Silver Beach County Park is the town jewel sitting at the point where the St. Joseph River flows into Lake Michigan at St. Joseph. The beach earned a "Top 10 Beach" ranking by "Parents" magazine and is recognized by Delta Airlines "Sky" magazine as one of the "Top Six Beaches in the World." The 1,600-foot stretch of sugar sand beach is a family swimming beach with a lifeguard on watch during the summer. Silver Beach also features beach volleyball, playground and picnic areas.
An inter-beach bus transports beach-lovers between South Haven's three Lake Michigan beaches. North and South beaches welcome sunbathers, swimmers and anglers. The soft sands of the lesser-known and smaller Packard Park Beach are perfect for building sandcastles. Van Buren State Beach and Dunes offers a full mile of sandy beach. Its high dunes define the shoreline. Anglers surf cast, swimmers jump the waves and sunbathers soak up the summer sun.
There may be no better place in the world to dig your toes in the sand than Saugatuck's Oval Beach, according to MTV, which ranked it one of the top five beaches in the country. This classic Lake Michigan beach also earned the praise of "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine, which recognized it as one of the 25 best shorelines in the world. The day-use-only Saugatuck Dunes State Park has 2.5 miles of seclude shores and beach bordered by 200-foot-tall dunes. Twenty miles north of Saugatuck sits Holland State Park Beach, with its "Big Red" lighthouse, one of the most photographed in Michigan. The expansive swimming beach and adjacent, county-owned 750-foot Lake Michigan Beach have attracted visitors for generations.
It's not surprising Grand Haven Beach fans find their favorite beach recognized as one of the "Best Secret Beaches on Earth" by "Travel + Leisure" magazine. The 48-acre Grand Haven State Park is pure beach and sits adjacent to a Grand Haven's city beach. Together the beaches extend public opportunities along a gently curving coastline. Lined by dunes characteristic of the Lake Michigan shoreline, beach-goers enjoy swimming, sunbathing, kite flying and sunset strolls.
