This is the best beach in Northern Michigan to watch the sunsets. We enjoy watching the boats in…read moreand out of the harbor, too.

The water is so shallow you can walk super far out! Not crowded! Peaceful! & Clear water! Be kind…read moreto the locals!

The boat was perfect and Doug even provided a cooler with ice! The boat was stocked with all the…read moresafety gear and even some fun equipment. Thank you Doug for making sure we had a good time!

Was charged $497 for 6 hours of boating time then, the next day they ran an unauthorized…read moretransaction of $48. Boat was left clean and gas filled up.

A short walk from the parking lot to the lake. Maybe a 1/3 of a mile. The wide open beach is a…read morewonder place. there are also miles of trails. Their trail maps are a little confusing, a you are here would be helpful. I took a wrong turn and ended up going on a 2 and a half mile hike. The dog truly loved it though. Honestly so did I. Overall definitely a 5 star review and would highly recommend this place for people looking for a nice beach with a small wall or people looking to go on a hike.

Beautiful! Lovely nature area as well as views of the lake!…read moreRemember to bring bug spray if in bug season!

This is one of the most magnificent beaches in Michigan. It's easy to get to. It's clean and it's…read morenot well known so it's not crowded. Definitely worth the trip when you're up in Northport.

This beach has spectacular views and for the most part, pristine water! In addition to this,…read morethere's plenty of rocks all around the shoreline. My only complaint about this beach would have to be the terrible smell. If you stray away from the shoreline (which you probably will to set up a parasol and a beach towel) by the bluffs it smells so so bad. At first I thought it was dog crap but with further inspection, it smells that way all over the beach honestly. I recommend you spend most of your time scavenging for rocks and swimming instead of sitting around by the smelly cliffs.

Great beach, and not very crowded at all! Clean with very soft sand! We came here to do some rock…read morehunting and had a great day.

This rustic state park is one of our favorites. The scenery is gorgeous, with miles of sandy and…read morerocky beachfront, walking trails, 5-mile road for biking and spacious wooded lots and a prized few water front lots. There is firewood and ice at the check-in station which is very convenient. T h e grounds are well maintained and the vault toilet stalls are mostly clean (though can become odiferous when the park is full). It is usually the case that visitors to the rustic parks are more respectful of the quiet. We are bird watchers and always love spying the eagles and variety of other birds in the area. Close to the town of Charlevoix, there are plenty of options for sight seeing, eating and finding supplies. Beautiful area of our state.

Two parks for the price of nothing! The north entrance leads to a very nice beach with great views…read more Their are some great rocks for people into rock collecting. Their are places to park and trails to hike. At the south entrance you park then there are trails to hike. 1 leads back to the north park. The other one leads to about a 5 minute hike to a stream view area. You'll see the stream almost right away, but in the distance and between foliage. It's a very nice stream, though nothing epic. There is then a 3 minute hike to the beach where the stream meets Lake Michigan. Again here the views are spectacular. Thetrails could be better marked and better upkept to get rid of low branches. The trail connecting the two parks is about 0.8 miles. Overall a 5 star review.

Well, this was a delight of a park - though the hike didn't work out too well. We came here for the…read moretrail/hike, but the trail was mostly washed out from rain and it became impassable the further in we went. This is actually right along a gorgeous little stretch of beach though, a nice spot for looking for charlevoix and petoskey stones. Gorgeous shore, plenty of distance to walk, dog-friendly - what could be better? Lots of fairly rocky shoreline, but some areas that were pretty sandy as well, for folks wanting a place to lie down. I will say the main area right near the parking lot was very crowded, but the further down you walked you could get to some pretty quiet areas. You can also go partly down the trail and connect to another stretch of beach that is very quiet.

Super nice beach with chilly water. Very family friendly. There's a spring feeding water so you get…read morethat chilly spring water out of otter creek.

Love this beach. Beautiful and usually uncrowded, also a popular spot to swim and sunbath naked…read more Just cross the creek and look for a remote spot and don't be surprised if you see others relaxing in the nude.

Recently visited the speech while I was in the area. After visiting all the shops in the area I…read moredecided to visit the beach that was nearby. The beach was easy access from the street. The beach was pretty busy too with plenty of people with their boats out close to shore and people just playing volleyball into sand nearby. The water was actually pretty warm too. Overall, this beach is great for strolling up and down in or just casual sitting

This is a small little park that delivers a huge amount of what you might want -- very close to…read moredowntown, but right on the water with beautiful views -- and it has a tidy little playground that is a mix of nice climbing structures and fun splash park, making it the perfect place to spend an hour or two in the summer while passing through Traverse City. (I tried to think of a good "clinch" related wordplay, but I couldn't, so I'll just say it does the trick.)

My new favorite spot to spend a few hours! Grabbed a 7 day park pass at Crystal River Outfitters…read moreand spent a few hours swimming, looking for Petoskey stones, and soaking in the beautiful view. Plenty of parking, bathroom available. Hope to come back and enjoy a fire on the beach one night.

Well, shoreline is a bit eroded, but you can walk on the mini bluff. Bonfire central. Mom and I…read morepicked up trash here on Labor day, not too much really. Beautiful.

nice quiet place. close to local attractions and restaurants. nice playground for kids. has a great…read morebeachand close to several others in area

Located on Grand Traverse Bay just north of Torch Lake. Barnes Park is open year-round offering an…read moreextensive Lake Michigan beach, playground, and trails, with additional seasonal camping and pavilion rentals (Memorial Day through October.) Various outdoor recreational activities including Lake Michigan beach access, trails, and playground. Electric and rustic campsites. Dump station & water fill station. They have a well stocked camp Store offering ice, firewood, beverages, candy, etc .. Each campsite is outfitted with a fire ring and picnic table. There were two bathhouses with shower facilities that were clean and ADA accessible. Showers are coin operated ($0.50 for 5 minutes of hot water, quarters only). Also two spacious pavilions with electrical outlets. Each pavilion has 10 picnic tables and 4 BBQ grills (You can reserve a pavilion for the day by using our online reservation.