Northwinds Beach
The Blue Mountains, ON, Canada
Northwinds Beach is the busiest beach in the Town of The Blue Mountains, Ontario, a large sandy Blue Flag beach on Georgian Bay across the road from Craigleith Provincial Park. Northwinds Watersports rents non-motorized craft and teaches windsurfing on site. There's a playground, washrooms, and picnic tables, and Blue Mountain Resort is a short drive up the hill.
A clean Blue Flag beach with rentals and wind, though it's the most popular beach in town on summer weekends.
How we score beachesBook a windsurfing lesson with the on-site rental shop if the wind is up; the bay here is a classic board-sailing spot.
Parking at the beach, near the Craigleith Heritage Depot.
A short walk from the lot to the sand.
Summer brings families and paddlers. Windy days bring out the windsurfers.
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.