Or check out the annual Coast Guard Festival. On summer evenings, make times to see Grand Haven’s famous musical fountain, just down the road from the park. Be prepared to arrive very early or circle the local neighborhoods looking for street parking. Often the lot is full, with cars lined up out of the park or turned away until someone leaves. The road leading to Grand Haven State Park is very narrow, and the parking lot is not large enough for the thousands of daily visitors on summer weekends. Unfortunately, the landlocked location means there is no room for expansion to accommodate the increasing attendance records. The park consists primarily of beach sand and provides scenic views of the Grand Haven pier and two lighthouses. From the park, you can watch the many fishing vessels and pleasure boats go by in the channel or out on the lake. A boardwalk runs alongside the channel near the park which provides a path to the Lighthouse or the downtown shopping district. On the positive side, it is conveniently located within walking or biking distance of many attractions in the town of Grand Haven. This location is both a blessing and a curse. The beach and boardwalk are the crown jewels of this destination, so I highly recommend visiting here as you are travelling through Michigan.Grand Haven State Park is trapped between Lake Michigan, private houses, and the channel that empties the Grand River into Lake Michigan. We would love to have you visit Favorite quotes. We have 174 campsites and over 700 parking places for the beach crowd. If you are going to try this, please, please only do this on green flag days where there is minimal risk of dangerous currents.Īt Grand Haven State Park, you will not run out of fun in the sun, and you will also have a front row seat to the nightly Lake Michigan sunsets. Grand Haven State Park is a 48 acre park located on the shores of Lake Michigan close to down town Grand Haven. Though there isn’t a designated snack shop on the beach, food trucks are often available offering various great options.Ī popular activity for the 20-something crowd is diving off the south pier into the crystal clear Lake Michigan water. There is a designated volleyball area with several nets to accommodate large groups and tournaments. And with 150 to 300 feet of sand at any point along the way, there is plenty of space for the tremendous weekend crowds. Michigan Camping Association, The, De- State College of Agriculture and Applied Miami Christian School, Miami. The beach begins at the south pier and stretches for almost 1/2 mile past the state park campground and day park ending at the city beach. Of course, this is what you come here for. And if that’s not working for you, sign up for one of the many available fishing charters where you will be sure to bring back some impressive Salmon from further out in Lake Michigan. If fishing is your thing, you can try your luck at catching a salmon off the end of the pier. The boardwalk is our “highway” into town. When we camp here, we ride our bikes everywhere we go. In addition to foot traffic, the boardwalk also accommodates bikes, scooters, roller blades, etc. There is also a seasonal musical fountain that plays music at dusk to a synchronized water and light show. On the boardwalk you can enjoy an array of shops and restaurants, or just find a nice place to sit and watch the constant parade of boats going in and out of the harbor. The campground is situated on the magnificent 1.5 mile long boardwalk that runs along the Grand River into town. This makes up for everything you might miss from your normal camping experiences. Sounds like a horrible place, huh? Ah, but no! And since the sites are so close together, there are only a few shared campfire pits available. No grass to be found other than a few dune grasses. Wherever there aren’t asphalt sites or cement walkways, there is sand. Sites are deep enough for the largest of rigs, but only as wide as your rig with slide-out and awning. It is more about location, location, location, because the campground itself is basically an RV parking lot. Here, the camping is… well… not really like camping. Its one of the more difficult campgrounds to get into unless you reserve 6 months in advance or luck out on a cancellation a couple days before your arrival. Grand Haven State Park is one of the most popular state parks in Michigan, primarily because of its location at the Grand Haven public beach and south pier of the Grand River.
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