Picnic Rocks Park
Marquette, MI
Picnic Rocks Park is a city park on Lakeshore Boulevard in Marquette, named for the rocky islets just offshore. The rocks look like an easy swim, but the channel between them and the shore carries strong currents, and more than a dozen people have drowned here since the 1960s. It's a better spot for a picnic and a sunset than a swim.
A beautiful spot, but the currents make it one of the most dangerous beaches on Lake Superior.
How we score beachesDon't swim out to the rocks. The current between shore and the islands is deadly.
Parking along Lakeshore Boulevard.
A short walk from the road to the beach.
On calm summer evenings it's one of the prettiest sunsets in Marquette. On wavy days, check the beach flags and stay on the sand.
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.