Great Lakes Waterway River between Huron and Erie. Usually, one or more U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers help keep the water passage open for part of the fall and early winter, although shipping usually ceases for two to three months thereafter. The Great Lakes Waterway is co-administered by the governments of Canada and the United States of America. The waterway allows passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the inland port of Duluth on Lake Superior, a distance of and to Chicago, on Lake Michigan, at . Together with the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the Waterway allows both ocean-going vessels and the ore, grain and coal-bearing
Duluth, Minnesota surfer Mark Anderson from St. Paul described the Duluth surfing experience as "...standing in the snow, jumping off of an ice-covered rock into Lake Superior to go catch waves that any surfer anywhere in the world, pro or beginner, would envy." Erik Wilkie, a surfer originally from California interviewed by MPR, remarked that while Lake Superior surfing may look easy, it can be dangerous. "There's the ice-cold freshwater, which is not as buoyant as saltwater. Lake waves also appear every five seconds or so, much faster than those in the ocean. If you take off on the first or second