Evangola State Park
Irving, NY
Evangola State Park has a large, crescent-shaped swimming beach on Lake Erie, framed by cliffs of Angola shale. It's one of the best beaches within a half hour of Buffalo, with a campground, picnic areas, and trails on the bluff above. The shale layers make the backdrop unusually dramatic for Lake Erie.
A gorgeous crescent beach under shale cliffs near Buffalo, though summer weekends are crowded.
How we score beachesLook closely at the shale cliffs at the ends of the beach; fossils sometimes turn up in the loose rock.
A New York State Parks vehicle use fee applies in season.
Paths lead from the lots to the sand.
Lifeguards are on duty in summer. The shale bluffs are beautiful in fall color.
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.