Michigan summers are beautiful! Sunny skies, warm breezes, beautiful blue water - but they are short! The last thing you want is to waste a precious summer day by picking the wrong beach for you and your family. We are all different, and look for different things in a beach for our enjoyment. Some people want to hike out to a remote location for a secluded swim, bringing nothing but their beach towel! Others want to cart the whole family out for a long beach day with umbrellas, canopies, chairs, coolers, food, snacks, beach balls, and rafts! Thankfully, Michigan’s lakeshore has something for everyone. Check out our list below of beaches we’ve been to and get a picture of which ones fit your needs this summer!
[Pictured, Peterson Beach]
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Empire Beach - Close to the cute downtown of Empire with shopping, coffee, and ice cream available. Empire is also home to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore information center if you’re looking for passes, maps, and additional information for the entire National Lakeshore area. The beach itself is nice, on the smaller side, with a parking lot, play ground, picnic tables, and fire pits.
Peterson Beach - If you’re looking for private and secluded, this is the beach for you! There is one road that will bring you out here or you can hike to this beach from the Platte River Campground. If you are driving, it is a bit of an “off roading” experience, be sure your car is ready for that. There is a dirt parking lot and an outhouse. The beach is beautiful, peaceful, and calm with beautiful ranges of blue water. It can be a bit buggy - so bring your bug spray! We also have never caught this beach with warm water. That’s not to say it won’t get warm in late summer, but be prepared for a chilly swim. This is definitely one of our favorites and worth the extra effort to get there.
[Peterson Beach]
Platte River Beach - This beach is excellent for picnics! There are fully equipped bathrooms, large grassy areas with grills and picnic tables, and a large parking area. It is at the mouth of the Platte River, creating an interesting swimming situation. You kind of cross the river to get to the actual Lake. While the river is shallow, it could raise an issue if you have small children, but otherwise is not a big deal. There are also tons of activities to do along the river. If you're interested in kayaking or tubing, you will end your trip at this location.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NvHFWrrxX8 Link to full video on Platte River Campground! Check it out if you're interested!
Point Betsie Lighthouse - Beautiful lighthouse area. Small road leading up to it, not necessarily a parking lot. It has a small, thin beach. I wouldn’t recommend this beach for the all day, beach picnic, families with lots of equipment, or a large amount of people. But it would be great to stop by for a swim. The lighthouse itself looks really cool and while we weren’t able to check it out thoroughly, it looks like it would be fun.
Orchard Beach State Park - We camped here for one or two nights and it is very lovely. The views were just beautiful as it’s along the bluff of Lake Michigan. However, the beach itself was inaccessible when we were there in 2020, which was an extremely high water level year. Something to keep in mind for this area. If I recall correctly there were some small trails in the campground along with some great picnic areas along the bluff.
Ludington State Park - You know we could go on and on about Ludington for days! Instead, we’ll just insert the link for our full review of Ludington State Park here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTG6HR5hfKc&t=20s
There is also a beach in Ludington (the town vs. the state park). We have not been there ourselves, but drive by often. It looks like there is a parking lot, bathrooms, skateboarding, and a decent amount of beach, perhaps even some concessions. If not - you are close to downtown ice cream and restaurants.
Charles Mears State Park in Pentwater We were really impressed with Charles Mears State Park when it comes to accessibility, convenience, and a lot of easy, beach fun. The camping is RV, on parking lot style, but it looks like there’s a few tent sights too. It’s essentially beach camping, which is a really fun vibe for those hot summer days. The water was beautiful, there were bathroom facilities as well as concession stands, and a pier. A great place to have some summer fun!
Silver Lake State Park - While the town and camping areas are cute, the Silver Lake area is largely geared towards people with (or renting) dune buggies. If you are not into this - it’s not the place for you. However, if you are - you have found your people and will enjoy this area a lot! We couldn’t really find beach access if you weren’t going over dunes. If you go a little farther down the coast, there is a cool lighthouse, Little Sable Point Lighthouse, but it is still surrounded by small dunes. I see online a paved path to the lighthouse. It was a fun adventure for us, but meant for a very niche set of dune buggy people.
Muskegon - I think Muskegon is severely under-rated in West Michigan. Their beach is large with white sand and beautiful water! I think we were at Pere Marquette Park and it was beautiful. If you know details on other lakefront parks in Muskegon - please comment below and let us know how they are!
PJ Hoffmaster State Park - This is another one we could go on and on about and has become a regular for us. PJ Hoffmaster is a park that has a lot to offer throughout the year. While we haven’t been there in winter, we go every other season. It has great trails to explore, camping, and a few different places of beach access. They have hikes out to the beach, but they also have a beach parking lot, making it much easier for those big family trips. PJ Hoffmaster has something for everyone!
Grand Haven State Park/Grand Haven City Beach - Is one of the most popular beaches in West Michigan. It has a great downtown full of shopping and restaurants. The beach is beautiful, with lots of sand/space for those big, full day, beach days with large groups of family and friends. Bring coolers, tents, chairs, a football or frisbee - there’s room for it all! BUT GET THERE EARLY! If you’re there at 10am during the summer, you’re late. There’s parking at the State Park, as well as a small lot a little further down at the Grand Haven City Beach. These spots fill up fast - if you miss them, you’ll have to park in the surrounding residential areas and cart your stuff down and back. Early bird catches the parking spot - don’t underestimate how quickly these spots fill up - but if you’re the one that gets it - it is worth it! Get there before 10am during the summer.
Rosy Mounds Natural Area - We have a video on this area as well as a blog post coming soon! Bottom line is - it’s a beautiful area for hiking and getting exercise while enjoying nature. It is made for swimmers who enjoy putting in a little work for their enjoyment. It is NOT the place to bring your grandparents or young children and tons or beach equipment. The beach access is a hike away with a LOT of stairs. Check out our video for more details on this spot! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhbpuHC3FYw&t=35s
Kirk Park - This park has good picnic areas and some trails, however the beach access has been eroded. Last we knew actually getting to the beach or water was not possible. Great for picnics! But not for a beach day.
Olive Shores - Olive Shores is beautiful. It is a bit of a hike, with a good amount of stairs, to get to the beach. You’ll hike through beautiful trees and spot some birds and squirrels on your way. The beach itself is skinny, not fit for a lot of supplies (which is fine, because you don’t want to hike with much more than a towel anyways!). It is a great place for some exercise and a swim. The water is beautiful and refreshing.
Kouw Park - This is a cute park if you’re in the area. There is a small playground in a shaded area with a few picnic tables and grills. This would be a great spot for a kid’s birthday party, or a casual Sunday cookout. The beach access is a short trail away, however, last time we went the stairs down to the beach were under water. I am not sure if they’ve resolved this problem or not, but something to keep in mind as you plan. Use it as a park, but maybe not for a beach day.
Tunnel Park - Tunnel Park has LARGE areas of grass with picnic tables, trees, grills, volleyball courts, and restrooms. It is great for summer day activities. There are two ways to get to the beach - up over the dune, or through the tunnel! The beach itself is slanted, making it a little difficult to camp out for a long period of time. However, the park as a whole is great and set up to camp out on the grass for the day, grab your towels for a swim when you’re ready, and then head back to the green space for a cookout!
Ottawa Beach, Holland State Park - We haven’t camped at Holland State Park, so we cannot speak to that experience. However, living in Holland, and Clemente growing up there, Ottawa Beach is one of our home beaches and holds a special place in our hearts. If you’ve been looking for a place to bring lots of friends or family to set up on the beach for an all day ordeal, this is the place to do it. Similar to Grand Haven, there is tons of beach space to set up tents, chairs, coolers, and play football or volleyball. There’s also a great store/bathroom facility for ice cream, or hotdogs, etc. There’s also a covered picnic table area in this building if you need a break from the sun. It has a large parking lot. Overall, this beach is great for the whole family and for people who like to bring everything, but the kitchen sink, with them to the beach.
Oval Beach - This is the main beach for Saugatuck visitors. It is a beautiful, mid-sized, beach with plenty of parking. While this is a longtime favorite for many, we finally ventured out only last summer (2021) and had a lovely day.
South Haven, North Beach and South Beach - Katie grew up in South Haven and these are her home beaches! South Haven has put a lot of work into the South Beach over the last several years adding concession stands, a playground, updated parking, and a splash pad! This side of the beach has the lighthouse and a great pier to venture out on as well as easy access to South Haven’s downtown where shopping, ice cream, or great bars and restaurants await. There is a short harbor walk from downtown to the pier/South Beach. If you head up to town from the beach, don’t forget your shirt and shoes or no service! On the other side of the channel is The North Beach, It has paradise vacation vibes with volleyball nets, beautiful sand, and usually clearer water (depending on the currents and weather). There are paddle board and kayak rentals and a concession store with great ice cream. While smaller overall than Ottawa Beach and Grand Haven, there is still a large amount of sand and space to spread out for a great beach day.
Van Buren State Park - The beach at Van Buren State Park is picturesque. There is a large parking lot. From there, there is a paved sidewalk down to the beach. This beach is on the skinnier side, but has a lot of length creating space. There are more rocks at this beach - if you have sensitive feet we’d recommend some water shoes for you. The big attraction for this beach is the dunes. Katie grew up playing on these dunes, climbing up, exploring, then running down, over and over again. If you have a family with older kids who are up for the climb, this park will keep them busy for hours.
St Joseph - Tiscornia Park, is the side that has the pier and lighthouse. There are also parking and bathrooms. We stopped here for a swim at sunset when we made it back to Michigan from our cross country road trip. It was beautiful, refreshing, and reminds you of everything good about this state! The drive to get there winded through some neighborhoods, but don’t worry! You’re going in the right direction! The beach is large with lots of beautiful beach grass. Very picturesque. Silver Beach - is on the other side of the channel in St. Joseph. This is another great place for a long day of family fun. There’s a huge parking lot, bathrooms, ice cream/concessions, a playground, a gazebo and plenty of beach space to spread out. There’s also a great pizza place in the back of the parking lot. Lastly, this side of the pier is still walkable and provides a great harbor setting - look out for weddings taking place!
Warren Dunes State Park - Lastly, Warren Dunes has a great beach. We went for the beach, but there is also camping at this park as well as large dunes for families to have adventures on! As for the beach, it is large, with lots of parking, and beach bathrooms. Last summer there was a food truck parked there and we enjoyed some Mexican Food from them! It was delicious and worth the wait in line for sure! I hope they’re there again this season.
We hope this helps you and your family pick the PERFECT beaches for you this summer. Make the most of every beach day you can!
As far as parking - most (if not all) of these beaches' parking lots require payment. If you have the park sticker for the state then that will cover any state parks. Others usually use the parking apps such as passport. Factor this into your day and take advantage of the more convenient parking!
Lastly, beaches are subject to change each year due to weather, current, and erosion. Update us if you see any big changes!
Check out our tips on the best beach day, here! Happy Beaching!
this makes me want to visit them all!