7 best Pictured Rocks beaches (Lake Superior beach views!) ⚓ Upper Peninsula Michigan travel blog

Hi there!

So there are a number of beaches to choose from along America’s most amazing lake shorelines!

The Lake Superior shoreline touches a number of midwest states: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

And if you’re looking for Lake Superior beaches in Michigan, then there are a number of beaches to visit in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!

Lake Superior has sandy beaches, and it also has some rocky beaches. Lake Superior is known for a good spot to look for colorful rocks, and there are beaches that are good for this in Pictured Rocks too.

There are a few beaches that you can pretty much drive straight to, and there are also a couple of beaches that you may want to visit that require a hike to get to.

There are also campsites you can get that are just steps from the beach! Some that even come with Lake Superior views right from your campsite! This can make for a great Pictured Rocks camping trip or a great Lake Superior camping trip.

No matter which beach you choose, you’ll get beautiful views of Lake Superior!

 

 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore basically has 2 sides. The Munising side and the Grand Marais side. This list generally goes in order from Munising to Grand Marais, west to east.

 

1. Sand Point beach

 

This is said to be the warmest beach in Pictured Rocks.

But again, warm may still be cold! But if you’re looking for a swimming beach, this might be a top one to go to.

 

 

🌳

 

 

 

2. Miners Beach

 

This is a pretty wide stretch of sand. There’s a parking lot near this beach for easy access. You’ll take a set of stairs to go down to the beach.

 

 

Or, if you’re looking for a hike in Pictured Rocks, you can hike from the Miners Castle overlook to Miners Beach. 

 

 

Hiking from Miners Castle would make it about a 3 mile round trip hike.

 

 

Waterfalls at the beach

 

You can also find some small waterfalls that flow into Lake Superior at the far end of Miners Beach! These waterfalls are also called Elliot Falls.

From the stairs down to Miners Beach, you’ll go to the right when you’re facing the lake. You can make it a beach walk, or there’s also a trail that runs parallel to the shoreline that’s on higher ground that you can take to get to the other side of the beach.

 

 

Near Miners Beach: On your drive to this Lake Superior beach, you’ll pass by the road to Miners Falls.

 

 

3. Chapel Beach

 

This is a beach that requires a hike to get to. It will be about a 7 mile round trip hike.

 

 

But, it’s not just the beach that is noteworthy! Hiking to Chapel Beach means that you will be passing by Chapel Falls and Chapel Rock.

 

 

And, this is also the direction you can go if you want to hike to see the famous Pictured Rocks cliffs! That would make it into a 10+ mile hike.

 

 

 

Waterfalls at the beach

And… there are small waterfalls right at Chapel Beach! This is another river (creek) that flows right into Lake Superior!

 

 

 

Backcountry camping near Chapel Beach

 

The Chapel Beach campground is perched a bit above the beach. You’ll take the path to get down to the beach!

 

 

The campground is around 3 miles from the nearest parking lot.

 

See more about hiking to this Lake Superior beach: Chapel Beach

 

 

4. Twelvemile Beach

 

This is a beach that goes on for miles and gives some more great Lake Superior views! There’s a parking lot at one section of Twelvemile Beach.

 

 

 

Twelvemile Beach campground

 

There is a drive-in campground at Twelvemile Beach. It’s possible to get a campsite that overlooks Lake Superior!

See more about camping at this Lake Superior beach: Twelvemile Beach campground

 

 

Getting to the beach from Little Beaver Lake campground

And then what is the far west end of Twelvemile Beach is another beach access point… by foot! (This is possibly around 12 miles down on the shoreline from the main parking lot?! See map of this beach access point.)

You can hike to the Lake Superior shoreline from Little Beaver Lake campground, and it will give you sandy beach access to the west end of Twelvemile Beach. This is about a 1.5 mile hike from Little Beaver Lake, and the closest beach you will get to this drive-in campground.

 

 

The Little Beaver Lake campground is very small and far away from the main tourist spots of Pictured Rocks. This can make for a quiet camping experience in Pictured Rocks. See more about camping at the west end of Twelvemile Beach.

 

 

Backcountry camping near Twelvemile Beach

 

Basically it seems like if you are hiking the North Country Trail anywhere along Twelvemile Beach, the backcountry campsites along the way will have beach access that’s very nearby! (Benchmark campground, Sevenmile campground, Pine Bluff campground, Beaver Creek campground, Coves campground.) Official backcountry camping info.

 

Beach access near Benchmark campground.

 

 

5. Lake Superior overlook beach

 

You can make a stop here as you’re driving through Pictured Rocks for the Lake Superior overlook. There’s also beach access here.

 

 

 

6. Hurricane River beach

 

There is a parking lot at Hurricane River. 

This is another river that flows into Lake Superior. There’s sandy beach on both sides of the river. 

 

 

From Hurricane River, you can hike to Au Sable Point Lighthouse (3 miles round trip) or to the Log Slide dunes overlook (7 miles round trip).

 

Hurricane River campground

There is a drive-in campground at Hurricane River. There are 2 sections of camping around here, upper and lower. The lower campsites are closer to the beach. The upper campsites are about a quarter mile away from Hurricane River and the beach at the river. 

See more about camping near this Lake Superior beach: Hurricane River campground

 

 

7. Sable Beach

 

This is a beach that you need to hike to get to.

Sable Beach is a rocky beach, and it’s full of colorful rocks! This is a spot where you can look for agate stones. 

 

 

Although, you can only look, as you are not supposed to take rocks (or anything else) from the national lakeshore home with you. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a protected area by the National Park Service.

To get to this beach, you’ll pass by waterfalls!

 

 

And also nearby, you can go for a hike on some sand dunes too.

 

 

See more about hiking to this Lake Superior beach: Sable Beach

And if visiting a beach with colorful rocks sounds good to you, you just might love visiting the Keweenaw Peninsula (also in the UP) where you can find beaches with a bunch of red rocks!

 

 

Swimming in Lake Superior?!

Lake Superior never really warms up any time of the year, and even in summer it can be cold. 

Still, there are people who get in the water to swim in Lake Superior! 

You might be considered lucky if the water temperature is in the mid-60s when you’re there. That can be considered “warm” for Lake Superior.

 

According to the National Park Service:

Shoreline water temperatures in summer usually range from the upper 50s to the upper 60s.

Some years it can reach 70 degrees by mid-August in Munising Bay.

 

There are NO lifeguards anywhere on the beaches in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Also know that Lake Superior in some ways can act like an ocean. Rip currents exist.

Take care when swimming!

Also, there are also tons of shipwrecks in Lake Superior, and along the Pictured Rocks shoreline it is said that you can explore some of this too.

Snorkeling and scuba diving is a thing in Lake Superior, and there is also the Alger Underwater Preserve that is located off the shores of Pictured Rocks.

If you’re interested in Great Lakes shipwrecks, then you may also want to visit Whitefish Point when you’re in the eastern UP. This is located around 2 hours from Pictured Rocks.

 

 

Cost of going to the beaches in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

According to the National Park Service:

To access Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, you must possess and display:

Pictured Rocks 7-Day or Annual Entrance Pass

OR

America the Beautiful Pass (Annual, Military, Fourth Grade, Senior, or Volunteer).

If you already have an America the Beautiful Pass, you do not need to buy a separate Pictured Rocks Entrance Pass!

 

The Pictured Rocks entry fee will cover all beaches in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

The cost to visit Pictured Rocks in 2024 is $25 per car. This will get you a 7-day Pictured Rocks national park pass. (There is no one-day Pictured Rocks pass.)

Confirm current Pictured Rocks fees.

You can buy a Pictured Rocks national park pass at a Pictured Rocks visitor center when you arrive, or you can buy it online at recreation.gov before you go.

If you will also be visiting other national parks that have entry fees, then you may want to look into getting an annual national park pass aka the America the Beautiful pass!

This annual national park pass will also be accepted at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. (There are also Great Lakes beaches at Sleeping Bear Dunes!)

Other popular national parks “near” Michigan include Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, but these parks do not have a national park entry fee.

If you have several more weeks to spare in the summer or fall, you can make use of the America the Beautiful national park pass by driving out to Yellowstone National Park!

You can go to national parks in Wyoming and national parks in South Dakota, and you could even add on a national park in North Dakota and/or a national park site in Idaho! See how I did the drive from Chicago to Yellowstone.

If you are a senior, there is also an annual national park pass for seniors that will be worth it even if you only visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore! It’s $20! See current fees under America the Beautiful passes.

 

 

Quick list of Pictured Rocks beaches!

RECAP!

 

1. Sand Point beach

 

 

2. Miners Beach

 

 

3. Chapel Beach

 

 

4. Twelvemile Beach

 

 

5. Hurricane River beach

 

 

6. Lake Superior overlook beach

 

 

7. Sable Beach

 

And that’s a bit about some beaches you can find in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!

 

More Lake Superior beaches in Michigan, from east to west:

• Brimley State Park
• Point Iroquois
• Whitefish Point
• Vermilion Point
• Crisp Point
• Muskallonge Lake State Park
• Pictured Rocks
• Keweenaw Peninsula (find red rocks!)
• Porcupine Mountains State Park

 

You can also make it a Lake Superior lighthouse road trip or a Lake Superior camping trip.

 

See the best of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

See ideas for more beautiful places to visit as you drive around the UP!

 

See the list of Lake Michigan beaches in Michigan’s other national lakeshore!

See the best of national lakeshores in Michigan.

 

More for your trip to the UP beyond Lake Superior and Pictured Rocks:

• Tahquamenon Falls (map)
• Kitch-iti-kipi (the bubbling big spring of Michigan!) (map)
• Presque Isle Park (map)
• Porcupine Mountains (map)
• Crisp Point Lighthouse (map)
• Bond Falls (map)

 

HAPPY SEEING LAKE SUPERIOR BEACHES IN THE UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN!