Petobego has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
When it fills in
No onset time is published for this spot.
The wind
Direction
Character
synoptic
Thermal or synoptic
frontal
Strength
Direction to shore
The pond lies just inside the bay's shore, roughly 1.4 km along a north-east/south-west axis and about half a kilometre across, with the tree line on its south-east side. So a west or north-west wind blows across the narrow width toward those trees, while south-west runs its full length. On the bay itself the shore faces west into open water.Geometry derived from the pond outline rather than a published shore-angle rating.
Dominant direction
South-west, west, north-west and north are the working directions. North is the cleanest of them. West is rideable but the bluffs between it and the water break it up. South crosses the town before it reaches you, and east is not recommended.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan21
- Feb32
- Mar, riders' month26
- Apr, riders' month37
- May, riders' month10
- Jun15
- Jul3
- Aug10
- Sep, riders' month5
- Oct, riders' month21
- Nov, riders' month27
- Dec18
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 21%Jan
- 32%Feb
- 26%Mar
- 37%Apr
- 10%May
- 15%Jun
- 3%Jul
- 10%Aug
- 5%Sep
- 21%Oct
- 27%Nov
- 18%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 | 21% | 40% | 32% | 10.3 kt | SW | 13:00 | -3.7°C | 62 |
| Feb | 32% | 56% | 46% | 11.7 kt | SW | 14:00 | -2.9°C | 57 |
| Mar | 26% | 48% | 35% | 11.1 kt | NNW | 14:00 | 0.3°C | 62 |
| Apr | 37% | 67% | 52% | 12.8 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 6.4°C | 60 |
| May | 10% | 42% | 29% | 11 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 13°C | 62 |
| Jun | 15% | 50% | 38% | 11.3 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 18.1°C | 60 |
| Jul | 3% | 18% | 6% | 9.1 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 20.5°C | 62 |
| Aug | 10% | 42% | 29% | 10.4 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 20.2°C | 62 |
| Sep | 5% | 25% | 13% | 8.9 kt | NNW | 15:00 | 17.8°C | 60 |
| Oct | 21% | 45% | 35% | 10.9 kt | SSW | 14:00 | 11.5°C | 62 |
| Nov | 27% | 53% | 40% | 11.2 kt | W | 13:00 | 5.2°C | 60 |
| Dec | 18% | 40% | 27% | 10.6 kt | WSW | 13:00 | 0.3°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
On the pond, knee to chest deep in most places over a soft, mushy bottom that is much easier on the feet in booties; there can be rocks and sharp grass on the sandbar itself. On the bay side of the same walk you can ride waist deep and still touch bottom on the inside in a south-west wind.The sandbar moves from year to year: sometimes a full hook that pens in a shallow flat, sometimes submerged entirely and the shallow zone with it.
Tides
Tide independent freshwater lake.
Temperature
18°C summer · 4°C winter
Wetsuit
Summer is usually warm enough to ride without a wetsuit. Outside summer you want one, and a full suit is the safer call for everything but midsummer.
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: medium
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Launch
Park on the bluff at Maple Bay Natural Area, down a gravel drive on the west side of US-31 past Maple Bay Farm. The trail drops off the bluff to the beach in about a third of a mile, steep in places, and then you follow conservancy-posted signs north along the shoreline; the pond is roughly a mile in all told.Parts of the walk cross private land, so stay on the marked path, and at high water sections turn wet and muddy and can mean wading.The same walk reaches two rideable waters: Grand Traverse Bay itself, flat on the inside with chop and rollers outside, and the 105-acre Petobego Pond behind the shore, narrow enough that a dropped kite has to be back up fast or it ends in the trees downwind. Coming in by boat avoids the walk.
Space
medium
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Pack light and pack once: it is about a mile in from the Maple Bay lot, or a 20-minute hike from M-31.
- Come by boat if you have one. It is the easy way in and it saves the walk out with wet gear.
- Skip a due south wind unless a local tells you it is running clean; off the land it is turbulent.
- Check preserve access and hunting seasons before you walk into the natural area.
- On the pond, be ready to relaunch fast. It is narrow and the trees are downwind.
- Pack light and pack once: it is about a mile in from the Maple Bay lot, and the first third of a mile is a steep drop off the bluff.
- Skip a due south wind unless a local tells you it is running clean; it crosses the town first.
- Check preserve access and hunting seasons before you walk into the natural area — the marsh next door is a state game area and firearms are legal in season.
- Wear booties. The bottom is mushy and the sandbar can have rocks and sharp grass.
- Scout before you rig: the sandbar is a shallow freestyle flat some years and gone entirely in others.
Getting there
Airport
Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), Traverse City.
Route
Head for Maple Bay Natural Area on US-31 between Traverse City and Elk Rapids. The entrance is a gravel drive on the west side of the highway, past Maple Bay Farm, and the parking area sits on top of the bluff.From the lot it is about a third of a mile down to the beach and roughly a mile in total to the pond. By boat it is easier.
No-wind days
Maple Bay Natural Area trails, nature study, Elk Rapids, and Traverse City area activities.
FAQ
When is the best time to kite Petobego?
Autumn through spring, specifically March-May and September-November, has the best wind; summer is typically light.
What is the water like?
Shallow, clean, sandy Grand Traverse Bay water with flat inside sections and small outside rollers, waist-deep on the inside during south-to-southwest wind.
How do you get to the launch?
Access is a long hike in from M-31 or an easier approach by boat into the Maple Bay/Petobego Natural Area.
Are there rules to know about?
The natural area requires leashed dogs and prohibits fires, camping and motorized vehicles.
Last updated: August 2026