For Friday, Oct. 2, 2026
1 – You may know which of the Great Lakes is largest: Superior. But which of the five, including Lake America, or Ontario, has the most beaches?
WorldAtlas.com, a geography website, ranked the numbers based on a State of the Great Lakes technical report, counting total beaches that are monitored for swimming.
Lake Ontario is in fifth place, with 55 monitored beaches, followed by Lake Huron, with 107.
The Top Three are Lake Erie, with 164 monitored beaches, Lake Superior, with 226, and Lake Michigan at No. 1 with 535 monitored beaches.
The numbers only include monitored U.S. beaches. Don’t forget, the United States shares the Great Lakes with Canada.
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2 – Leave the leaves. Or as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service puts it, leaf, l-e-a-f space for wildlife this season.
It’s an old story that you may have heard before. But it bears repeating. You can avoid a lot of raking or blowing and bagging by doing … nothing.
Leaf litter is a source of nutrients for insects which consume decomposing leaves and become food for birds. Butterflies and moths lay their eggs among leaf litter. Etc., etc.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adds that a typical light cover of leaves on your lawn isn’t going to harm your grass either. Leaving the leaves will actually help produce a vibrant green lawn in the spring. The leaves you do gather can be used as mulch.
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3 – Speaking of leaves, fall color is blooming.
The latest report from Pure Michigan, through Monday, Oct. 5, is 40-60% fall color in the Upper Peninsula, peaking around Wednesday, Oct. 7.
The Northern Lower Peninsula including Gaylord and Houghton Lake should reach 20-40%, peaking around Oct. 15.
For us here in the Central Lower Peninsula, fall color in the Saginaw Bay area may hit 20% over the weekend, peaking around Oct. 25.
– Mr. Great Lakes is heard at 6:45 and 8:45 Friday mornings on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM WUCX in University Center, Michigan, near Bay City (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter or even Bluesky #MrGreatLakes
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