Benzie & Sleeping Bear · Small town
Empire
Your first stop at Sleeping Bear Dunes: a small M-22 village with the park's main visitor center, a sunset beach and the start of the Heritage Trail.
About 3 miles away (straight line)
Beach · Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Esch Road Beach
A national lakeshore beach south of Empire where Otter Creek runs into Lake Michigan, a warm, shallow creek that kids love to wade. Restrooms; park along the road.
Esch Road Beach is the one to pick with young kids. Otter Creek empties into Lake Michigan here, and children can splash up the warm, shallow creek bed while you keep the big lake in view. It is also called Otter Creek Beach.
It is a few miles south of Empire inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: head south on M-22, turn west on Esch Road and follow it to the end. You park along the road, and there are restrooms.
It is one of the more popular lakeshore beaches, so expect company on hot days.
You need a national park entrance pass. Pets are limited to the beach north of Esch Road, on a leash; the shore to the south is closed to them.
There are no lifeguards. Watch for rip currents on Lake Michigan and stay out when the waves are up. If the creek is busy, Peterson Beach is farther south, and Empire Beach is back in the village.
Practical information
- Managed by
- National Park Service
- Best months
- June to September
- Getting there
- From Empire, take M-22 south about 3 miles, turn west on Esch Road and follow it about a mile to the lake.
- Parking
- Park along the road.
Location
Map of Esch Road Beach
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Nearby towns
Also nearby
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Beach
Peterson Beach
A wide, quiet national lakeshore beach on Platte Bay, reached by a gravel road and a boardwalk over low dunes, with views to Empire Bluff and Sleeping Bear Point.
About 3 miles away (straight line)
National park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Dunes, high bluffs, beaches, inland lakes and two islands along 65 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline in Benzie and Leelanau counties.
About 3 miles away (straight line)
Beach
Empire Beach
Empire's village beach on Lake Michigan at the foot of Niagara Street, with restrooms, picnic spots, a big playground and a view of Empire Bluff at sunset.
About 4 miles away (straight line)