Bryant Park
Traverse City, MI
Bryant Park is a Traverse City neighborhood beach at the base of the Old Mission Peninsula on West Grand Traverse Bay. Tall pines shade the picnic area, with charcoal grills, restrooms, and a playground a few steps from the sand. Lifeguards are on duty from mid June through August.
Shade, grills, and lifeguards make it a family favorite, though the lot is small.
How we score beachesClaim a shady table under the pines for a grill-out, then swim. It's a lot calmer than Clinch Park.
A lot at the park, which fills on hot weekends.
Short, flat paths lead from the lot to the picnic area and sand.
Lifeguard season runs mid June to August. The shade under the pines makes it the best choice on the hottest days.
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.