Gladstone Beach (Van Cleve Park)
Gladstone, MI
Gladstone Beach at Van Cleve Park sits on Little Bay de Noc north of Escanaba. It's the family beach with a waterslide, and the park around it has the Kids Kingdom playground, a skate park, courts, and an accessible fishing pier. On summer afternoons it's full of Gladstone kids.
A waterslide and big playground make it a kid magnet, though it's a busy, noisy town park.
How we score beachesBring a fishing rod. The pier is accessible, so everyone in the group can cast off the end.
Parking at Van Cleve Park.
Paved paths lead through the park to the beach and fishing pier.
The waterslide and beach are busiest in July and August. The shallow bay warms early in summer.
More Great Lakes beaches
Sleeping Bear Dunes Beach
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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
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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.