Stories From the Road

The Boat Show season runs from December through February. Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of visiting some GREAT cities on my tours to promote my Boat Lift Post Covers. Nashville, Detroit, Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison. Minneapolis, Omaha, Des Moines, Seattle, and Ft Lauderdale as well.
Besides boat lifts, boat docks, and boat dock accessories, one of the interesting topics of discussion is the "per capita" argument. Nearly everyone claims that their state has more boats per capita or more lakes per capita. This is a longer discussion than we have room here but I have found some interesting data on the matter of who has more lakes.
I took three of the leading contenders and asked AI for some data. 

The comparison of lake numbers between Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan reveals some interesting facts:

Minnesota

Minnesota has 11,842 lakes that are 10 acres or larger. However, using a more inclusive definition, Minnesota actually has:

• 14,380 lakes when counting lakes that cross the U.S.-Canada border and excluding a few lakes mostly in other states.
• 124,662 lake/pond features according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which defines these as bodies of water larger than a quarter-acre.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin claims to have 15,074 "documented" lakes. However, this number is based on a more generous definition that includes smaller bodies of water. When using criteria similar to Minnesota's:

• Wisconsin has about 5,898 lakes that are 10 acres or larger.
• The U.S. Geological Survey counts 82,099 lake/pond features in Wisconsin.

Michigan

Michigan has a total of 62,798 inland lakes that are at least 0.1 acres in size, including:

• 26,266 lakes up to 1 acre
• 6,537 lakes between 1 and 10 acres
• 1,148 lakes between 10 and 100 acres
• 98 lakes between 100 and 1,000 acres
• 10 lakes that are 10,000 acres or larger

When comparing these states using similar criteria, Minnesota appears to have more lakes than Wisconsin. Michigan, however, surpasses both states in total number of lakes when including smaller bodies of water. It's important to note that the definition of what constitutes a lake varies between states, making direct comparisons challenging.

In the end, it is not as black and white as one might think. It's an ongoing debate that will continue for the ages, In the mean time, get out there and enjoy the water.