My favorite beach in Michigan…read more I've been to: Douglas Beach (wonderful neighborhood beach nearby) West Side County Beach (a bit south of Oval and lots of rocks to collect) as well as North and South Beach in South Haven, and a few other neighborhood ones there. Oval wins for me for a lot of reasons. Great, abundant parking ($15 per car for the day, $75 for the season as of 2026). Good restrooms, snack bar, but most importantly, lots of space on the beach to spread out and enjoy. Vibes are immaculate here. We had several days on our trip where this was it. We set up a beach tent, packed sandwiches, and had a blast. The waves were big a few days which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's kind of a roll of the dice whether the water is fine or a bit too chilly, but it's fun nevertheless. So, to sum it all up. SUN. WAVES. EASY. BEAUTIFUL. I will dream of the time spent here, especially come mid-February when we'd give nearly anything for a nice weather day.

Oval Beach is STUNNING and I'd love to give it 5 stars, but two things keep me from doing that…read more Primarily this is because the beach is not totally accessible to all visitors. We came here with my mother and she has MS, which affects her legs. The only way down to the beach were fairly steep sand dune paths that were incredibly difficult for even able bodied individuals to navigate. We tried finding stairs but came up empty, so that's a big deterrent here. The other is a more petty one, but it's parking. There seems to be a great amount of parking available here, especially on weekdays BUT it comes at a cost of $15, which seems more than we paid at other beaches. The beach itself is crisp and clean, with beautiful sand and shoreline, and some of the cleanest water we saw while on our visit to the lake. As a family with kids, this would be a great beach to visit, but you do need to factor in the difficulties of getting down to it, especially with your groups ability level and your beach gear in tow.

This is such a great park, and so convenient. We visit this park all year round. Each season…read morefeatures a different experience. In the winter we love park where there is a good view of the water and watch the waves roll in. It is so peaceful and relaxing, There are usually a dozen or more vehicles parked so I know others enjoy watching the waves too, In the summer we enjoy the beach, wading and swimming. All year round you can watch a beautiful sunset. There are good views of Big Red from the park. It is nice that you can park very close to the beach, so if there is anyone is unable to walk longer distances this is the perfect place. The only drawback is that dogs aren't allowed on the beach.

07/21/26 - Absolutely perfect day 75 degrees sunny w/ a nice breeze @ Holland State Park. Lake…read moreMichigan water is choppy w/red flag warnings not to enter the water. God it's days like this that it's great to be alive. What can I say this is a beautiful beach w/the red lighthouse & enclosed by the piers leading into Lake Michigan.

Tunnel Park beach is definitely on the smaller side compared to some of the state parks, but the…read morebeach was clean and not super crowded on a weekday afternoon when I visited recently. The park area includes a playground, reservable picnic shelters, volleyball courts, a bathroom, and changing rooms. A parking fee is in effect Memorial Day through Labor Day and must be paid via a kiosk by the bathroom. When we visited it was $8 per vehicle. You can get a non-resident annual permit for $25, or for Ottawa County residents it's $15. The Michigan Recreation Passport (that allows free entry into Michigan State Parks) is not valid for this parking fee since it's a county park. There is a small set of stairs to get down to the beach past the tunnel (a great photo op). We were able to find a spot near the water and the lake felt wonderful. It's not the clearest water here, but it was so refreshing and the beach itself was clean. I loved being at this beach and my friends and I are already talking about planning our next visit.

What a great beach! We have visited Holland, MI several times and this is the beach we keep…read morereturning to. Enter the lot and it is easy to find parking. Once you park, go to one of the two machines to pay to park. There is a playground, bathrooms and outdoor shower to rinse off. Follow the path for a short walk and you will see the tunnel that leads to the beach. This is a cool photo op! Walk through the tunnel, down the stairs and there is the beach! This beach is clean and nice! On the days I have been here it doesn't get overly crowded and there is plenty of soace to spread out. The water is nice and depending on the day can be a but cold. We usually bring a lunch and some drinks as there are no concessions. Also, no lifeguards. If you want some shade you will need to bring your own umbrella or tent. Each year we go to Michigan I look forward to going to tunnel oark for the amazing beach time!

Beautiful state park with a few different trails to take you to the beach. Parking is $12 for a day…read morefor non-Michigan residents. The kiosk is easy enough to navigate. On to the hike! We did the yellow trail. Difficulty level in my opinion was easy but on our way back, we took the adventurous route which was more of a medium difficulty because you had to be on an uphill climb for quite a bit. Overall, I would classify the hike as easy. It's way too cold so neither of us swam. Because it is a longer hike, we didn't take our dog with us but we saw several while on the trail. If your dog is older than ours (8 months, super slow due to being easily distracted) I highly recommend taking them on the trail. The beach is dog friendly as well. Just make sure to pick up after them. Beautiful view of the lake and overall. I would definitely come back again (and hopefully with Miss Birdie next time)!

This is a beautiful state park with tree covered trails to hike. If hiking sand dunes is not your…read morething there are other trails. If it is, it could be a training pre-curser to bigger dunes. In any regard, it is rustically beautiful. There are porta-potties and picnic tables near the parking lot.

Beautiful beach. But... you have to pay to park so being from out of state, I assumed the hefty…read moreparking price would translate to nice bathrooms/snack shack. That was not the case. They employ people to patrol the bathrooms and beach and they were very respectful and helpful. The beach itself requires a trip down and UP a long steep dune. It was near impossible to get up the hill carrying items. Stairs near the bath house/snack area would be very helpful. Even a rope to help pull yourself up would be good. Also there is NO alcohol allowed and if the patrol staff see you, they do confiscate your beverage.

Not too bad of a hike to the beach! It's not super big or anything but a nice hang out spot. Other…read moretrails were fun to hike too!

We love coming to this beach when we're in Holland. You can expect a clean beach. Crowds aren't…read morehorrible. It's a short bike ride from the campground and the general store. Atmosphere is beautiful. Would definitely recommend visiting this beach and the Lake Macatawa campground if you plan on staying for a few days. (During the summer)

An amazing quiet little town. The landscape was extremely beautiful. The water looked clean and…read morefree of any outside pollution. I am looking to see if there are any bed and breakfast or other rentals in this area.

Concrete wood and…read morewater Black Lake Boardwalk West and Black Lake Boardwalk East use to be two separate entities but in 2014 the two different sections were connected and now a lovely 2,500 foot boardwalk meanders along the water. The boardwalk is made of concrete and wood and relieves the traffic off the very busy nearby bike path. Nice to separate the slow pedestrians from the frantic bike riders. The path has lovely and scenic views the entire way, complete with observations platforms and interpretive displays. Lots of huge aquatic birds and occasionally turtles and other critters can be observed. Black Lake is now called Lake Macatawa but no matter water there want to call it, the beautiful boardwalk by the water is a lovely way get some exercise and see some nature.

Taking the 303 steps to the top will reward you with an amazing view of Saugatuck and the Kalamazoo…read moreRiver! Along the climb there are several areas with benches to rest. As a bonus, when we stopped about halfway up we saw a couple of deer. The climb was not as difficult as we thought it would be. Keep in mind that there is very limited parking. You may want to consider taking the ferry from Saugatuck.

303 gang, rise up! That's for all those who make it up the 303 steps to get great views of the…read moreKalamazoo river. My five year old made it, so I hope you can too. It's just steps away from the chainferry, so if you're in downtown Saugatuck, a lot of people will chainferry it over and explore this park. We had a beautiful weather day that was just chilly enough to now want to park at the beach. This ended up being a ton of fun because we could essentially hike up a dune, make our way to Oval Beach and get the unique experience of nature here. The steps are not as crazy as I'm making it out to be, and there are nice little rest benches as you go, if needed. Bonus, there are so few if any mosquitoes here. We didn't really know what to do after we got to the top. We ended up just letting whatever sounded fun happen, which ended with us dunking feet in the waters at Oval Beach. *Important tip! If you do this, do NOT head back up the same dune you come down to return to town. It's a steep, hot, sandy dune that will zap all your energy. Instead, take the "John Woolam Trail" as you come out of Oval Beach for a nice, flatter, solid, wooded experience.

Skip and Nate were a breeze to work with and we had a great time out on the water. I called Kayak…read moreKayak to reserve two single kayaks and I received a text confirmation right away. We got to the meeting spot and our kayaks were ready for us to enjoy a morning of paddling on Pigeon River. It was $35 per kayak for a half day rental. I highly recommend this company to anyone looking to kayak in the Holland area.

This was an amazing find! Skip and Mark were amazingly easy to work with and incredibly kind. My…read moreparents and I were just looking for a fun quarantine activity to do on the 4th and were pleasantly surprised when we were told they would be available on such short notice and on the holiday no less! When we arrived they were already there and ready for us.The Pigeon River was beautiful, clean, and super relaxing. I would 10/10 recommend renting from Skip and I will definitely be a regular with these awesome folks! Thanks again guys!

This spot has been very special to our family. Last year (2017) I researched options for a family…read moretrip on the west cost of MI and found great reviews for the Beach House at Lake St. Pricing was more than we typically pay for hospitality but given then location we thought it was fair. Fast forward two trips later we're big fans. The property is well maintained, the staff are friendly, other guests have been welcoming and respectful, and there is so much to do. Holland State Park is great but this year (2018) Tunnel Park was the hit. We have 4 kiddos entertainment is important. I highly recommend a stay here.

If I could give the Beach House 10 stars I would. Exceeded our expectations. This was our last…read morevisit to Holland as Hope College parents and we wanted to stay some place special for a couple extra days to celebrate my daughters graduation. First, the location is awesome. Across the street from a Lake Macatawa access (our balcony had a lake view) and down the street from the Holland State Park Lake Michigan Beach (perfect to watch the sun set). We also hiked Mt. Pisgah a couple of days (just down the street too). We stayed in the Newport (sleeps 8, 4 in beds, 4 in sofa beds). We loved the unit from the decor to the multi level layout and fully stocked kitchen. If someone in your party has trouble with stairs I might pick a unit that has an additional first floor kitchen/bar. There is a jet tub in the master bath and a private patio with a grill off the back of the first floor bedroom. There is also an outdoor grill with patio table seating right off the pool deck for entertaining. The salt water pool and hot tub (mostly the hot tub) was my fav, especially after climbing all those stairs at Mt Pisgah. 8 minutes to downtown Holland and 20 minutes to Saugatuck. Just down the street was a kayak and paddle board rental place. Additionally you get privileges at the Macatawa Golf Club which was very nice. It was worth every penny and we hope to go back again!