Empire Beach
Empire, MI
Empire Beach, officially the village's Lake Michigan Beach Park, has the small Robert H. Manning Memorial Lighthouse at the edge of the sand and South Bar Lake a few steps behind it. The Empire Bluffs rise to the south. It's the most dog-welcoming beach in the Sleeping Bear area and an easy base for the rest of the Lakeshore.
Two lakes, a lighthouse, and room for dogs, the only knock is a busy lot on summer weekends.
How we score beachesWhen Lake Michigan is too cold, cross the sand to South Bar Lake. It's shallow, calm, and usually several degrees warmer.
A village lot at the beach park at the end of Front Street.
The lot sits right behind the beach, with a short walk to the sand and to South Bar Lake.
Leashed dogs are welcome on the beach north to the southern end of North Bar Lake.
South Bar Lake is swimmable weeks before the big lake, often by late June. In October, hike the Empire Bluff Trail for fall color over the water, then come down here for sunset.
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.