LAKE MICHIGAN

Southern Coastline - destinations listed North to South

  1. South Haven

    1. ***South Haven is our favorite destination on the southern coastline.

    2. Check out South Haven, Michigan! And Things to do in South Haven MI | West Michigan Charming Town for lots of great info on the area. 

    3. Beaches/Maritime Activities

      1. North Beach - small lighthouse on the pier. $10 to park. 

      2. South Beach - big lighthouse on the pier and a small splash pad modeled after the Friends Goodwill Ship. $10 to park, or free on Monroe Blvd. 

      3. Other streets with access to the beach - you can walk to North Beach:

        1. Dykman Beach - access on Dykman Road. Smaller, quieter, would have to walk to the restrooms at North Beach. $10 to park. 

        2. Packard Park & Beach - $10 to park or parallel park for free on North Shore Drive. There is a restroom here.

        3. Woodman Beach ($7 cash to park), Newcome Beach (street parking), Oak Street Beach ($10 with a beach parking pass sticker, or park on the street for free). 

      4. Kids Corner Park - a huge and very popular wooden playset. Park on Monroe Street for free, and then go down the Blue Stairs to the beach after you play at the park.

      5. Michigan Maritime Museum

        1. ***We really enjoyed this museum!

        2. $12 for adults, $8 for kids. If you do a boat ride your entrance to the museum is free. 

        3. You can do a 90 minute cruise on the Friends Good Will - a beautifully restored old ship.

          1. $42/person Adventure Sail at 11 am geared for kids

          2. $40/person Daytime Sail at 1:15, 3:15 or 5:30

          3. Sunset Sails also available

        4. Lindy Lou Riverboat Cruise, 60 minutes, $30/person. Max 12 passengers.

        5. Lifeboat Cruise, $20/person, 30 minute cruise. Max 6 passengers.

      6. Harbor Walk 

        1. 3.2 miles of boardwalk around the harbor

    4. Restaurants

      1. Clementine’s - in an old bank with great ambiance (long wait times, the most popular area restaurant).

      2. Idler Riverboat - a unique setting on the boat, we enjoyed our meal here.

      3. The Black River Tavern 

      4. Social House - not on the main drag, so less wait time. Get the 2 lb pretzel!!

      5. Su Casa for Mexican.

      6. Sherman’s Ice Cream is very popular.

    5. Additional Activities in the area

      1. Gingerman Raceway for car racing.

      2. The Kal-Haven Bike Trailhead connects South Haven to Kalamazoo on a 34 mile trail. 

      3. Bike and Kayak rentals are available.

    6. Fruit picking

      1. Overhiser Orchards. U Pick cherries, plums, apples, peaches, pears. Has a petting Zoo, pumpkin patch, corn maze, donuts and cider. 

      2. Bumbleberry Acres. U pick raspberries and blueberries, tractor rides, pumpkins, petting zoo, corn maze

      3. DeGrandchamps Farms. Nursery, Greenhouse, 20 acres of cranberries, 200 acres of blueberries. U pick fruits and vegetables. Lots of specialty foods for sale. 

      4. Barden’s Farm Market - close to downtown with a bakery. 

    7. Suggested Day Trip Itinerary:

      1. Park for free on VanBuren Street and check out Kids Corner Park. 

      2. Head down the stairs across from the park and spend a few hours on the beach and have a picnic lunch.

      3. Walk on the beach to South Beach to see the Lighthouse and check out the Splash Pad. 

      4. Head to the Maritime Museum around 3:00. Take a 5:30 Friends Goodwill boat ride.

      5. Dinner out at 7:00. 

      6. Put the kids in their PJs and drive home! 

  2. Deerlick Creek Park

    1. Beach access with a small creek entering the lake. Free parking. Porta Potties available. 

    2. Friends visited and said it’s a relatively small beach, rocky for swimming, good for rock hunting.

  3. Pilgrim Haven Natural Area

    1. The beach area is good for rock collecting. Bring a bucket and wear proper shoes. There’s a walking trail that crosses Dykman Creek before it empties into Lake Michigan. This walk can be very buggy, earning the nickname Misery Beach from friends who got eaten up by mosquitos. Sounds very quiet, but not the best for swimming. Has great hammock spots.

    2. Free parking, restrooms available, gets great reviews from rock lovers!

  4. Covert Township Park

    1. Campground available with camping cabins, public restrooms, $10 fee to park.

    2. Sounds like a nice little beach with easy access from the campground.

  5. Hagar Park Beach

    1. Playground by the parking lot, stairs down to the beach, Porta Potties available. Sandy, relatively quiet. Sounds nice.

  6. Van Buren State Park 

    1. 3 miles south of South Haven, high sand dunes, free with state park pass or $11/day. The beach area is much quieter than the South Haven beach. It’s a great option for cooler days since you can climb the dune and take a bike ride.

    2. The beach area is fairly narrow, and quite rocky for about 15 feet out before turning to sand. Bring water shoes. Walk in between the main beach area and the sand dune to see the black sand.

    3. Playground, restrooms and a rinse station are available. 

    4. To get to the top of the dune you can start just behind the restroom facilities where a path through the woods leads almost straight up. The advantage is that you can use branches to help pull yourself up. Or there’s a path directly from the parking lot which is less wooded and a bit less steep. Or, climb up from the beach (walk to the right from the main beach area to see the dune).

    5. There is a paved bike trail from the campground (park by the check in office for the campground) into South Haven. The first mile there is a lot of road noise, but the trail is great and takes you right into town by the Kid’s Corner Park.

  7. St. Joseph

    1. St. Joseph is a charming beach town with lots of little shops and restaurants.  There are multiple lots with free parking. There is a path up on the bluff with swings and benches overlooking the lake area. Watch the big ships going in/out of the river. 

    2. Curious Kids Discovery Zone - sounds like a very cool Children’s Museum with some Lake Michigan themed exhibits. 

    3. Restaurant Recommendations:

      1. Schu’s Restaurant - we ate there and enjoyed our meal although the water tasted like chlorine.

    4. There are 3 Beaches

      1. Silver Beach is the main beach with all of the amenities, a splash pad, carousel, beach house etc. 

      2. To the north of the river is Tiscornia Beach (we loved this one). You have to wind through a neighborhood to get to it. There is a small parking fee.  A nice little bathhouse. The beach is much quieter than Silver Beach and you have access to the pier and lighthouse from that side.

      3. Lions Beach is south of town. They have restrooms and a playground. Parking is $10/day. Reviewers said it’s not great for swimming with how the sea walls are located. 

    5. Jean Klock Park (Recommended by a friend)

      1. Located just a little north of St.Joseph, it has a boardwalk, observation tower, bathhouse, concessions, playground, and a great beach for swimming. Very quiet. $10 to park for the day. Nice sandy beach, rocks down by the water, then sand in the water. 

  8. Grand Mere State Park

    1. Sand Dunes, a half mile of shoreline, 2 walking trails (0.5 dune trail, 0.7 mile paved trail), and 2 inland lakes behind the dunes in the undeveloped natural area. You have to walk the dune trail to get to the lake, which takes about 15 minutes. The sand can get hot, so bring proper shoes! No restroom facilities near the lake. 

  9. Weko Beach (Recommended by friends)

    1. 960 feet of shoreline, boardwalk, grassy dunes to walk, playground, picnic tables, seasonal concession, kayak rentals (single, double, triple and stand up paddle boards), campground, bathrooms.

    2. Multiple reviews say it is their favorite beach in the area. Good for kids because the water is shallow. There is also hiking.

    3. At sunset every evening they play taps. Free parking after 7 pm.

    4. Parking is $15/day in the summer, otherwise free. 

    5. If you walk a ways down to the south there is a little creek emptying into the lake. 

  10. Warren Dunes State Park 

    1. You need a State Park pass, or purchase a day pass for entry ($11).

    2. If you walk south (to the left) of the first parking lot you’ll come to the Painterville Drain. A little creek that empties into the Lake that is great for kids to play in. The beach is sandy and very large.

    3. Outdoor shower to rinse off sand, bathrooms, and food trucks.

    4. Huge sand dunes are great for the kids to play on.  

    5. There are trails through the woods with plenty of picnic tables throughout the park.

  11. Cherry Beach

    1. 657 feet of shoreline with some dunes, parking is free but limited in peak months.  It is a bit of a walk down to the beach on wooden stairs. 

    2. Beautiful and quiet. Porta-Potties and picnic tables. No changing facilities or showers for rinsing. 

  12. Berrien Street Beach

    1. Beautiful, quiet, park on residential roads

    2. No restrooms

  13. Townline Road Beach 

    1. Smaller road-end public beach. 20 parking spots, no bathrooms, beautiful and quiet. 

    2. Also beach access a little down the road off McKinley Street.

  14. New Buffalo

    1. Known as the “Gateway to Michigan” and “The Hamptons of the Midwest” it marks the start of 16 miles of continuously accessible shoreline.

    2. $20/day parking in peak season. The city has 2 large free parking lots (Buffalo St and Whittaker St by the traffic light and Mechanic St. and Barton St.). You can park downtown for free and walk to the beach - about 10 minutes.

    3. The New Buffalo Beach is located at 100 Marquette Drive, one block beyond downtown. The Galien River flows into Lake Michigan and the Chuck Ritter Memorial Lighthouse is here. There are a lot of big houses just past the beach you can see while beach walking. You can also walk and see the bridge and marina. 

    4. Friends that visited said it was much busier than beach towns farther north, the beach wasn’t as big, and the lighthouse wasn’t as pretty. They said there are a lot of boats to watch, and some cute shops to see. There is a beach area facing the harbor and a beach area facing the lake. 

    5. While shopping see the mural on the Michigan Mercantile Building on Whittaker Street.

    6. Galien River Marsh Trail

      1. A 3 mile quiet water trail takes about 1-3 hours. Rentals are available from Third Coast Paddling. Boats depart from the New Buffalo Public Boat launch, just across the street from the beach. 

        1. Single Kayak $25/hours, Double Kayak $30/hour, stand up paddle board $25/hour. Sounds like you paddle up the river as far as you want and then turn around. 

        2. You can also park for free at the Red Arrow Road Boat launch (Galien River Marsh Water Trail Boat Launch) and get out at the Public Boat launch by Third Coast Paddling. That will take 3-4 hours. 

    7. Galien River County Park

      1. Wetland habitats, boardwalk, lookout tower, about an hour worth of hiking. The Canopy Walk is at treetop level on a boardwalk.  Free parking. 

    8. Restaurants:

      1. The Stray Dog Bar and Grill - good food (a friend recommends the jalapeno poppers), gift shop and rooftop seating. 

      2. Oinks for ice cream (recommended by a friend).

Sailboat on ocean with people swimming in the foreground under clear blue sky.