Operating Locations Near, Or On Lake Michigan
This Page is under construction
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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