North Beach in South Haven Michigan (views! + north pier lighthouse) + parking?! 🏖 Lake Michigan travel blog

Hi there!

North Beach is the better beach in South Haven!

You do have to pay for parking at North Beach, and if you don’t already have a beach parking sticker, then you can expect to pay around $10 for parking.

 

 

So South Haven is a Lake Michigan beach town, and there are many beach access points along the shoreline in South Haven.

North Beach is one of the spots where you can get beach access in South Haven.

 

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North Beach is one of the main beaches in South Haven.

It lies immediately north of the South Haven river that flows into Lake Michigan… and so, it’s NORTH beach!

In summer 2020 (when pics in this blog post are from), Lake Michigan was reported to have high water levels. For South Haven beaches, this generally means less of a sandy shoreline.

But because of how far back the sand goes at North Beach, you don’t really feel like there’s less sandy shoreline at North Beach compared to other South Haven beaches. So if you want lots of sand around you in South Haven, you just may want to pick North Beach!

 

More for your Michigan trip beyond North Beach

If you’re interested in North Beach in South Haven, then you may also be interested in these things around Michigan:

• Muskegon State Park (map)
• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (map)
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (map)
• Kitch-iti-kipi (the bubbling big spring of Michigan!) (map)
• Tahquamenon Falls State Park (map)
• Mackinac Island (map)
• Great Lakes shipwreck coast (map)
• Best places to visit in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (for VIEWS!)
• Headlands International Dark Sky Park (map)
• Saugatuck Dune Rides (map)
• Porcupine Mountains (map)

 

North Beach pier

There is a pier on both sides of the river. The north pier and the south pier. On the south side is where the main South Haven lighthouse is located. This is the red lighthouse. You can SEE that lighthouse from North Beach (and the north pier). To actually get up close and personal, you’ll have to drive around to that side.

Instead, from North Beach, you can get up close and personal with the north pier light. You can walk out onto the north pier from North Beach.

 

👆 Walking out onto the North Beach pier.

 

👆 End of the north pier.

 

👆 South Haven lighthouse, as seen across the river from the North Beach pier.

 

👆 Looking back. That’s North Beach off to the left. Off to the right, you can see a little bit of the river that divides North Beach from South Beach.

 

👆 More of the South Haven beach shoreline along Lake Michigan.

 

 

What does North Beach have to offer?

Once again, as one of the main beaches in South Haven, there are some beach facilities at North Beach. Among other things, there is a bathroom at North Beach.

North Beach has a beach volleyball net set up. Bring your own volleyball!

 

 

At North Beach, you can rent kayaks and you can rent stand-up paddleboards (SUP) to paddle around Lake Michigan.

 

 

There is also a concession stand for food at North Beach.

 

 

 

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North Beach parking

As one of South Haven’s main city beaches, there is parking around for North Beach.

There is parking right along the edge of the beach.

This is paid parking.

So if you don’t have a beach parking sticker from the city of South Haven, you’ll want to make payment after you park.

This is self-pay, so you’ll look for the little payment station along the beach to make your payment.

You can expect to pay around $10. See current fees.

 

 

There is also a bike rack at North Beach.

 

 

And then after you’ve parked… you can make your way onto the sand!

 

 

Finally, while Lake Michigan is a lake, it’s a big lake! In many ways it can act like an ocean. So take care out there!

In the past few years, there have been no lifeguards at North Beach, or at any South Haven beaches. There seems to be occasional chatter about getting lifeguards, even as recent as early 2021, but it still doesn’t seem likely that there will be lifeguards in summer 2021. Although, things can change.

As a big lake, anything can happen at any time, but in general, you can use the color of the beach flags as an indicator of how safe the Lake Michigan waters are on the day you’re there. Look for a green flag. That means lake conditions are generally calm.

 

 

 

And that’s a bit about North Beach in South Haven!

 

See about the other main South Haven beach: South Beach.

See the list of South Haven beaches.

See more Lake Michigan beaches in Michigan.

 

HAPPY VISIT TO NORTH BEACH!