Map › USA › Cat Head Bay

Great Lakes · Lake Michigan, Michigan · Northport

Cat Head Bay

also known as Cathead Bay

beginner-friendlylow crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Cat Head Bay has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

SeasonJul to Septhe months riders and schools name How windyno knot figure publishedsynoptic Launchmediumaccess rules on record, below Waterlake18°C in summer · 4 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section

Schoolsnone named here

From the airport45 minCherry Capital Airport (TVC)

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Cat Head Bay, also spelled Cathead Bay, is a Lake Michigan spot near Northport at the top of the Leelanau Peninsula. Clear shallow freshwater, flat close in and choppy when it builds, off a sandy launch with room to work.

North wind is side-onshore and the direction to wait for; sustained northwest to west opens up open-lake fetch and puts 1-2 m waves out there. Launch down the beach in the dunes recreation area, not in front of the houses.

July through September is the season and late August has the best weather, with summer water around 18 C and 4 C in winter. You walk in on the Leelanau State Park trail system rather than driving to the sand, which is why the beach is usually empty.

Leave the dog behind: pets are banned along the Cathead Bay shoreline because of piping plover habitat. Nobody has published a knot range for this bay, and there is no rescue out here, so treat the forecast as a guess and ride inside your self-rescue range.

The wind

Direction

cross-onN

Character

synoptic

North wind is side-onshore and keeps conditions flatter close to shore; sustained northwest-to-west wind opens more open-lake fetch and builds 1-2 m waves farther out.

Summer is the season, July through September, with late August the best weather. Winter is cold enough to keep everyone off it.

Thermal or synoptic

frontal

Strength

No knot figure is published for this spot.

Direction to shore

North wind is described as side-onshore.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan48
Feb53
Mar32
Apr35
May16
Jun15
Jul, riders' month3
Aug, riders' month13
Sep, riders' month8
Oct35
Nov50
Dec50

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jul, Aug, Sep.

48%Jan
53%Feb
32%Mar
35%Apr
16%May
15%Jun
3%Jul
13%Aug
8%Sep
35%Oct
50%Nov
50%Dec

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · season highlighted

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	From	Peaks at	Air	Readings
Jan	48%	63%	56%	13.1 kt	WSW	11:00	-3.2°C	62
Feb	53%	67%	65%	14.1 kt	SW	13:00	-2.7°C	57
Mar	32%	61%	48%	12.8 kt	WNW	14:00	0.1°C	62
Apr	35%	67%	53%	13.3 kt	WSW	13:00	5.6°C	60
May	16%	40%	32%	10.5 kt	NNE	14:00	11.6°C	62
Jun	15%	42%	37%	10.5 kt	NW	15:00	16.9°C	60
Jul	3%	15%	11%	9 kt	WSW	15:00	19.8°C	62
Aug	13%	35%	24%	10 kt	WSW	15:00	20.1°C	62
Sep	8%	20%	12%	9 kt	N	13:00	17.9°C	60
Oct	35%	53%	48%	12.3 kt	SW	13:00	11.7°C	62
Nov	50%	72%	67%	13.7 kt	W	11:00	5.6°C	60
Dec	50%	76%	61%	14 kt	NW	11:00	0.8°C	62

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

lake

Standing depth

Shallow water along the beach, though nobody has published where you can stand and where you cannot.

Tides

Tide independent freshwater lake.

Temperature

18°C summer · 4°C winter

Wetsuit

Shorts in summer, a normal suit in spring and fall, thick rubber in winter. A full suit outside midsummer is also reported.

Clean, clear Lake Michigan water, flat close to shore and choppy when it blows. The northwest exposure is open lake, and sustained northwest-to-west wind puts waves on it.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Rider level is recorded inconsistently: beginner through expert in one place, intermediate as the minimum in another. Remote water with no rescue argues for intermediate and up.

The scene

What riders come here for

flatwaterfreeridechopwaves in sustained northwest wind

Secluded. Usually nobody on the beach, and nobody has posted a current crowd report.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: medium

access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

No kite rescue. The bay is remote and what rescue exists nearby is thin, so ride within self-rescue range of the beach.

Launch

Launch down the sandy beach in the dunes recreation area, not in front of homes; access is from North Cathead Bay Drive/Leelanau State Park near the lighthouse road.

Space

medium

Rules & access

2026: no kite-specific rules were found. Michigan DNR bans pets along the Cathead Bay shoreline in Leelanau State Park because of piping plover habitat, and the beach is reached from the park trail system.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Rig and launch down the beach in the dunes recreation area, well away from the houses.
Leave pets at home; the Cathead Bay shoreline is piping plover habitat and dogs are not allowed on it.
Treat the north and northwest guidance as spot-sensitive and check with a local rider before you trust a wave forecast here.
Pack light: the beach is reached on the park's Lake Michigan Trail, not by driving to the sand.
Bring a full suit outside midsummer; the water sits near 18 C in summer and 4 C in winter.

Getting there

Airport

Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), Traverse City.

Route

Drive to Northport and on toward Leelanau State Park and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. The Cathead Bay beach, in the park's southern unit, is reached on the park's Lake Michigan Trail rather than a road to the sand: a short walk, and loads of space once you are on it.

Transfer

45 min

Staying

A rustic campground and mini cabins in Leelanau State Park. Lodging in Northport and Traverse City is unconfirmed.

No-wind days

Leelanau State Park trails, the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, Northport and Leland.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Cat Head Bay?

Summer, July through September, is the only sourced best-weather season, with late August noted as especially good.

Is Cat Head Bay suitable for beginners?

Yes, beginner, intermediate, and expert levels are listed, with shallow Lake Michigan water at this secluded launch.

What is the wind like at Cat Head Bay?

Local guidance describes mainly north, side-onshore wind, while other sources point to northwest-to-west wind with wave potential from open-lake fetch.

Are there restrictions at Cat Head Bay?

Pets are not allowed along the Cathead Bay shoreline because it is piping plover habitat, and riders should launch down the beach in the dunes area rather than in front of homes.

Last updated: August 2026