Little Sable Point has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
When it fills in
The dune field has to heat before it pulls, so this is an afternoon spot. Mornings give you the synoptic wind only; the acceleration at the point builds through the hottest part of the day and goes with the heat in the evening. Indicative — no onset hour has been published and there is no wind station at the point.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
thermal
fills in: The dune field has to heat before it pulls, so this is an afternoon spot. Mornings give you the synoptic wind only; the acceleration at the point builds through the hottest part of the day and goes with the heat in the evening. Indicative — no onset hour has been published and there is no wind station at the point.
Typical strength
Nothing is measured at the point; there is no station on it. The pattern riders describe is amplification rather than a range: a five-knot southerly at the Chicago end of Lake Michigan can arrive here near 25 knots on a hot day, because the dune field heats and the lake narrows. Treat the beach reading and the point reading as two different numbers.
The quiver, in words
No size table has been published for the point, and the wind is too variable across the beach for one to mean much. Two kites is the standing local advice.For a 75-85 kg rider that usually means a 12 m and a 9 m for the ordinary south thermal day, with a 7 m for when the point is running near 25 knots. Indicative sizes worked from the spot's own wind behaviour, not a local measurement.
Dominant direction
S and SSW primarily, with SW also working; NW and NNW are listed as secondary
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan35
- Feb51
- Mar53
- Apr, riders' month53
- May, riders' month26
- Jun, riders' month33
- Jul, riders' month8
- Aug, riders' month19
- Sep, riders' month15
- Oct, riders' month44
- Nov, riders' month55
- Dec32
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 35%Jan
- 51%Feb
- 53%Mar
- 53%Apr
- 26%May
- 33%Jun
- 8%Jul
- 19%Aug
- 15%Sep
- 44%Oct
- 55%Nov
- 32%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 | 35% | 48% | 44% | 12.1 kt | SE | 11:00 | -2.9°C | 62 |
| Feb | 51% | 75% | 74% | 14.6 kt | SSW | 13:00 | -1.6°C | 57 |
| Mar | 53% | 73% | 65% | 14 kt | NNW | 14:00 | 1.6°C | 62 |
| Apr | 53% | 80% | 68% | 14.6 kt | S | 15:00 | 6.8°C | 60 |
| May | 26% | 56% | 42% | 11.8 kt | NNW | 14:00 | 13.9°C | 62 |
| Jun | 33% | 57% | 55% | 12 kt | NNW | 15:00 | 18.1°C | 60 |
| Jul | 8% | 34% | 21% | 10.1 kt | S | 14:00 | 20.8°C | 62 |
| Aug | 19% | 58% | 34% | 11.4 kt | NNW | 15:00 | 20.5°C | 62 |
| Sep | 15% | 37% | 27% | 10.2 kt | S | 14:00 | 18.1°C | 60 |
| Oct | 44% | 66% | 56% | 13.2 kt | S | 15:00 | 11.6°C | 62 |
| Nov | 55% | 73% | 68% | 14.2 kt | SSW | 12:00 | 5.6°C | 60 |
| Dec | 32% | 69% | 50% | 13.1 kt | W | 12:00 | 0.5°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
mixed
Standing depth
Long sandbars run off the point and hold shallow water well out from the beach.
Tides
None — Lake Michigan is effectively tideless.
Temperature
21°C summer · 2°C winter
Wetsuit
A shorty covers late July and August, when the water averages 19-21 degrees. Everything either side wants a full 4/3 and a thicker suit at the edges of the season; June still averages under 13 degrees and February bottoms out near 2.
Currents
There is current here, and swimmers in the water through the busy months. Neither one has been quantified for the point.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
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: ok
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Launch
Park at the lighthouse lot at 287 North Lighthouse Drive — around 200 spaces, shared with beach users — then walk roughly 1,000 yards south along the sand before rigging. That puts the kite zone clear of the tourists and sunbathers who cluster around the tower and gives room to lay lines out.
Space
ok
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Bring two kites. The difference between what blows on the beach and what blows at the point is large enough to catch you out.
- Walk the 1,000 yards south before you pump. Rigging near the tower puts you in among beach users.
- Do not drift more than a couple of hundred yards north of the lighthouse; the shore drops away past it.
- The forecast to watch is south or SSW at the bottom of Lake Michigan on a hot day. That is when the thermal fires.
- West in the forecast means the thermal is off. Do not make the drive on it.
- Bring food and water. The nearest store is twenty minutes away.
- Do not come for waves. The sandbars run too far out for it.
- You need a state park vehicle permit to get in, and the lighthouse lot is shared with beachgoers in summer.
Getting there
Airport
Grand Rapids (GRR) is the nearest major airport for this stretch of coast
Route
Drive. Muskegon is 39 miles south, Hart 3 miles east, Ludington 23 miles north. Take Silver Lake Road to its southern end, then North Lighthouse Drive a little over a mile to the lot at 287 North Lighthouse Drive, Mears MI 49436.
Cost level
moderate
Staying
Rooms and camping in the Silver Lake and Mears area, including a state park campground. Silver Lake Sand Dunes pulls over a million visitors a year, so summer weekends are the expensive, booked-out ones.
No-wind days
The Silver Lake Sand Dunes themselves — over 2,000 acres split into a northern off-road-vehicle zone, a central walking-dunes area and a leased southern section. Climbing the Little Sable Point lighthouse, 139 steps to the original Fresnel lens. Silver Lake, a 690-acre lake a mile inland, for boating and fishing.Hiking and fishing across the wider park, and snowkiting on Silver Lake in winter.
Photos
FAQ
What is the wind like?
Little Sable Point works on S, SSW and SW thermal wind, strengthened by the Silver Lake dunes and a local pinch point on the lake.
Is it suitable for beginners?
No, it is rated intermediate to advanced rather than a beginner spot.
What are the hazards?
Hazards include tourists and sunbathers near the lighthouse, a long walk to the launch, and downwind drift north of the lighthouse.
Last updated: August 2026