Tourists as well as local residents flock to southern Lake Michigan in their free time to enjoy boating, fishing, swimming and sporting activities for all seasons. Summer vacations near southern Lake Michigan provide plenty of activity on sugar-sand beaches and in clear, fresh water. Michigan encourages vacations near its southern Lake by providing activities for all ages and ability levels as well as lodging ranging from campgrounds and resorts to inns.
Lake Michigan, the largest freshwater lake in the United States, has white sand beaches with many water activities, including swimming, boating, fishing, water skiing, tubing, scuba diving, water cycling, canoeing and kayaking. Area businesses rent equipment, and charter boats are available to fish for salmon, trout, steelhead and perch. Beach cities in the southern part of the state on Lake Michigan include New Buffalo, St. Joseph, South Haven, Saugatuck-Douglas, Holland, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Silver Lake Sand Dunes, and Ludington. Michigan Adventure Amusement Park and Wildwater Adventure in Muskegon has rides, water slides and many other attractions. Weko Beach in Bridgman offers camping, a boardwalk, two dune overlooks, beach volleyball nets and a boat launch. Saugatuck's Oval Beach was named one of the top 25 beaches in the world by Conde Nast and one of the top two in the nation by National Geographic Traveler. Silver Beach is a clean, wide beach with pier fishing, beach volleyball, children's play structures and barrier-free walkways to view sunsets on Lake Michigan.
The state of Michigan has preserved hundreds of acres of the southern Lake Michigan area for visitors to explore. Parks, recreation areas and nature areas offer sand dunes, wooded areas, wetlands and fields for viewing wildlife, trails for hiking and biking and paths for horseback riding. Sarett Nature Center in Benton Harbor has miles of trails that include barrier-free walkways, boardwalks, and observation platforms to view habitats and wildlife in wetlands. Van Buren State Park in South Haven offers activities year long, including summer biking, hiking and camping, autumn hunting in designated areas and winter snowmobiling and cross country skiing. Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer has more than 1,500 acres of sand dunes and lakefront camping with hiking, hang gliding and sailboarding during summer, hunting during fall and snowshoeing and cross country skiing during winter. Warren Woods Nature Center in Three Oaks is a wooded area with beech and maple trees that allows visitors to observe birds, animals and more than 100 species of plants and wild flowers in their natural setting.
Southern Lake Michigan has a variety of lodging including modern motels, bed and breakfasts, inns, rental cottages, cabins, condos and campgrounds. Southern Lake Michigan's bed and breakfasts in Stevensville, St. Joseph, Lakeside, Union Pier and Berrien Springs have rooms with fireplaces, jacuzzis, hot tubs or luxury suites with private beaches on Lake Michigan. Campgrounds such as Covert Park Beach and Campground, Weko Beach Park & Campground and Silver Lake State Campground have beaches on Lake Michigan. Grand Beach Inn in New Buffalo has non-smoking rooms with suites, fireplaces in common rooms, a heated pool and activities for all ages. Sleepy Hollow Resort in South Haven rents cottages and condominiums with an outdoor heated swimming pool, private beachfront, tennis and children's programs.
