Live · updated continuously
Know before you go.
Live wind and water conditions for 1547 American lakes — one dashboard per lake, with an honest sailing score for every hour of the week.
- Lakes
- 1547
- States
- 50
- Price
- $0
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Famous sailing lakes, live conditions, zero clicks wasted.
Browse by region
Every lake with an active USGS gauge, coast to coast.
Northeast
Southeast
Midwest
Southwest
What makes a sailing day
Wind in your band
The sweet spot depends on your craft: pick a profile — Beginner/Kayak (3–10 kt), Cruising (6–16 kt), or Performance/Wing (8–22 kt) — and every score on the site retunes itself.
Gust factor
Gusts more than 1.5× the sustained wind mean jibe-crashing holes and sudden knockdowns — the score dings them hard.
Storms & cold
High rain probability is treated as thunderstorm risk, and cold air raises the stakes of a swim. Both subtract from every affected hour.
Learn the water
All guides →Thermal winds: why lakes breeze up every afternoon
The reliable afternoon lake breeze is a heat engine you can set your watch by.
Gust factor: the number that predicts jibe crashes
Sustained wind tells you how fast you'll go. Gust factor tells you how often you'll swim.
Reading USGS water gauges: elevation vs. gage height
Two numbers, two meanings — knowing which one your lake reports prevents bad launch decisions.
How the LakePulse sailing score works
A 0–10 rating built from wind, gusts, storms, and cold — and tuned to your kind of sailing.
Why wind direction matters more on lakes than at sea
The same wind speed is a completely different day depending on where it comes from.
Small-craft advisories and when to stay ashore
What the flag actually means, and how to make the go/no-go call for your boat.
Questions
Where does the data come from?
Water levels and temperatures come from USGS stream and lake gauges; wind forecasts come from Open-Meteo, which blends national weather models. Everything is public data, refreshed continuously.
What is the sailing score?
A 0–10 rating for every hour: full marks for steady 6–16 kt wind, minus penalties for big gust factors, rain/thunderstorm probability, and cold air. It is tuned for dinghies, small keelboats, windsurfers, and wing foilers.
Does it cost anything?
No. LakePulse is free, has no account requirement, and works on any phone or laptop browser.
Why is my lake missing?
We list lakes with an active USGS gauge reporting water level. If your lake has a gauge we missed — or data looks wrong — the gauge link on each lake page lets you verify against the source.