Beach Review: Grand Haven, MI
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Grand Haven is one of the best beach destinations in Michigan and probably top 3 in the entire Great Lakes region. We've dug into some of the highlights of the town, but the main draw is absolutely the unparalleled access to water and beachfront here.
Overview
The main beach in this area is Grand Haven Public Beach, located immediately west of downtown, on the south side of the Grand River. It's a massive beach and extremely well-maintained, due to it being the site of the annual Coast Guard Festival as well as a major draw for people from Grand Rapids to Chicago. There are other beaches to the north, such as North Beach Park, which are a little more secluded, as the Public Beach can get pretty packed, especially on weekends.
(mlive.com)
The Beach
The towns of Grand Haven, Spring Lake, and Ferrysburg form a tri-city area at the mouth of the Grand River that offer one of the best natural harbors for boating- both on the river and connected lakes, and accessing Lake Michigan as well. For this reason, it's a little more common to see a lot of boats anchored offshore than most other beaches right on the big lakes.
There are a couple small beaches on Spring Lake and along the Grand River within town, and a handful of marinas make these ideal spots for cigarette boats, yachts, and pontoons to ride around or launch out onto Lake Michigan, especially compared to towns like South Haven.
(michiganhomesandcottagescom)
On the south side of the river is the state park and public beach, with a campground located right on the beach and a large public food stand and bathroom building next door. There are volleyball courts here, and the beach is extremely wide, tapering down as you move south before turning into private residences after a half mile or so. The southernmost area of this is a dedicated dog beach for your canine pals.
I can't emphasize this enough, and I've seen some beaches- everything here is pristine, which is remarkable for how many locals and tourists are on the water every spring, summer, and fall day. A lot of this is probably down to the heavy presence of the Coast Guard here (and the city's official designation as Coast Guard City USA), but also the fact that so much of the city's tourism is based on the beach, particularly during Coast Guard Festival.
As a town, Grand Haven is high on our list for beach destinations in the Great Lakes area, particularly along the Lake Michigan shoreline. It's the quintessential beach town, offering iconic breweries and restaurants, dune wilderness areas, a pier that's built for jumping into the lake or photo ops, and a state park right on the beach. It checks all the boxes for a Lake Michigan weekend. But, you'll have to read our full guide to the city of Grand Haven to learn more about that.
(visitgrandhaven.com)
This is also a prime spot for surfing in the fall, winter, and spring. While there are definitely closer spots if the winds are westerly, it might be worth heading all the way up here. The pier ices over in the winter and can create some great local waves if winds are coming from the northwest. There's a local surf shop offering rentals as well.
To wrap it up...
We can't really say enough to highlight the Grand Haven Public Beach. If you're looking for quintessential Michigan beach culture, it's right here, and this is easily in the top 3 for that (along with Traverse City and perhaps Ludington). Between the boating, surfing, fishing, paddleboarding, and volleyball, this is a perfect spot that leans quite a bit more family-oriented.
Our team was happy to be part of a wedding right on the beach in Grand Haven this summer, and it was an absolutely perfect spot and an amazing time! Despite being lifelong Great Lakes residents, it was our first time in town and we'll definitely be back.
Sand: 8/10 - A little above average even for the Michigan side.
Water: 9/10 - The best it gets, fairly shallow, not too cold, occasionally large waves.
Scenery: 8/10 - From the dunes to the forests interspersed in town, really nice.
Amenities: 9/10 - Everything's right next to the beach or a stone's throw away in town.
Overall: 9/10
Also Read: Our Top 10 Beaches on Lake Michigan and Unofficial Guide: Grand Haven, Michigan
