the great lakes

My friends and I just swam all 5 Great Lakes and here's how you can do it too

Are you looking for a fun summer road trip? Have you ever wanted to boast you’ve jumped in all five Great Lakes? If so, you're in luck, as the Great, Great Lake, Lake Tour ticks both boxes!

I recently set out with a group of friends from the Toronto area to swim in all five Great Lakes in the same day and have shared the itinerary so you too can jump in all five Great Lakes this summer, whether you want to conquer them all in one (long) day, or spread it out over a few days.

After starting at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning by jumping into a brisk Lake Ontario in Hamilton, we piled into the 12-seater Sprinter van to embark on our mission.

We started in Hamilton because of the self-imposed one day deadline, but if you aren’t against the clock, you can access Lake Ontario via any safe beach access point, such as Cherry Beach in Toronto (always check water quality before jumping in!).

the great lakes

The first swim in Lake Ontario.

Following an obligatory Tim Hortons stop, we arrived in Port Dover to spend time in the warmest of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie.

We could have spent the whole day at the beautiful beach, but we were on a mission, so piled back into the van and set the GPS to Purdy's Fish Market in Sarnia for some lunch before crossing the border.

After a delicious pickerel and chips lunch, we crossed the border headed for Bay City State Park in Michigan to jump into Lake Huron, which has the longest shoreline of the five Great Lakes. It was $12 USD to enter the park - money well spent to further our mission.

the great lakes

The crew and the van.

Next, the GPS coordinates were set to Public Beach Access Watawam, Michigan, to jump into Lake Michigan, the only Great Lake entirely within the United States.

At this point, we had spent nearly ten hours on the road, so were eagerly anticipating the next and final stop - the largest, coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior.

We arrived at Brimley Beach, Michigan, at 8:30 p.m, Saturday evening, piled out of the van, and ran into the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, Lake Superior. Mission accomplished.

the great lakes

The Big Nickel.

Altogether, we covered 900 km on the road in one day over a span of 15 hours, and nearly 1600 km altogether. On the way home, we tried another route to visit the Big Nickel in Sudbury for a fun photo op.

Enjoy the road trip and don't forget your swim suits, towels, and most importantly, your passport!

Photos by

Michael Maunder


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Travel

You can glimpse what used to be the largest silver mine in the world under an Ontario lake

Rules for Canadians crossing the U.S. border with dogs to change and here's what's new

Here's how the global IT outage is impacting airline and other operations in Toronto

People horrified by claims visitors to Ontario beaches are pooping in the sand

New U.S. border rules for Canadians travelling with dogs hit roadblock

Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport just had to close its pedestrian tunnel due to flooding

Toronto-bound plane passengers could see CN Tower before landing in wrong city

Canadian family living in Vietnam breaks down how much cheaper things are