The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has removed the swim buoys from most state parks around the Great Lakes for the season.

DNR Plainwell District Supervisor Pat Whalen tells us that’s the sign it’s time to stop swimming in the lakes until next year. He says the DNR typically removes the buoys from parks like Warren Dunes and Van Buren State Park just after Labor Day.

“Once the buoys are out, it’s no longer a designated swim area,” Whalen said. “We’re no longer completing our bi-weekly checks of the area for water depth. Along with those high waves and winds, you’ve got changing sandbars. So what may have been a less than five-foot area when the swim buoys were in, there may be new drop-offs and new sandbars that have formed. Rip currents, all the other longshore currents and structural currents still exist, obviously.”

While swimming is still technically allowed, Whalen says it’s not recommended because of those hazards. Also, once the buoys are taken out, the DNR stops posting flags to warn swimmers of water conditions.

Whalen says life saving devices like life rings will still be left out until October 1.