Big Traverse Bay Beach
Gay, MI
Big Traverse Bay Beach is a sandy swimming beach on the Keweenaw's east shore south of Gay. There's a small playground, picnic spots, and a boat launch into Lake Superior. It's one of the better sandy swimming beaches in the lower Keweenaw.
A good sandy swim beach with a playground, though it's out of the way.
How we score beachesCombine it with a stop at the Gay stamp sands to see the Keweenaw's mining history on the shoreline.
Parking at the park near the boat launch.
A short walk from the lot to the sand.
July and August are the only reliable swimming weeks. The east shore is often calmer than the west.
More Great Lakes beaches
Sleeping Bear Dunes Beach
Empire, MI · Great Lakes
Freshwater Lake Michigan surf below towering sand dunes, some over 400 feet tall, with water clear enough to rival a coastline and a hike back up the dune to burn it off.
New Buffalo City Beach
New Buffalo, MI · Great Lakes
New Buffalo City Beach is the first real Lake Michigan beach you hit crossing from Indiana, a wide stretch of sand at the end of Whittaker Street beside the harbor and the Galien River channel. Chicago weekenders fill it in summer. The town's shops and restaurants are a five minute walk back up the street.
Warren Dunes State Park
Sawyer, MI · Great Lakes
Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer has roughly three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and some of the tallest dunes in southwest Michigan. Tower Hill rises about 260 feet above the lake, and climbing it and running back down is a rite of passage. On a hot July Saturday the beach feels like a small city.