For Your Safety at Whitefish Dunes

Whitefish Dunes employees do what they can to assure visitors' safety. Please read and heed this information about rip currents and poison ivy, two of the park's hazards:

Rip Currents

Lake Michigan can produce dangerous rip currents [exit DNR]. These currents are most serious when large waves are present.

We can never be sure of where these currents will occur. However, most of them occur within 200 yards of the ramp leading to the beach. (See map.)Signs and buoys identify this area.

When large waves are present, use extreme caution and move farther down the beach. Do not go into the water more than waist deep. This is because long shore currents can carry you into the hazardous water. These currents are associated with the rip currents in that they follow the shore until deflected out toward the lake and become rip currents.

If caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore; rip currents are seldom wider than 30 feet.

Poison Ivy

Leaves of three, let it be. Poison ivy is found throughout Whitefish Dunes State Park. It can grow as a small plant or as a small bush and can be found along trails and on the sand dunes.

Each poison ivy leaf is divided into three shiny leaflets. The edges of the leaflets may be smooth or notched. On the dunes the leaves may fold down thus reducing evaporation of water from the plant and becoming difficult to recognize. It is best to stay off any vegetated area of the dune to avoid poison ivy.

Try not to brush against the leaves. Most people have a skin reaction to oil made by the plant. Itchy blisters or a rash can form soon after contact or days later. You can get poison ivy by touching any part of the plant, by touching clothing or a pet that has brushed against the plant or by breathing smoke from burning poison ivy.

Learn to identify and avoid poison ivy when you are doing your nature activities. If you come in contact with it, scrub yourself with soap and water immediately. If a rash develops, try calamine lotion, hydrocortisone lotion, and oatmeal baths or cold compresses to soothe the itching. Be sure to see a doctor if the rash spreads or won’t go away.

For more information, ask Whitefish Dunes State Park, (920) 823-2400.