exposed rock on the water, I was attacked by black flies. Abusive, stinging black flies. This was wearing long sleeves sprayed with 100% deet, made no difference. They followed me to the car as I ran back the half mile. Got in the car and couldn’t get them out until I was back on the pavement. It was nuts.

That's terrifying, R212!

Sting like bees?

Were you stung all over?

Seems like they’d all be polluted by the Rust Belt.

Who has purified themselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka?

R214 It's disgraceful what has happened to them. Waste, chemicals, fertilizers, sewage, fuel residue, algae blooms.

Microplastics?

R214 They're pretty gross.

As if microplastics aren't a problem in teh ocean?

As for black flies--they have their own season in New England.

That should be Flies of Color

R213 more like a large mosquito biting and no amount of anything deters them. Next time I’ll bring my mosquito net or bee keeper outfit, if I need to do that again.

[quote]Next time I’ll bring my mosquito net or bee keeper outfit, if I need to do that again.

Indeed:

Shouldn't he have nets on his hands? And can the bugs bite through the jacket? They look intent to try.

He’s descended from sow-nas so he has immunity.

R212 I believe they're called deer flies (similar to horse and sand flies) and they are aggressive. I too remember a camping trip to Lake Superior (I think) as a young boy and those little buggers attacked us even with the Deep Woods OFF liberally applied. They like shorelines and will not stop biting until they get their fill (MARY! I know). Their bites are much more painful than mosquitoes, although I don't remember having itchy welts.

No hurricanes, less erosion, less tourism. And cheaper to boot.

You can have erosion on any body of water.

Interesting video about the power of the Great Lakes.

"Less tourism"...wonder why?

Wow, the Great Lakes are, in so many ways, sort of like the ocean, but not really close.

R228 R229 Are we pro-erosion or anti-erosion here? I'm conflicted.

They're inland seas but some people continue to see them as being like some small pond in the Catskills.

R234 Nobody here said that they are not inland seas.