Grand Haven State Park

Grand Haven State Park is for a full beach day in town. It is almost entirely sand, it faces the pier and its two lighthouses, and downtown Grand Haven is within walking distance. You need a Recreation Passport to drive in. Families get restrooms in the beach house, a playground, picnic grills and a buoyed swim area along the whole shoreline, and the park lends beach wheelchairs.

The 48 acres run along half a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline on the west side and along the Grand River at its mouth on the north side. You get a designated swim beach, buoyed along the park’s entire shoreline, picnic areas, a beach pavilion and an overnight lodge. If you fish, the boardwalk next to the park along the river is a popular place for it.

Camping here comes with a clear tradeoff. The modern campground is unusual in the state park system: its 174 sites are paved and set closer together than at most parks. You give up elbow room and get a site only steps from the sand and the river.

Watch the beach flag warnings, and when you swim, stay off and away from the pier.