Lake Michigan beaches, today.
The Shore Call, our morning call on swimming, the piers and small boats, plus the National Weather Service’s swim risk, waves and wind for Washington Park, Long Beach and the rest of the La Porte County shore, the live beach cam and where to check the water quality. Lake Michigan’s waves and currents can be deadly even on a sunny day.
Today’s Shore Call
Our morning call for Washington Park, Long Beach, Mount Baldy and the Michigan City harbor: whether to swim, walk the piers or take a small boat out, and in winter where the lake-effect snow band sets up. We make it by fixed rules from the National Weather Service’s forecasts, and check it every day against the Michigan City buoy.
Loading this morning’s call…
Our call, not a warning. When the Weather Service has an alert out for the shore or the lake, follow the alert; it comes first. Lake Michigan is dangerous even on calm days: swim near a lifeguard, stay off the piers when waves wash over them, and wear a life jacket on the water.
How the Shore Call has done
Loading the record…
| Day | We called | What was measured | How it held up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loading… | |||
How we make the call, and how we grade it
- Swim (late May through September): from the Weather Service’s beach forecast for the La Porte County shore. A high swim risk, or a Beach Hazards or Rip Current Statement: STAY OUT. Moderate: CAUTION. Low: OK, near a lifeguard and away from the piers and breakwalls. Out of season there’s no swim call, because there’s no beach forecast and no lifeguards.
- Piers and breakwalls: from the waves in the Weather Service’s nearshore forecast for Michigan City to New Buffalo. Waves to 5 feet or more; a Beach Hazards, Rip Current, High Surf or Lakeshore Flood alert; or a Gale or Storm Warning: STAY OFF. Waves to 3 or 4 feet, a Small Craft Advisory or a Lakeshore Flood Watch: CAUTION. 2 feet or less: OK.
- Small boats: waves to 4 feet or more, wind to 22 knots (25 mph) or more, or a Small Craft Advisory, Gale, Storm or Special Marine Warning: STAY IN. 3-foot waves, 15 to 21 knots (17 to 24 mph) or gusts to 25 knots: CAUTION. 2 feet or less and under 15 knots: GO. The best hours come from the Weather Service’s hour-by-hour forecast for the lake off Michigan City, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Snow band (mid-October through April): when an inch of snow or more is forecast anywhere in the county in the next 24 hours, or a winter alert is out, we list the forecast for nine towns from the Weather Service’s forecast grid, and the school districts and main roads where it’s heaviest (at least 2 inches, and at least half the top amount).
- Grading: the next morning we check each call against what was measured from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Waves: the highest wave height at the Michigan City buoy (45170): calm under 2.5 feet, choppy 2.5 to 4.5, rough above that, against the forecast waves we called from (2 feet or less calm, 3 or 4 choppy, 5 or more rough). Wind: the strongest hourly wind at the buoy, or at the Michigan City lighthouse station when the buoy is out: light under 15 knots, breezy 15 to 21, strong 22 and up. Snow: the Weather Service’s snow reports nearest each town. Same group: held up. One group off: partly. Two groups off: missed.
- What isn’t scored: the buoy comes out of the lake for the winter, so from late fall to spring only the wind and the snow are graded. A call made after 9 a.m. is shown but not scored.
- Never changed: each call is saved once, with the time it was made, in our public history on GitHub. Sources: NWS Northern Indiana’s surf zone and nearshore marine forecasts, forecast grid and alerts; buoy and lighthouse readings through NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center.
Is it safe to swim today?
The Weather Service’s beach and marine forecasts for the La Porte County shore, and any beach or marine alerts in effect. Conditions on the lake change fast, so check again before you go.
Swim forecast
Loading the beach forecast…
Waves and wind
Loading the marine forecast…
On the lake
Checking the Michigan City buoy and harbor…
Source: National Weather Service Northern Indiana’s beach (surf zone) and nearshore marine forecasts, and active NWS alerts for the La Porte County shore and nearby waters.
The LaPorte County beach cam, live from Michigan City
The Access LaPorte County BeachCam looks out over the Michigan City lakefront, day and night. Check the waves, the crowd and the weather before you drive over.
Live video, so it uses more data than the rest of this page.
The cam belongs to Access LaPorte County, the county’s public access TV station. It plays from their YouTube channel through CamStreamer, so YouTube’s terms and privacy policy apply once you tap. If it doesn’t play here, watch it on YouTube ↗.
🌊 Michigan City buoy
Wave height, wind and water temperature from about 3 miles out, every 10 minutes, with a camera picture each daylight hour. From Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue; it’s usually out on the lake from spring through fall.
Buoy data and cam ↗📷 Michigan City lighthouse cameras
Three NOAA cameras on the lighthouse at the harbor entrance: back along the pier, north over the lake and west to the breakwater, with the time on each picture.
See the lighthouse camsIs the water clean enough to swim?
Indiana tests its Lake Michigan beaches for E. coli bacteria during the swim season and posts advisories and closures on IDEM’s BeachAlert. Bacteria levels can rise after heavy rain, so check before you go, especially the day after a storm.
- IDEM BeachAlert ↗: today’s advisories and closures for Indiana beaches.
- Sign up for IDEM’s beach updates ↗: free updates from the state. Enter your email, then pick the beach topics.
- Washington Park in Michigan City: the beach hotline is 219-873-1406, extension 2.
- How Indiana monitors its beaches ↗
Before you go.
Stay safe at the lake, in every season
- Steer clear of the pier. Most current-related drownings on the Great Lakes happen near piers and breakwalls, and most happen when waves are 3 feet or higher. Swim at least 100 yards from piers, and stay off them when the waves are up.
- Caught in a current? Flip, float, follow. Flip onto your back, float to keep your head above water, and follow the current or the safest path out of the water. Don’t fight it.
- Someone in trouble? Call 911, throw them something that floats, and shout to them to flip, float and follow. Don’t go in after them without something that floats.
- Cold water and shelf ice. The lake stays cold into June and turns cold again by fall, and a sudden plunge can take your breath away. In winter, never walk out on the shelf ice along the shore. It can break without warning.
Based on: NWS Great Lakes safety · NWS Northern Indiana: Great Lakes waves and currents · Indiana Dunes beach safety
🏖️ Washington Park Beach
Michigan City’s beach: hours, lifeguard season, parking, and the daily water-quality test.
Washington Park ↗🌲 Indiana Dunes beaches
Beach safety, rip currents and winter shelf-ice warnings from the National Park Service, for Mt. Baldy and the park’s other beaches.
Beach safety ↗⚓ Full marine forecast
The Weather Service’s complete nearshore forecast for boaters, from Michigan City to St. Joseph.
Marine forecast ↗📍 Radar over the lake
Storms often move in from the west, across Illinois and the lake. Watch the radar loop before you head out.
La Porte radar- This weekend at the lake: Friday to Sunday beach weather.
- Lake-effect snow: why the lakeshore can go from clear to whiteout in a few miles.
- Alerts page: every official warning for La Porte County, and what to do.