Here are the top 10 Northern Michigan beaches to visit for your next picnic, bonfire, or dip into the water. The following winners were determined by more than 10,000 participants who voted in MyNorth’s 2014 Red Hot Best annual contest. Fill up your cooler and picnic basket with Northern Michigan food and drink, slather on some sunscreen and head to one of these top 10 Northern Michigan beaches this summer. Find all 300 Red Hot Best winners in 101 categories in the 2014 June issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine.
The top three, which appear in the 2014 June issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine, are as follows:
- Empire Beach — Located in the most beautiful place in America.
- Good Harbor Bay Beach, Leelanau County — Eat a week’s worth of hummus at The Redheads.
- North Bar Lake Beach, Sleeping Bear Dunes— Don’t forget your skim or paddle board.
And the rest of the Top 10 Northern Michigan beaches in alphabetical order:
- Clinch Park, Traverse City — Lifeguard on duty and plenty of kids activities.
- Dam Beach, Elk Rapids — Fill up with breakfast from Harbor Cafe before hitting the waves.
- Elberta Beach — Take a break from the beach and bike the Betsie Valley Trail.
- Esch Rd (Otter Creek), Empire — Nearby Joe’s Friendly Tavern has all your refreshments and grub
- Frankfort Public Beach — Head to the Elberta bluffs afterwards to catch a killer sunset.
- Vans Beach, Leland — Head to the Village Cheese Shanty after for some gooey goodness.
- West End Beach, Traverse City — The 20- and 30-something hang out with volleyball courts galore.
I have to disagree with your top 10 beaches. You have totally missed out on some of the most gorgeous beaches in the state. Alpena, Presque Isle and Harrisville are amazing. Alpena has a NOAA center and the world’s largest collection of shipwrecks in one small area. Many of them can be viewed by just snorkeling a short distance out to them! You all are missing out on some great Northern Michigan beauty if you just stay on the west side of the state.