Winter surfing is good for “surfonomics” around the Great Lakes

When you think of winter sports in and around the Great Lakes you might think of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or maybe ice fishing. But would you think of surfing?

You should.

When the temps drop and the wind gets whipping, the freshwater waves swell on the Great Lakes, and that’s when a small but growing group of enthusiasts put on their wetsuits and hit the waves.

“It doesn’t feel too bad when you first run in, but then when it hits your chest it kinda takes your breath away. And then when it hits your face it just hurts,” said Elias Brush, a recent college graduate living in Michigan’s Upper Penninsula. He’s new to surfing on Lake Superior — generally the lake with the biggest, baddest waves.

“I mean the first time I did it I had no idea what I was doing. And then the first wave I caught was kind of accidental. It picked me up and tossed me forward. But then I was like just trying to get that feeling again. It’s a really cool feeling,” Brush said.

Any surfer on the Great Lakes in winter will tell you that the hardest part of cold-water surfing might actually be getting into the thick wetsuit. But the icicles hanging off beards and eyelashes and covering their wetsuits is a bit like a badge of honor. 

“Great Lakes surfing is growing,” said Chad Nelsen, CEO of SurfRider Foundation, based in California. He’s also a surfer. SurfRider is a surfing and environmental advocacy group that recently opened a chapter in Chicago on Lake Michigan. He said Great Lakes surf trends follow the global trends of a growing sport.

Nelsen’s a surfing economist and calls his field “surfonomics.” He said surfers help grow traditional beach tourism; they surf about 100 days a year, and they go out earlier and later in the day than your typical beachgoer, which allows businesses to expand their hours. 

“And [surfers] spend a lot of money. The average surfer when they go to the beach they buy gas, they stop at the surf shop, they go out to breakfast or lunch.”

Nelsen’s research shows that spending by surfers has a big impact on beachside communities, large and small. The other thing about surfers and spending is they’re often willing to travel for great waves.

“Actually, there were just great waves in Lake Michigan,” said Nelsen. “It lit up my Instagram. It made me want to go.”

Those waves he’s talking about were over Thanksgiving weekend. Images of glassy, aquamarine waves flew around social media. The waves on Lake Superior were 15 to 20 feet tall, and the water was 40 degrees. Pictures were coming in from different surf spots around the Great Lakes.

“There is a lot of camaraderie not only in the local community and the local scene, but Great Lakes wide. It’s pretty cool,” said Ella Scrocki, who is part of the family that owns and runs Sleeping Bear Surf in Empire, Michigan, on Lake Michigan. She’s also a surfer.

Scrocki said late fall and into early winter — with wind and cold storms, before the lakes start to freeze — is when some of the very best surfing is possible. But, Scrocki said, it’s important for safety reasons that people learn to surf in the Great Lakes first in the summer when the waves are smaller and warmer.  

“We will get beautiful waves all year round, you just need to know where to look,” said Scrocki. “But there is something really special about that wintertime glass.”

Scrocki’s family opened the surf shop more than 20 years ago. She said business has only gotten bigger and better since then. She actually thinks social media has helped grow the sport in the past five years.

“You know I think once people see what’s possible they say, ‘I want that, I want a taste of that, too.’ So, it’s been a really spectacular thing watching this community grow.”

This story first aired on Michigan Public.