You Don’t Need to Go to the East or West Coast for Some of the Best Beaches in the U.S.

Those who say you can’t have a beach without an ocean have clearly never seen the largest freshwater system in the world, known as the Great Lakes. Having grown up boating on the four Great Lakes in Michigan—Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior—I’ve swum in water extending as far as the eye can see and explored dozens of shorelines full of sand, towering cliffs, or tall dunes. The middle of the country has long harbored some of the best underrated beaches in the country, refreshingly full of unsalty water and surrounded by forests.

Here are six of the Midwest’s best beaches for your next escape.

Saugatuck Dunes

Saugatuck, Michigan

Sand dunes edge Lake Michigan from Indiana Dunes National Park to the tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The city of Saugatuck sits at the center of Michigan’s Art Coast, so called for the artists long attracted to the landscape. Just to the north, Saugatuck Dunes State Park sits farther from the crowds, since visitors must hike anywhere from one and a half to five and a half miles on one of the four trails winding through the forest to reach two and a half miles of pristine coast. Explore the 300-acre preserve or launch yourself from the top of a coastal dune to enter Lake Michigan with a splash.

Where to stay: Hidden Garden Cottages & Suites

• Book now: hiddengardencottages.com

Hidden Garden Cottages & Suites offers a prime location in downtown Saugatuck and is surrounded by lush gardens. Breakfast supplies—such as yogurt, fresh fruit, juice, and cereal—are stocked in the rooms.

Photo by Mary K Ahles/Shutterstock

Good Harbor Beach

Glen Arbor, Michigan

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore protects 65 miles of Michigan’s most impressive sand dunes—up to 450 feet tall—along Lake Michigan. Visitors will find plenty of soft, powdery beaches accessible by hiking trails. In the northern section of the park, Good Harbor Beach on Good Harbor Bay is one of the more secluded options for sunning and swimming. Linger over a bonfire; this is a perfect spot for sunset viewing.

Where to stay: Sleeping Bear Inn

• Book now: sleepingbearinn.org

Guests can explore the history of Glen Arbor, a town that was once a logging station and steamboat stop, by staying at Sleeping Bear Inn, a modernized B&B originally built in 1857.

Photo by Barbara Smits/Shutterstock

Miner’s Beach

Shingleton, Michigan

Sandstone cliffs stained red, blue, and brown by minerals line Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The bluffs occasionally slope to the shore, allowing access to the mighty Superior, the largest (and coldest) of the Great Lakes. In the case of Miners Beach, the cliffs dissolve into sand to create a mile-long beach bordered by a jack pine forest with a view of Bridalveil Falls spilling down a nearby rock face. A short hike inland reaches another waterfall, the 50-foot Miners Falls.

Where to stay: Plover Retreat

• Book now: vrbo.com

Enjoy the Upper Peninsula’s rustic style at Plover Retreat, a three-bedroom log cabin near Grand Marais with knotty pine interiors.

Photo by Suresh Krishnan/Shutterstock

Schoolhouse Beach

Washington Island, Wisconsin

Many of the Great Lakes’ rocky beaches are ideal for hunting agate gemstones or fossilized Petoskey stones. Schoolhouse Beach on Washington Island in Door County, a peninsula that juts like a spear into Lake Michigan from central Wisconsin, is an example of a rocky beach that’s surprisingly comfortable, thanks to its wave-smoothed limestone rocks.

Schoolhouse’s ultraclear water invites swimmers to cool off with a dip or lounge on a floating raft. Travelers reach Washington Island by ferry, which helps keep traffic to peaceful levels.

Where to stay: Dor Cros Inn

• Book now: dorcrosinn.com

The rural Dor Cros Inn offers cabin accommodations with access to two acres featuring picnic tables, grills, and lawn games.

Photo by gg5795/Shutterstock

Hoeft State Park

Rogers City, Michigan

The mile-long shore of Lake Huron in Hoeft State Park, protected by grassy dunes and the forest beyond, is like a private sandbox. This is Michigan’s Sunrise Coast, where early risers will be rewarded with blushing views. One of Michigan’s first state parks, Hoeft offers four miles of trails and a Depression-era picnic shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Bikers, skaters, and walkers can reach the park via the 11-mile Huron Sunrise Trail connecting Rogers City to Forty Mile Point Lighthouse along the water.

Where to stay: Cedar Cliff Cottage

• Book now: cedarcliffcottage.com

A few miles north, the two-bedroom Cedar Cliff Cottage sits on a wooded bluff above the lake with a staircase leading down to a pristine stretch of Huron beach.

Photo by Gottography/Shutterstock

Big Bay Beach

Madeline Island, Wisconsin

Home to beaches, sea caves, cliffs, and lighthouses, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in northern Wisconsin comprises 21 islands and 12 miles of Lake Superior shoreline. Visitors can cross by ferry to Madeline Island and rent a bike to get to the state park. Those who bike the six-mile trip to Big Bay State Park will be rewarded with free admission and a mile and a half of soft sand.

Where to stay: Farmhouse Inn

• Book now: farmhousemadelineisland.com

Reserve one of five stylish rooms at Farmhouse Inn, located next to the ferry docks in La Pointe and within walking distance to town galleries and cafés.