Oscoda Beach Park
Oscoda, MI
Oscoda Beach Park is the township's main Lake Huron beach, a wide sandy stretch near the mouth of the Au Sable River in Oscoda. There's a pavilion, restrooms, and plenty of room to spread out. It's a relaxed, uncrowded alternative to the busier beaches farther south in Tawas.
Wide sand with room to breathe, though it's more a solid town beach than a destination.
How we score beachesPair it with a float on the Au Sable River. Outfitters in town run trips that end near the lake.
A lot at the beach park.
Paved paths lead from the lot toward the sand.
Lake Huron here warms to comfortable swimming by late July. In October the Au Sable valley upstream is one of the best fall color drives in the state.
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.