A few of our favorite things... Beaches

Lake Michigan

Elizabeth LaPorte
Director of Communications
Beach: Good Harbor, Lake Michigan
Location: Find this Spot off Highway 22, east of Glen Arbor.
Why: This spot is so great that I want to keep it a secret. But okay, I’ll share. Like many beaches in Michigan, the view is spectacular and walking along the shoreline looking for birds, rocks or plants is better than any day in the office. You can see the Manitou Islands from this area. Best memory is being there in June 2008 and watching our dog have a great time along the shore. Turns out, she is great at rock picking! It is a wonderful place for a hike, to take photos or just relax.
See: Beach Details

Dan O’Keefe
Southwest District Extension Educator
Beach: Northeast shore of Beaver Island, Lake Michigan
Location: Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, is about 32 miles from the city of Charlevoix on the mainland, and can only be reached by air or boat. The beach is between St. James Harbor and the CMU Biological Station.
Why: Few people, few houses, not many fish, just Lake Michigan and the rocks. Something that stands out is when I watched a burbot swim under my kayak by the light of a full moon, and watched a fawn skip out of the woods to jump in the water and attempt to swim across the lake to Charlevoix.
See: Beach Details

Sonia T. Joseph
Outreach Coordinator
Beach: Dunes Trail, Lake Michigan
Location: Near D.H. Day Campground at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Why: This particular beach stands out because it is a striking part of the world. The beach is beautiful and the water is an amazing deep blue. I remember lying on the sand, staring at a sky full of stars on a warm summer night in July with my close friends, sharing childhood stories.
See: Beach Details

Nikki Koehler
Education Specialist
Beach: Muskegon State Park, Lake Michigan
Location: North Muskegon, along Memorial Drive
Why: I like visiting the Lake Michigan shoreline along Muskegon State Park, especially in the winter. The mini-cabins in the park campground are open all year. The Muskegon winter sports complex is walking distance from the beach and has cross-country ski trails, ice rinks and a luge run. The dunes freeze and the waves form icy patterns on the beach. It’s a perfect place to get out in it in the wintertime.
See: Beach Details

Jim Diana
Director of Michigan Sea Grant
Beach: Sturgeon Bay, north of Cross Village, Lake Michigan
Location: Sturgeon Bay is just south of Wilderness State Park. From 75 North, take the Levering Road exit west to North Pleasantview Road. Take that north (toward Bliss) to East Sturgeon Bay Road west to the lake.
Why: The road parallels Sturgeon Bay and all along there are great beaches, particularly to see the evening sunset. There are beautiful sandy beaches among sand dunes, very little crowding, and great views of the lake, islands, and Waugoshance Point. My best memory was watching the sunset there with my wife Barbara on her birthday July 20, 2000.
See: Beach Details

Keely Dinse
Project Coordinator
Beach: Dimmick’s Point on North Manitou Island, Lake Michigan
Location: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Take the ferry from Leland to North Manitou Island; hike to the southeastern most point of the island.
Why: It stands out for its isolation, scenery, and sense of mystery. At this beach you can see lighthouses, shipwrecks, dunes on the Michigan shoreline, other islands, wildlife, boats, and cool artifacts from when the island was inhabited. But you’ll rarely see any other people. As an undergraduate I spent a summer working as a Piping Plover monitor at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and got to spend a lot of time in quiet solitude on this beach. One of the best jobs I’ve ever had!
See: Beach Details

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