Esrey Park
Eagle Harbor, MI
Esrey Park is a roadside stop on M-26 east of Eagle Harbor where giant, weathered boulders sit right at the lake, with rough steps worn into them so you can climb to the top. Below the rocks is a small pebble beach. Keweenaw rockhounds know it for tiny whole agates, pink thomsonite, and green prehnite.
Some of the best small-stone hunting on the Keweenaw with a view from the boulders, though there's no sand to lie on.
How we score beachesThomsonite is the prize here. Look for small pink or green pebbles with eye-like rings, and check them wet.
A small roadside lot on M-26 with picnic tables and pit toilets.
The pebble beach is a short walk from the lot; getting on top of the boulders means scrambling.
Rock hunting works any ice-free month, but the day after a northwest blow is when fresh stones show up. On summer nights this stretch of shore is a favorite for watching the northern lights.
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.