Beaches

 

Sunshine, warm weather, and beautiful clear water are a recipe for beach activities, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has a lot of pristine beach! This is the place to sunbathe, make sand castles, play in the Lake Michigan waves, swim, or just walk the beach. Lake Michigan is beautiful, and on a hot day it's inviting you to take a swim, but you'll find it more refreshing than the inland lakes, so be prepared! The whole Lake Michigan lakeshore is open to swimming, but there are no lifeguards on duty, and be aware of possible rip currents.

Visit the Pets page to see which beaches allow pets.

 

Peterson Beach

Kerry Kelly 2006

Interested in helping us keep our beaches clean? Check out the Adopt-A-Beach program run by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Beach fires are permitted only on the mainland beaches of Lake Michigan between the water's edge and the first dune. Please do not build fires on or near vegetation and remember to extinguish your fire with water and clean up all debris before leaving. Thank you for helping to keep the beach fire tradition alive and our beaches clean for everyone's enjoyment.

Glass containers are prohibited on all beaches in the park.