Can You Legally Walk Along Lake Michigan’s Shoreline?

Can a Lake Michigan homeowner stop you from walking along the shoreline—or does Wisconsin law give the public a right to be there?

On this episode of Legally Speaking, Kirsten Hildebrand and Matt Kaplan examine a Shorewood trespassing case involving a UWM professor who deliberately challenged a homeowner’s “No Trespassing” signs while walking along Lake Michigan. After refusing to leave, he received a citation and began a legal fight over exactly where private property ends and the public’s rights begin.