As you drive up the coast of Southwest Michigan, you pass through beach town after beach town dotting the shore of Lake Michigan. All of these towns have a beach, of course, most have a downtown area filled with shops and eateries, and the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail leads to wineries throughout the region. But, each of these towns has its own personality. In this article we’re taking a look at six unique Southwest Michigan beach towns we visited this summer that we’re sure you’d enjoy, as well.

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New Buffalo

Four Winds Casino

Although casinos are sprinkled throughout Michigan, the only one in the beach towns we visited is Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo. We made a point of going on a Wednesday, which is senior day. If you’re 55 years or older and have a Players Club card, you’ll get a discount at the casino’s restaurants on senior day. You can also enter free drawings for prizes throughout the day.

Redamak’s, a Southwest Michigan Iconic Diner

Also in New Buffalo is Redamak’s, an iconic diner that began in 1946 as a small tavern serving burgers and such. We’ve watched as the restaurant expanded over and over again through the years and has become a Southwest Michigan icon. Redamak’s is a seasonal restaurant, typically open March through October and is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We make it a point of stopping in for a burger whenever we pass and they’re open—except on the weekends, when the crowd waiting to be seated often overflows into the parking lot. Yes, it’s that popular. 
Read more about Redamak’s.

Saint Joseph

Silver Beach Carousel

The next town north that we’re featuring is Saint Joseph. What first attracted me to Saint Joseph is the Silver Beach Carousel, located a stone’s throw from the beach. At one time there was a Silver Beach Amusement Park, but it closed in the early 1970s. Today’s carousel is not the same one from the amusement park, but several of the horses are replicas of those on the original ride.
Read more about the Silver Beach Carousel.

Lighthouse Tours

You can also tour a lighthouse in Saint Joseph. Although a lighthouse is not unique in Southwest Michigan (there are lots of them). not all of them provide tours as Saint Joseph does. Tours of the Inner Light (there is also an Outer Light) are available on the weekends throughout the summer months. Unfortunately, we visited on a weekday, so we didn’t get to tour, but we did walk out on the pier to the lighthouse. Access the lighthouse via Tiscornia Beach, also called North Pier, adjacent to the St. Joseph River.

South Haven

Attend Festivals year-Round

Moving on to South Haven, a big resort area with lots of festivals. From a big New Year’s Eve bash and Ice Breaker Festival in the winter to several summer festivals, South Haven knows how to celebrate. We made it to the National Blueberry Festival this year, at least to the blueberry pancake breakfast part of it. And what delicious pancakes they were, even better than the ones Skip makes (and his are yummy, too).

Michigan Maritime Museum

We would have explored more of the Blueberry Festival (crafts, market, blueberry pie eating contest, etc.), but we came across the Michigan Maritime Museum and decided to go inside. We ended up spending more time there than we thought we would. The museum includes both indoor and outdoor exhibits, with many of the indoor exhibits interactive. Some of the exhibits focus on kids, so they would enjoy the museum, as well. There are more buildings outside of the main museum, including one filled with vintage Coast Guard boats in it.

The museum also has several boats docked at the pier. One of the boats, a U.S. Coast Guard Motor Life Boat, built in 1941, starred in a Disney movie. My favorite boat, though, was the Friends Good Will, a replica of an 1810 top sail sloop. A museum staff member standing outside saw me admiring the boat and invited me on to take a closer look. The really neat thing about these boats is that you can ride in many of them, including the Friends Good Will. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for a ride while we were there, but we’d love to go back and do that, especially the Friends Good Will boat.

Saugatuck

The next town north is Saugatuck, which has an artsy vibe. The town is known for art galleries and antique shops throughout the the downtown area, along with trendy restaurants and boutique hotels.

Saugatuck Dune Rides

However, the highlight for us was just north of the town—the Saugatuck Dune Rides. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time but just never have, even though we get up to Southwest Michigan quite a bit. So, we made a point of doing it this year.

You board a five-row dune buggy, so it holds quite a few people, and ride through the hills and curves of the sandy dune roads. It stops every now and then while the guide talks about the history and landscape of the area. I was surprised to learn about the town of Singapore. Singapore was once a thriving lumber town, which is now buried beneath the dunes. I was just as surprised to find out that the several cottonwood trees we saw at one site, were actually only two trees. What we saw were only the top branches. The rest of the trees are buried, going down about 150 feet into the dunes.

We also got off the dune buggy for a few minute break and were invited to walk through the dunes and check out the scenery.

As we were riding back to the start/end point, we were traveling through a wooded area with sandy trails. Apparently, all the roads in the area used to be that way. It happened that L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wizard of Oz” had a vacation home a short distance north of there, near Holland, Michigan. Some believe that the narrow, sandy roads lined with heavy woods was the inspiration for the Yellow Brick Road.

Holland

Holland was big for us, since that’s where we were based during this summer’s visit to the area. So, we focused a lot on that city.

Holland State Park

According to Trip Advisor, the top attraction in Holland is Holland State Park, which doesn’t surprise us. The park includes a beautiful beach and a great view of Michigan’s most photographed lighthouse—Big Red. You can’t walk right up to the lighthouse because you’d have to go through private property to do so. But, there’s a great vantage point from across the channel, on the beach.

De Klomp Wooden Shoe & Delft Factory

Beyond the beach, Holland offers lots to do, including several attractions that celebrate the area’s Dutch heritage. One afternoon we drove over to the De Klomp Wooden Shoe and Delft Factory. The building is a large gift shop, but one side of it is windowed, where you can watch artists at work. One woman was working on the delft pieces when we visited. Earlier she had poured a clay substance into molds. When we saw her, she was unmolding and trimming them. She explained to us that they’d go through another process before the artist painted the pieces.

We also watched the wooden shoe carving process, done on vintage machinery. The shoes they make there are meant for decoration, as the insides aren’t finished for regular wear. They do sell wooden shoes you can wear, but those come from the Netherlands and are made on modern machinery that can produce the shoes faster and cheaper. What a fun process to watch, though!

Windmill Island Gardens

Another Dutch-related attraction is the Windmill Island Gardens. The gardens are a main point of interest during the annual May Tulip Festival, when the tulips are in full bloom. But even later in the summer the garden is fill with beautiful flowers. A big highlight here is De Zwaan, a windmill that came from the Netherlands. In fact, an old blade from the windmill sets on the ground next to the windmill. That blade is full of bullet holes, shot through during World War II.

Inside the windmill, you can climb up five floors. Each floor includes a different exhibit that explains the milling process. Although this mill can still process grain, it hasn’t done so in a few years.

Also at Windmill Island Gardens, Dutch-garbed guides take you behind the beautiful Dutch organ and explain how it works, similar to a player piano. Gift shops are fun to browse through, and a carousel offers rides to children.

Nelis’ Dutch Village

Another Dutch-related attraction in Holland is Nelis’ Dutch Village. We didn’t go there on our recent trip but have been there a few times over the years. In fact, several years ago we took our grandkids there. They loved it, because there was so much for them to do, including rides, a petting zoo, cookie making, and lots of photo ops.

As an adult, I enjoyed the Dutch dance performances and demonstrations in cheese making, Dutch delft making and more.

Read more about Nelis’ Dutch Village.

Downtown Holland

Holland isn’t all about Dutch attractions, though. There is plenty more to see and do. We especially enjoy the downtown area, filled with shops and eateries. It seems the downtown area is always bustling. This summer we were there during a sidewalk sale. Streets were closed off and filled with bargain-priced goods from the local retailers. Last fall, we were there during the Fall Fest, where we watch pumpkin carvers and street performers.

We usually end up in the food-related shops, and there are a lot of them. I especially like Fustini’s, an oil-and-vinegar store. We like to taste several different balsamic vinegar flavors before deciding on one or two to buy. In fact, I enjoy tasting the vinegars more than I do tasting wine…although we did some of that this summer, as well. And I can’t leave out Cherry Republic, which always has samples out. The dark chocolate covered cherries are so very yummy.

One very unique thing about Holland’s downtown is that the streets and sidewalks are heating during the winter. That means no snow and no ice, so you can shop without a slushy mess.

Centennial Park

If you’re a Wizard of Oz fan, make sure you visit Centennial Park to see the giant “Wizard of Oz” book made with plants. Across the street at the public library are sculptures of “Wizard of Oz” characters. The characters don’t look like the movie versions. Instead, they were inspired by the original drawings in the book.

Why the “Wizard of Oz” in Michigan? We mentioned earlier that L. Frank Baum had a vacation home near here, and he apparently wrote at least part of the story while at that vacation home.

Grand Haven

Coast Guard Festival

One evening we went for a ride from Holland, heading north. We ended up in Grand Haven, at a huge celebration of the 100^th anniversary of Grand Haven’s Coast Guard Festival. You see, the U.S. Coast Guard has a station in Grand Haven, and that town was the first in the country to be named a Coast Guard City.

It seemed we walked for blocks through the festival, with bands, a carnival, and lots of vendors along the pier. Our timing was just right, as it was almost time for the Musical Fountain show.

Grand Haven Musical Fountain

The Grand Haven Musical Fountain show isn’t only for the festival. It’s every evening in the summer, at 10 p.m. It seems kind of late, but with that area being on the western edge of the Eastern Time Zone, it stays light especially late during the summer. What fun that fountain show is. You watch the enormous fountain across the water from the pier. The fountain changes color and dances to music. The show lasts about a half hour.

Coast Guard Water Vessel Tours During the Festival

We returned to Grand Haven that weekend to see several Coast Guard water vessels docked along the pier. We toured at least four different U.S. Coast Guard ships and other water craft, as well as one Canadian Coast Guard ship. They were all fascinating.

If You Visit These Southwest Michigan Beach Towns

That’s as far up the Southwest Michigan coastline as we’re covering here. But, the coast continues up, with many more beach towns in Southwest Michigan and farther north, each with its own unique features.

Keep in mind that many attractions in these towns—and some restaurants—are seasonal. However, many embrace winter, as well, with plenty of winter outdoor experiences. Just plan ahead by visiting the Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council website.