WB8TGY
Michigan Microwave Page
 

Operating Locations Near, Or On Lake Michigan


This Page is under construction !!


 Lower Michigan Sites
Name of Site Grid Square Lon. Lat. Height Other Information Map
Warren Dunes State Park EN61qv 86,36,25 41,54,20 600 South of Bridgman.  Take I94 to exit 16, Head south on Red Arrow Highway and proceed approximately 2 miles to the park's entrance. Can operate from parking lot in off season.   Nice view SW, W, NW, and N.  Nice site in September, very busy park in summer. Map
South Haven Beach EN62uj 86,17,02 42,24,03 590 Downtown South Haven.  Small parking lot, slow drive thrue town to park.  I don't think you could operate from here in summer, OK in September. Map
Grand Haven State Park/
Grand Haven City Beach
EN63vb 86,14,43 43,03,11 590 On the lake in Grand Haven.  Nice big parking area and beach.  Good view to S, W, and NNW.  Nice site in September, very busy park in summer.  Grand Haven's public beach in next to the state park. Map
North Beach County Park EN63ub 86,15,14 43,04,57 600 Has picnic shelter and restrooms.  "Located on Lake Michigan in the City of Ferrysburg approximately 2 miles north of the Grand Haven pier. From US 31, take the Ferrysburg exit and go west on 3rd Street to North Shore Drive. Turn west on North Shore Drive and travel about 2 miles to the park entrance."
http://www.co.ottawa.mi.us/ParksVI/Parks/northbeach.htm
Map
Charles Mears State Park EN63ss 86,26,25 43,47,01 590 In Pentwater, from parking lot good view to W, NW, N, and NNE Not good to SW.  Like other state parks very busy in summer. Map
Consumers Energy Lookout EN63sv 86,26,15 43,54,05 900
???
Overlook for Consumers Energy's storage reservoir. About 4 miles south of Ludington.  Must park in parking lot and walk up hill.  Observation deck is only open in summer, the rest of the year you can only go part way up the trail.  Good view of Lake Michigan.  There is a deck closer to the parking lot that is not as high. Map
Ludington State Park EN64ra 86,30,28  44,02,00  590 Go past park entrance (gurad shack) turn left and operate from edge of parking lot or the beach.  From the parking lot good to SW, W, NW.  Think it would also be good to S and N on beach near the water.  Park is a ways from US31.  If not real busy, you could use city bearc/park in Ludington. Map
Douglas Park/First Street Beach  EN64tf 86,20,35 44,14,52 590 In downtown Manistee turn left on 1st. Street and take all the way to the lake.  Public beach at the end of the road. Map
Scenic Lookout EN64vm 86,14,00 44,31,13 823 Roadside Park on M22 at Benzie/Manistee countyline.  Nice view of Lake Michigan and S, trees in other direcitons.  125 steps to top of observation deck, can also operate from parking lot. Map
Empire Beach EN64 86,04,04 44,48,45 590 Downtown Empire.  Good WSW, W, NW. Map
Shauger Hill EN64xu 86,04,23 44,51,54 1082 "Lake Michigan" overlook on Pierce Stocking Drive. About 5miles N of Empire off of M109.  NPS owns road, must pay park fee.  Park in lot and cary equipment over boardwalk to top, not a hard walk.  Great view of Lake Michigan, Manitou Islands, and some of Glen Lake. Map
Empire Bluffs EN64xt 86,04,15 44,48,04 1100 Bluff on Lake Michigan, just south of Empire.  Great view to west.  Parking lot off of Wilco Rd, hike to top. Map
Glen Haven EN64xv 86,01,33 44,54,16 590 Setup on beach near old cannery building, can operate from car if you can see over short dune.   Nice views to WNW, NW, N, NE.  Good location to work the U.P.  Restrooms nearby.  Very busy place in summer, OK in Sept. Map
South Manitou Is. Sand Dune EN65wa 86,09,00 45,00,40 980 Bluff on SW side of South Manitou Island.  Great view in all directions, on clear day can see Wisconsin.  Must backpack on island.  Dune 400 ft. above Lake Mich. Map
Aylsworth & Johnson Overlook EN74at
or ??
EN64xt
85,59,58 44,49,11 1130
GPS
1.5 miles N of M72 on Co. Rd. 677, about 2 miles NE of Empire.  Nice view to S, SE, & SW, trees in other directions.  Co. Rr. 677.   Maps and WB9SPT's GPS claim parking area is EN74at, NE8I's and WB8TGY's GPS claim EN64xt.  Believe EN74at is right. Map
Pyramid Point EN74ax 85,55,40 44,57,40 970 NE of Glen Arbor, overlooking Lake Michigan, great view of the lake and islands.  Park at lot walk about a mile (up hill). Map
Beach at end of Co Rd. EN74av 85,58,50 44,54,20 590 Beach at the end of county road.  Good shot to other side of bay (Glen Haven EN64).  Good view to W, NW, and N.  Close to K2YAZ's QTH. Map
Miller Hill Overlook EN74av 85,56,37 44,54,19 1000 East of Glen Arbor, overlooking Glen Lake and Lake Michigan.  Great view to west, trees in all other directions.  Can drive a car to overlook. Map
Good Harbor Beach EN74bw 85,52,20 44,56,22 590 Off of M22, between Glen Arbor and Leland, at the end of Co. Rd. 669.  Good view to NW, N, and NE.  Good path to EN75ee.  Outhouse at site.  Poor parking, nice beach. Map
Braman Hill EN75ed 85,38,18 45,08,11 770 Senic overlook and park, with tables.  Can drive to top of hill.  West of Northport about 1.5 miles off of Milkild Rd. (Third St. in Northport).  Great view from SE to NNE, trees in other directions. Map
Peterson Park EN75ed 85,39,06 45,09,28 590 Co. Park NW of Northport.  Have to carry station down steps to beach.  Good view to SW, W, NW, N, & NNE. Map
Christmas Cove  EN75ee 85,37,58 45,18,8 590 Co. Park NW of Northport.  WW8M earned VUCC on 24GHz from here, Sept 2003, working EN75ee, EN74bw, EN64xv, EN76, EN65vw.  Can operate from parking lot, better view to N & NE from beach (short walk).  Good view to SW, W, NW, N & NNE. Map

Upper Michigan Sites

Name Of Site Grid Square Lon. Lat.  Height Other Information Map
Manistique Public Beach EN65vw 86,14,01 45,56,45 590 Off US2 on south side of Manistique.  Beach along US2 west of Manistique also good for operating from (EN65uw). Map
Seul Choix Lighthouse EN75bw 85,54,43 45,55,13 590 Off US2, on Co. Rd. 432 to Co. Rd. 431.  Can not operate from parking are, have to haul station to beach. Map
Gould City Township Park EN75dx 85,41,16 45,57,50 590 End of Gould City Rd. South of Gould City. Map
Naubinway Harbor, Millecoquins Pt. EN76gc 85,26,41 46,05,12 590 On south end of Naubinway.  Can also operate from US2 East of Naubinway. Map
Roadside Park at Epoufette EN76jb 85,10,51 46,03,45 690 Roadside park on US-2 overlooking Epoufette Bay.  Nice view to SE, S, & SW. Map

Indiana Sites

Name Of Site Grid Square Lon. Lat. Height Other Information Map
Ogden Dunes State Park EN61jp 87,11,27 41,37,27 ??? State Park Map
Whiting, Indiana EN61gq ? ? ? WB9SPT & NN9X worked EN62uj & EN62cl from here, Sept 2003. WB9SPT reports: "A Gem of a place for microwave.". Map
Indiana Dunes State Park
.
EN61mq 86,59,48 41,41,10 Garry K3SIW reports:  "It has clear views NW to NE if you can get the right parking spot. There aren't many, most are permit parking only. The site is Lake View Beach, Beverly Shores, IN just off US12." Garry's photo of site. Map

Illinois Sites

Name Of Site Grid Square Lon. Lat. Height Other Information Map
"Hill west of Elgin" ? EN52sa 88,29,03 42,01,13 1065 Tower Rd North of Plato Rd. and Central High School.  SE of Burlington, IL. 

Garry K3SIW says:  "It has degraded over the years but still  has clear shots from E to NE, meaning most of the Michigan lower peninsula spots you mention. It's not apparent from the picture, which is looking west, but the terrain drops slowly to the east several hundred feet in a few miles.  The drop off to the west is even steeper but unfortunately houses that have sprung up have trees that have matured to the point they impact the path to the horizon.".  K3SIW's photo of site.

Map
Winthrop Harbor EN62cl ? ? ? ? Map
Illinois Beach State Park EN62 87,48,14 42,25,29 590 On Lake Michigan, NE of Waukegan, IL Map

Wisconsin Sites

Name Of Site Grid Square Lon. Lat. Height Other Information Map
Wilmot Mountain EN52vm 88,11,27 42,29,55 940ft. 
???
Half mile west of Wilmon, Wis on Hwy "W".  Ski hill in winter. Map
Lake View Park EN62 87,48,58 42,35,59 590 On Lake in Kenosh WI Map
? EN63bj ? ? ? KF9US worked EN63vb from here Sept 2003. Map
Virmond Park  EN63bf ? ? ? On the lake near Mequon. Map
Harrington Beach EN63cl ? ? North of Port Washington but south of Sheboygan - this is a dead end road that ends
at the beachfront with what looks like 180 deg views.
Map
? EN63ds ? ? ? AA9IL worked K2YAZ, WB9SPT, NN9X, and WB8TGY from here. Map
Manitowoc EN64eb ? ? ? W9FZ operated from here. Map
hill EN64bd ? ? ? W9FZ worked K2YAZ from this hill off the lake. Map
? EN64ff ? ? ? State Park. W9FZ worked EN62cl, EN74av,  EN64ra, EN64tf & EN64vm from here Aug 2003. Map
? EN64fh ? ? ? AA9IL worked EN74av and EN74at from here. Map
? EN64gn ? ? ? AA9IL worked EN72av and EN74at from here. Map
? EN64jw ? ? ? ? Map
? EN64it ? ? ? ? Map
? EN64hq ? ? ? ? Map
? EN64gm ? ? ? (?) Lake Shore Drive.  W9FZ worked EN74av and EN64vm. Map
? EN64fi ? ? ? Map
Washington Island carferry dock EN65mg ? ? ? W9FZ worked EN65ux and EN74av from here. Map

The past few years many hams have been active around Lake Michigan during the ARRL 10GHz and above contest.
I have setup this web page to let other hams know where some of the best sites are around the lake.

Note:  Ratings are from reports from hams that have been to the site.  With 1 being bad and 5 being great.
If you have been to any of the above sites, please give me a rating on them and I'll try and average the results.

Note:  To help find some of the sites listed above, I recommend the "Atlas & Gazetteer" by DeLorme for the state the site is in..
 
 

Always looking for more good sites, please send me updates.

Last updated: August 14, 2003
Please send updates to:
wb8tgy@yahoo.com

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