Sandy Beach (Michipicoten Bay)
Wawa, ON, Canada
Sandy Beach is Wawa's Lake Superior beach, a wide sweep of white sand and dunes on Michipicoten Bay in northern Ontario, Canada. A boardwalk crosses the dunes to the water, and an eco-interpretive pavilion tells the story of the area's First Nations, early European settlers, and the Group of Seven painter A.Y. Jackson, who came here to paint.
A big, open Superior beach with real history behind it, though it's a long way from anywhere.
How we score beachesRead the Group of Seven panel, then walk down the beach and try to find the view A.Y. Jackson painted.
A large lot at the beach, a short drive from town.
A boardwalk crosses the dunes from the lot to the sand.
Summer is the easy season to visit, though Superior stays cold. Fall brings big waves and fewer people.
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.