Weko Beach
Bridgman, MI
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.
A calmer, smaller version of Warren Dunes, though the no-dogs rule sends a lot of locals elsewhere.
How we score beachesWhen the state park line is backed up, come here instead. You'll be in the water before you would have made it through the Warren Dunes gate.
A day-use parking fee applies from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
A boardwalk crosses the dune from the lot to the beach; expect some stairs and soft sand at the end.
Dogs are not permitted on Weko Beach at any time of year.
July and August bring the warmest water. After Labor Day the fee goes away and the beach is mostly walkers.
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.