West End Beach
Traverse City, MI
West End Beach sits at the base of West Grand Traverse Bay just west of downtown Traverse City. It's the city's volleyball beach, with a long row of sand courts that stay busy all summer. The far west end is the only dog-friendly beach downtown, and there's more parking here than at Clinch Park.
The best volleyball and the only downtown dog area, though Grandview Parkway traffic is loud behind it.
How we score beachesPickup volleyball runs most summer evenings. Show up around 6 and ask to rotate in.
Parking lots along Grandview Parkway; more available than at Clinch Park.
Paved paths along the TART Trail lead to the sand.
Leashed dogs are allowed at the far west end of the beach.
The courts fill from June through August. The bay is shallow here and warms early in the season.
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.
