Marina Park Beach
Suttons Bay, MI
Marina Park Beach is the village beach in Suttons Bay, on the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay a block from St. Joseph Avenue's shops and galleries. It has a playground and sits next to the marina. The bay water here is sheltered and noticeably calmer than the open Lake Michigan beaches on the other side of the peninsula.
Calm bay water steps from a charming downtown, though the beach itself is small.
How we score beachesGrab lunch in town and eat it on the beach. It's a two minute walk from the main street.
Village parking near the marina and along the downtown streets.
A short, flat walk from the marina parking area to the sand.
Grand Traverse Bay warms up earlier than the open lake, so the swimming here is comfortable from early July. In fall the village is quiet and the bay is glassy on calm mornings.
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.