Wisconsin’s 185 Great Lakes beaches are playgrounds for summer fun. These resources help local officials make informed decisions about beach management and help beach visitors stay safe.
Getting Started
Find Great Lakes Beaches
Use the “Beaches” tab to explore places to swim in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior in Wisconsin.
Promoting Beach Safety
Resources to understand and promote Integrated Nowcast/Forecast Operation System (INFOS). INFOS combines real-time observations from various sources to create nowcasts and forecasts that help those who visit water bodies make good decisions about safe swimming and water sports.
Integrated Nowcast/Forecast Operation System (INFOS)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW-Madison
INFOS combines real-time observations from various sources, as well as, present nowcasting and forecasting guidance of waves, currents, water temperature, and water levels for sites around the Great Lakes. These sites include Port Washington, Milwaukee, Duluth, the Apostle Islands, and Lake Winnebago/Green Bay.
Beach Health
Great Lakes Beach Hazards: Developing a Strategy for Dangerous Waves and Currents
NOAA Coastal Services Center
This report identifies how beachgoers perceive the risk of dangerous currents and waves in the Great Lakes, evaluates existing beach safety messages and delivery mechanisms, and translate technical information into understandable, actionable messages for specific beachgoer audiences.
Beach Management
Wisconsin Shoreline Inventory and Oblique Photo Viewer
Association of State Floodplain Managers
Explore how the Great Lakes coasts of Wisconsin have changed since 1976 by viewing beach and bluff conditions, oblique photos and coastal erosion.