Oval Beach
Saugatuck, MI
Oval Beach is Saugatuck's famous Lake Michigan beach, a wide, sandy crescent backed by wooded dunes just over the hill from downtown. It regularly shows up on national best-beach lists. Trails from the beach lead up toward Mount Baldhead, and the sunsets draw crowds even on weeknights.
A beautiful beach with dune trails, though it's well known and the parking pass adds up.
How we score beachesClimb Mount Baldhead's stairs from town and follow the trail down to Oval Beach. You skip the lot fee and get the view on the way.
The city sells a daily vehicle pass at the beach entrance.
The lot is close to the sand, with a short walk over soft sand.
No dogs are allowed from Memorial Day weekend through September 30.
July and August are peak season. In October the dunes turn gold and the beach is nearly empty.
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
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.