Phytoplankton was collected in grab samples at 21 stations in Michigan nearshore waters of Lakes Superior and Huron during July and September of 1974. The plankton was concentrated by sedimentation and enumerated in a Palmer-Malony cell with a brightfield microscope. Samples from Lake Superior indicated a cold oligotrophic lake with phytoplankton densities usually less than 3,000/ml. The community was dominated by diatoms and cryptomonads. Lake Huron samples had relatively high densities of algae. Standing crops in southern Lake Huron were generally greater than 4,000 units/ml with maximum densities in Thunder Bay and Saginaw Bay exceeding 14,000 units/ml. These two large pulses were dominated by blue-green algae. At other Lake Huron stations, diatoms, chrysophytes and cryptomonads were dominant.