Surf’s Up at Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak

The Leelanau Ticker has a great feature on opportunities for kids (and adults) to learn to surf, paddleboard & have all kinds of fun on the water with Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak:

“We always wanted to spread the joy of being in Lake Michigan,” says Annabel Skrocki. The family opened the retail store in Empire in 2004, the state’s first full-service surf shop, and hence the longest-standing such shop to date.

The store sells everything from surfboards and skateboards to stand up paddleboards, wetsuits, skim boards, even foldable kayaks (really!). It also rents out equipment, including the above, plus bikes.
And then there’s the SBX Junior Waterman Camp. The camp staff gives lessons on how to safely have fun on the big water for groms and grommets, ages 12-15.

“We do whatever the water gives us. If it’s nice surf, we give a detailed surf lesson,” she says. If not, they find other ways to provide fun and learning for the campers, from kayaking to swimming to diving.

Annabel says they developed the program after her older sister Ella visited California. When she returned, Ella told the family about the cool surf day camp for kids she’d observed, and that they should consider doing the same. “She said we need to do something like it and get kids out on Lake Michigan,” recalls Annabel.

Depending on what the weather and lake offer, Skrocki says they might go on a surf safari and spend the day sliding freshwater waves anywhere from Petoskey to Arcadia. If the wind doesn’t cooperate and the lake is calm, she says they might turn to SUPs, which they say is a great way to get a waterside view of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Or they can take the campers to paddle a nearby river, learn to hold their breath and dive, or find other ways to enjoy the water and educate the campers.

At press time there were two openings left for the June camp, running June 26, 28 and 30. Both the July and August camps are already sold out.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I have a son who learned to surf with the Skrocki family and they are positively wonderful!!

photos by Beth Price Photography, courtesy Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak