Cleveland skyline over Lake Erie from Edgewater Park

The beach at Edgewater Park on Lake Erie

Edgewater Park on the Cleveland lakefront

Sunrise over Lake Erie at Edgewater Park

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Ride Cleveland, keep it open

Cleveland rides Lake Erie: a city beach minutes from downtown, and a long natural beach to the east where kiters launch when the west wind blows.

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7 riders call this homeKite, WingEdgewater Park, Ohio

Everything you need to know about Cleveland

Live conditions

Why riders love it

What brings people here, from the people who manage it and the people who ride it.

At Headlands the shoreline runs southwest to northeast. The wind is best from the west to southwest, and east or northeast also works. It is usually gusty.
Headlands has a long sandy beach with some pebbles. The south end is the designated kite launch; the north end is a wildlife preserve where launching is prohibited.
No wetsuit is needed from June to September. Riders use a shorty or full suit in spring and fall, and the water drops to the mid-50s °F by late October.

Sources: Kiteforum

See the wind right now

Access and rules

Each site sets its own rules. The chapter publishes confirmed rules as each site answers in writing, and points riders to the official page before they go.

Cleveland Metroparks' Edgewater Beach rules cover swimming, paddling and pets but do not mention kiteboarding. Paddlers must stay clear of the swim area and follow the rock jetty inside the buoys.
At Headlands, kiters keep to the south end of the beach and stay clear of swimmers. Driftwood outside the raked area can tangle lines.

Sources: Cleveland Metroparks; Kiteforum

Help hold the launch

Ecology and habitat

Stewardship rotates across the city's spots, so riders are known as the people who look after them.

Headlands Beach State Park sits between Mentor Marsh and the Grand River.
Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve borders the park to the east, and Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve to the west.

Sources: Wikipedia (Headlands Beach State Park)

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Good to know

Location, facilities and history.

Edgewater Beach is in lower Edgewater Park, part of Cleveland Metroparks' Lakefront Reservation, between the Memorial Shoreway and Lake Erie, minutes from downtown.
Headlands Beach State Park is in Mentor, about 20 miles east of Cleveland, and is described as the longest natural beach in Ohio.
Edgewater Beach is 2,400 feet long, with 1,000 feet of swimming access, and is open until dusk every day of the year.
Restrooms, picnic tables, a concession stand and trail access are at Edgewater. Swimming is not allowed when red flags are posted.

Sources: Cleveland Metroparks; Cleveland Metroparks; Wikipedia; Kiteforum

Meet the riders

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Cleveland

Edgewater Beach runs 2,400 feet along Lake Erie, minutes from downtown.

Source: Cleveland Metroparks

Know the spot

Cleveland

At Headlands Beach, 20 miles east, the wind works best from west to southwest.

Source: Kiteforum

Know the spot

Cleveland

From June to September, no wetsuit is needed on Lake Erie.

Source: Kiteforum

Know the spot

Why Cleveland needs a chapter

Great Lakes

Lake Erie is shallow and wide, and when a west wind runs down its length the water off Cleveland comes alive. Kiters ride from the city's lakefront and from the long natural beach at Headlands, twenty miles east.

7riders call this home

Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Cleveland chapter, World Wind Sports

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Great Lakes

The riders are here, but the rules are not. Edgewater's beach rules cover swimmers, paddlers and pets and say nothing about kites. At Headlands, kiters launch from one end of a state park beach that is crowded with swimmers all summer.

7riders call this home

Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Cleveland chapter, World Wind Sports

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Great Lakes

A chapter gives Cleveland's riders a single voice with Metroparks and the state park, a record of safe riding, and stewardship days that show the beaches are better with kiters on them.

7riders call this home

Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Cleveland chapter, World Wind Sports

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Photographer credits Back this chapter

The riders, schools and crew of Cleveland

Riders from Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Rocky River, Bay Village, Euclid, Mentor, Lorain, Akron and the schools that teach them.

See the rider directory Talk on the board

WWSThe chapterHolds the line on access: one standing voice with whoever manages the launch.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days, so the people who manage the beach see riders as an asset.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends, so riders are trained and self-policing.WWSThe chapterHolds the line on access: one standing voice with whoever manages the launch.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days, so the people who manage the beach see riders as an asset.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends, so riders are trained and self-policing.

Anthony GalangLevel 5 Hydrofoil, Rocky River

Jacob CraineLevel 3L, Akron

Manuel CerqueiraLevel 2I, ClevelandMMike HochschwenderLevel 4T, AkronMMaciej ZawadzkiLevel 4P, Cleveland HeightsOOlivia HochschwenderLevel 3K, AkronLLisa NelsonLevel 3J, Mentor

Anthony GalangLevel 5 Hydrofoil, Rocky River

Jacob CraineLevel 3L, Akron

Manuel CerqueiraLevel 2I, ClevelandMMike HochschwenderLevel 4T, AkronMMaciej ZawadzkiLevel 4P, Cleveland HeightsOOlivia HochschwenderLevel 3K, AkronLLisa NelsonLevel 3J, Mentor

iSportsKite, WingiWind spotEdgewater Park, OhioiKnow thisCleveland, Ohio, on the south shore of Lake Erie.iKnow thisBest on west to southwest wind; warm water June to September, cold the rest of the year.iKnow thisEdgewater Beach has no kite rules; Headlands Beach has a designated launch at its south end.iSportsKite, WingiWind spotEdgewater Park, OhioiKnow thisCleveland, Ohio, on the south shore of Lake Erie.iKnow thisBest on west to southwest wind; warm water June to September, cold the rest of the year.iKnow thisEdgewater Beach has no kite rules; Headlands Beach has a designated launch at its south end.

Live conditions

Wind right now at Cleveland

Full forecast

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Your gift keeps the chapter running and the beach cared for: cleanup supplies, signage, certification weekends and the costs of being the group the park can call.

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Muskegon

A long, open Lake Michigan beach beside the Muskegon pier, where westerly winds roll in off the big lake. Local riders are out from early spring, sometimes with ice still on the pier.