Ontonagon Township Park Beach
Ontonagon, MI
Ontonagon Township Park Beach is a sandy Lake Superior beach with a campground, within walking distance of the village of Ontonagon. People come to beachcomb for agates, beach glass, and driftwood, and to take a quick dip on a hot day. The Ontonagon lighthouse stands at the river mouth nearby.
A good beachcombing beach near town, though it's a simple, no-frills park.
How we score beachesLook for beach glass along the waterline. It's more common here than agates.
Parking at the township park.
A short walk from the lot to the sand.
A few hot days in July and August are warm enough for a quick swim. The October gales push fresh glass and driftwood up the beach.
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.