Woodland Park Beach
Grand Marais, MI
Woodland Park Beach sits below Burt Township's Woodland Park Campground in Grand Marais, a sandy Lake Superior beach under a stand of pines and hardwoods. The village's harbor and shops are a short walk away. Campers wander down at sunset, and rock hunters work the pebbles at the water's edge.
A sandy beach steps from a charming village, though it's mainly a campground beach.
How we score beachesGrab whitefish in town and eat it on the bluff above the beach while the sun goes down.
Parking at the township campground and nearby village streets.
A short path leads from the campground down to the sand.
The campground and village are busiest in July and August. After Labor Day, Grand Marais gets quiet fast and the beach is mostly rock hunters.
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.