City of Duluth Says Lifeguard Services Returning to Park Point

Recently, the City of Duluth sent out a press release stating that they, along with the Duluth Area Family YMCA, were in need of Park Point lifeguards for 2022. The initial response was not what they had hoped, so in an effort to get more applicants, they next announced they were raising lifeguard pay.

Thankfully, that appears to have worked as the City of Duluth and the Duluth Area Family YMCA announced Friday that lifeguarding services would be returning to the Park Point Beach House again this summer.

According to the City, lifeguards are tasked with monitoring safety conditions and providing residents and visitors a publicly accessible place to enjoy Lake Superior while having trained and knowledgeable Lifeguards keeping watch.

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If you're wondering where funding comes from for lifeguards, the City notes the service is funded through a $46,000 allocation of 2022 Tourism Tax funds and $6,500 supplementation from the Property, Parks, and Library Department. Since approval of Tourism Tax allocations, economic impacts leading to a need for market rate wage adjustments impacted the Duluth Y’s ability to attract lifeguard applicants. While the wage increases led to increased applicants, additional funding was needed to maintain service hours.

Lifeguard services will resume Memorial Day weekend and continue through Labor Day on a schedule that provides more guard hours on typical high use days. Here are the hours you'll find lifeguards on Park Point:

May 28-30: Noon-5:00 p.m.
June 3-5: Noon-5:00 p.m.
June 10-30: Noon-5:00 p.m. daily (No Lifeguards June 18 (Grandma's Marathon)
July 1-Aug. 28: Monday-Thursday Moon-5:00 p.m., Friday-Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (July 4 – 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.)
Aug. 29- Sept. 5: Noon - 5:00 p.m.

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You can expect the Duluth Fire Department to continue to support beach safety through managing flags, electronic signs, and emergency response. Flags and rescue stations are already in place. You can also get current beach conditions at ParkPointBeach.org.

The public can use restrooms and use the Beach House during public hours when no special events are scheduled.

Concessions, however will not be available to public. Instead, food trucks will be onsite on select days to offer food and other refreshments for purchase. Food trucks interested in being a part of the summer fun on Park Point are asked to contact parks@duluthmn.gov.

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LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.