What Makes the Great Lakes So Special?

by Rex Meikle

Cover Photo: Paul Haan

“What makes the Great Lakes region so special?” The question was delivered with a smile like that of a teacher informing the class there's a pop quiz. Looking for the right answer, no doubt.

Before I replied, I shot back a confident smile. “Big water,” I said.

The mentor I was speaking to smiled and nodded his head in confirmation. “Yeah, big water.”

For those who don’t know, or who aren’t familiar with our region, the Great Lakes deceive many with the word “lakes.” What they are is inland seas of freshwater. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that I’ve heard many who see Lake Michigan for the first time ask if it’s the ocean.

“That’s the lake!” they’ll say. 

Yeah, that’s the lake.

But what is it about these massive bodies of water that makes them so special?

Big water, big opportunities.

The list of things you can do in, on, and below the Great Lakes is endless. You can sail across them and reach the Atlantic, and from there, see the world. You can freedive below the surface and hunt for your next meal while spearfishing. You can explore bays, tributaries, and islands that each feels entirely its own. Every stretch of shoreline has a different mood, a different story, a different history. The opportunities are endless. 

But there’s something else that happens when you spend time around it.

Big water humbles you.

Standing alone on the shoreline, especially on a quiet morning or a windy afternoon, it has a way of resetting you. Your worries soften. You're in the moment, at last. The things that felt consuming now start to feel smaller. You remember you’re not the first, nor the last, and you’re not alone. This water was here before you, and it will be here long after you. 

You feel connected again. To nature. To God. To yourself.

Big water is vast.

I love small inland lakes. They’re safe, intimate, and familiar. But after a few seasons, they begin to feel known. You know which dock the bass lurk under. You’ve swum across it and back. You recognize the same cabins, the same people, the same routines.

But big water is different. It’s too vast. There’s too much to see in one lifetime. You’ll never find all the fishing spots. You’ll never swim across it. You’ll never meet everyone who feels at home on it. And that’s exactly the point.

Big water keeps you curious. It keeps you humble. It keeps you grounded.

There’s room here for everyone. The history buff is drawn to stories of exploration and discovery. The silent paddler tracing shorelines at sunrise. The angler, the sailor, the swimmer, the person who just wants to sit and watch waves roll in, this is their place. 

There’s room for speedboats and silence. Room for ambition and reflection. Room for you. Room for me.

That’s what makes the Great Lakes special.

Door Born was built for the people who already understand this. For those who feel most themselves near the water, who find calm in its scale, and who know the Great Lakes are not a substitute for somewhere else, but a place entirely their own. This region shapes the way we live, the way we play, and the way we see the world. It deserves to be represented honestly and proudly. Door Born exists to do just that, for the people who feel at home on big water and carry that connection with them wherever they go.

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