Bradford Beach
Milwaukee, WI
Bradford Beach is Milwaukee's most popular beach, a long sandy stretch on the city's lakefront with dozens of volleyball courts, rentable cabanas, a tiki bar, and yoga classes. On summer weekends it's the city's biggest outdoor party. Volleyball leagues run six days a week from May through August.
The city's summer social hub with volleyball and cabanas, though a hot Saturday means crowds, noise, and a hunt for parking.
How we score beachesReserve a cabana for a group; they go fast on summer weekends.
Paid parking along Lincoln Memorial Drive; it fills early on summer weekends.
Paved paths along the lakefront lead to the sand.
The sand is packed from late June through Labor Day, and the water is warmest in August. On cool spring and fall days the beach empties and the lakefront path is the main draw.
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.