Jackson Harbor Ridges
Washington Island, WI
Jackson Harbor Ridges is a nine acre State Natural Area on the northeast side of Washington Island, with a sandy beach and dunes protecting rare coastal plants. It sits next to Jackson Harbor, where the ferry to Rock Island leaves. The beach is wild and quiet.
A wild, protected beach with rare plants, though it has no facilities.
How we score beachesStay on the marked paths through the dunes; the plants here are rare and fragile.
Parking near Jackson Harbor.
Short sandy paths lead through the dunes to the beach.
Late spring and early summer bring rare wildflowers, including dwarf lake iris. The beach is quiet all summer.
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.