Warren Dunes State Park
Sawyer, MI
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.
Big dunes and endless sand, the tradeoff is serious summer crowds and a slow entrance line.
How we score beachesWalk north from the main lot for 15 minutes. The crowd drops off fast, and you get a quieter stretch of the same sand.
A Michigan Recreation Passport (or a nonresident day pass) is required; the big beach lots fill on summer weekends and the entrance line can back up onto the road.
The main lots sit close to the beach with a short, sandy walk; the dunes themselves are steep, loose sand.
Water here is usually swimmable from early July through August. On hot, windy days the sand on the dune faces gets hot enough to burn bare feet, so bring sandals for the climb.
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.
Weko Beach
Bridgman, MI · Great Lakes
Weko Beach is the city of Bridgman's Lake Michigan park, a sandy beach with a campground just north of Warren Dunes State Park. A boardwalk climbs over the dune to the lake. It's the locals' alternative when Warren Dunes is jammed, with the same sand and water on a smaller scale.