North Beach
South Haven, MI
North Beach sits across the Black River channel from South Beach in South Haven, a broad, sandy beach with volleyball courts, a playground, and a view back to the red lighthouse. It draws a slightly younger, more active crowd than South Beach. There's more room to spread out.
More room than South Beach and good volleyball, but it's just as busy on July weekends.
How we score beachesCome early for a volleyball court. By noon on summer weekends they're all taken.
The city's hourly beach parking applies here too; weekly passes are available.
The lot is close to the beach with a short walk onto sand.
Dogs are not allowed on North Beach during the summer season.
Summer weekends are busiest. In early fall the water still holds some warmth, and the volleyball courts empty out.
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
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
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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.
