[Bearcat]

St.Joseph has my vote 100%!!!!!
Mid-June-Late Sept.

[MittenDweller82]

Grand Haven, Charleviox, South Haven (busy and congested but you must go to Captian Nemo's Ice Cream! yumm) otherwise, Ludington........

[HighlandsGal]

Pentwater!!!

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by HighlandsGal

Pentwater!!!

Every 4th of July! Laying on the beach watching the fireworks. Usually get there early and grab a spot by the ribbon that marks off the "safety" area. Nice Beach.

[deslok]

I'd say Saint joseph or south haven. I sort of like wecko beach in Bridgman for the fact that it has a great view of the lake and isn't very crowded. I went to a wedding reception once on that beach and it was a lot of fun.

[gillgetter]

Originally Posted by mazenblue

Oval Beach in Saugatuck is also very nice. Nice little town to do fun shopping in and try the Butler for lunch for dinner.

Uhmm. word of caution on Oval beach.. if your not a fan of "Broke back mountian" then you might want to avoid it. Its a popular gay beach.
I have always herd rumors of the beach then one day I went fishing at the saugatuck pier which you have to walk down Oval beach to get to. Well the morning trip to the pier was fine, still dark out, nobody around, but the walk back to the parking lot around noon was a different story, rump rangers all over, very graphic activity out in the open. I never went back to that pier!

[Dexterguy]

I love the entire Lake Michiagn shore from Indiana to Wisconsin, but one nice area that I have always loved is the New Buffalo beach near Indiana.

[TaxBait]

Originally Posted by suydam

The question was about Lake Michigan beaches, however.
Tawas is on Lake Huron.

True enough, but I'd note there are also many fine beaches to consider on inland lakes. And they warm up much sooner.

[SouperStar34]

I play a lot of beach volleyball. I have been to many beaches on the lake.

Silver Beach in St. Joseph is the best IMO.

[GlassPipe]

Find the small, lesser known places and you'll be much happier with the experience. You won't end up paying $15.00 for a beer and a burger either. Seems like most all of the big towns along the lakeshore get too busy and too touristy during the summer months and the local economy has learned to thrive off from it. I say let someone else pay the fudgies' way and see the real northern michigan. Small villages and towns is where Michigan is at. But as for the lakeshore....

Elk Rapids is nice, but kinda busy. Cool downtown along the river.

The village of Torch Lake is just a few minutes north. There is a really nice lake michigan access as well as a torch lake access. The Torch access has a really cool day park for the kids and parents alike but can be moderately busy. The lk Michigan access is just a place to park and walk to the beach. I've actually pulled my truck right up to the water there and spent the night.

Eastport is a small little place with a couple choices just a mile or so up the road from Torch Lake Village. Barnes Park Beach doesn't get too crowded at all during the year and makes for a real nice lake michigan stroll. Across US31 from Barnes is the south end of Torch Lake. Awesome beach there which very rarely sees any swim wear. Could ride a bike from barnes to torch in about 5 mins.

Up the road a ways is Atwood. Another small village. But drive down to the lakeshore from there and you'll find lk michigan beaches that only the locals know are there! Some pretty inconspicuous little "entry points" can be found. Just ask the guy at the beer store on us31.

A little further on up and you'll find Norwood. Really cool village that you'd never know was there. It's down a little road off from US31. Really nice beach for pickin' stones. If you're feeling adventurous, take the two track along the lakeshore back to whiskey creek and you'll find some seclusion along the Michigan shoreline.

Charlevoix (a few more miles north) is pretty touristy come summer time. Very nice place to spend an afternoon though. They have a state campground just south of town on the lakeshore and a public beach in town. A couple I think...

I haven't spent too much time on the lake in Petoskey, but I know that north of Petoskey starts to get some shale cliffs and rocky beaches that can be a lot of fun for the adventurous youngsters and geriatrics alike! My grandpa took me up that way once and gave me quite the geology lesson. He's good for that.

Have a great trip. Hopefully I was able to point a couple "local" spots out for you. Feel free to pm me or ask here if you have any specific questions.