Donegal Bay
Beaver Island, MI
Donegal Bay is a sandy, shallow bay on the west side of Beaver Island, named, like much of the island, by its Irish settlers. The water is clear and calm enough for paddleboarding, and the bay faces west for sunsets over open lake. It's closer to St. James than Iron Ore Bay, so it's the easier island beach to reach.
Clear, calm water and island sunsets, though getting to Beaver Island takes planning.
How we score beachesStay for sunset. Nothing sits between you and the horizon but open Lake Michigan.
Informal parking near the bay.
A short walk from parking to the sand.
Late July and August bring the warmest island water. September is quiet, with the summer crowd gone and the ferry still running.
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.