With an average water temperature of 60 degrees, strong northeast winds and hazy skies, Lake
Erie can’t possibly be a sufficient place to surf … or can it?
Stevie Dalpe, a Dover, Ohio resident and avid surfer, can attest to the lake’s hidden potential.
Born and raised in sunny South Florida, Ohio was the last place Dalpe expected to be, especially
with surfing being his sole passion.
“I think I started surfing when I was like eleven,” Dalpe said.
Dalpe’s love for surfing began during a typical beach day in Fort Lauderdale, where he and his
best friend, Eric, took turns riding waves on Eric’s surfboard. When Dalpe successfully caught
his first wave and stood up, he said he was hooked.
“Then of course I had to get my own surfboard,” Dalpe said.
Dalpe and Eric’s friendship deepened through shared days of surfing, flipping through surf
magazines and enduring sunburns and salt-stiffened skin. As competitive teenage boys, they tried
to outdo each other every chance they got.
“We had fun together,” Dalpe said. “It was so pure and innocent, and we were just trying to get
better at it”.
In 1997, Dalpe said he uprooted to Ohio because of his mother’s passing, but that he took his
love for surfing with him. He said he kept thinking about a magazine image he once saw of
someone surfing on Lake Erie and that he wanted to experience it for himself.
New to the area, Dalpe wasn’t sure where to go or what weather conditions to watch for, so he
started researching. He said he discovered a website called lakeeriesurf.com – now
lakeparty.com/surf – and used its forecasting tools and photos of surfers and waves to determine
which days he thought would be good days to go surfing.
Through trial and error, Dalpe found that Edgewater Beach in Cleveland was the prime spot for
surfers to go.
“If you’re a surfer in Ohio, you’re going to go to Edgewater Park,” Dalpe said. “It’s the biggest
beach and the waves there are pretty nice.”
Now, with two decades worth of practice, Dalpe knows exactly which weather patterns to
look out for and even what type of surf they will produce.
“For Edgewater, the most ideal conditions would be a northeast wind,” Dalpe said. “It’s more of
a longboard style kind of wave, normally slower but you will still get a great ride”.
In the early days, connecting with other surfers was challenging. The community was smaller,
and resources were limited. Dalpe said surfers often had to be in the right place at the right time,
following other surfers to different spots without knowing exactly where they were headed.
One lucky day at Edgewater Beach, Dalpe said he spotted a group of surfers in the parking lot
preparing to head out. They let him tag along, even though he wasn’t fully equipped for the cold
and windy conditions.
“I didn’t have the right gear,” Dalpe said.
Dalpe explained that he had to fashion booties out of an old wetsuit and wear both a full-length
and a short-length wetsuit in an effort to keep warm. He said that he was freezing and miserable, but that he was going to do everything he could to push through because he didn’t want to quit surfing.
“You add the elements of cold, all the rubber you have to wear, it’s a struggle,” Dalpe said. “I
mean you’re adding another 15 to 20 pounds to yourself, but you do it because you want to surf.”
Another notable surf spot is Lakeside Landing beach, termed “Spitzers” by local surfers, in
Lorain County. According to Dalpe, if the weather is just right, Spitzers can produce waves so
impressive, they make surfers forget they’re on a lake.
“Anything from East Northeast, maybe even East, is perfect for Spitzers,” Dalpe said. “And that
wave, is the magical wave. That wave will feel like you’re in the ocean.”
In 2022, Spitzer faced a threat when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering wanted to create a
breakwater and submerged wetlands project on top of it. This led Dalpe and other local surfers
to team up with the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation to advocate for the preservation of their
beloved surf spot.
With surfing on the rise in Ohio, Dalpe said he still gets inspired by the new generation of surfers
who push the sport further with tricks like flipping in the air and barrel rides.
“I can’t describe it,” Dalpe said. “It’s not just going out there and catching a wave. It’s a lifestyle,
and it welcomes everyone.”