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.

Everyone pretty much has the same opinion about this: a beautiful, "neighborhood" beach that has…read moreextremely limited parking. Ideal if you're staying around it, I'm sure. We arrived on a day with intense wildfire smoke, the kind where the air quality was the worst in the entire world that day and you could feel it. We'd held the girls inside most of the day, but finally snapped in the evening and told them we wanted to catch the sunset here. Fortunately we were earlier enough to slide right into a spot (tried to come back two other times and had no such luck). After being cooped up in the AirBnB, we said screw it and all got in and swam around for a bit. It was glorious. The only unique thing is there are a lot of rocks to step on/bang into within the first 10 feet or so of the water. If you go out a little further, it shifts back to soft sand. It's such a cool visual both ways; the great lake, of course looking west, and then the towering stairs and cliffside neighborhood over to the east. Up top, there's a foot rinse for knocking off sand and a public restroom. I love this spot, and really the only knock is if you don't luck out on parking there's almost no alternative to getting here.

Nice spot. Limited parking. The stairs aren't as bad as they look. Small beach bc most is private…read morebeach.

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.

We were looking for something unique to do during our visit and this fit the bill perfectly. The…read moreretro boats are electric and adorable. The place sales beverages and snacks for the ride. The instruction were thorough and we felt prepared for our ride. It was a very pleasant experience and I highly recommend it.

Best priced boat rental for the value. In the baseline 90 minute rental, you can make it down to…read morethe entry to Lake Michigan, to the harbor, and then back to the rental dock. I was able to make a same day reservation about 2 hours in advance on a Thursday, but it seemed like the weekend filled up faster. Right before going out, we bought drinks and snacks to bring out with us. Retro boat rentals gave us a cooler and ice to take them out in and offered us a Bluetooth speaker if we didn't have one. I would definitely rental from here again if I was in town. Some of the boats are also equipped to dock and allow the passengers to swim out- but you need to do the longer rental option for this.

What a sweet and charming tour! I live in Chicago and the river cruises garner hundreds of visitors…read morefor each cruise. The Star offered a totally different kind of cruise. The quaint town is the perfect way to begin. The boat house for check in was just as charming. The staff and captain offered lovely hospitality. We called last minute for tickets and the woman on the phone was so helpful. The captain was not only knowledgeable but had a wicked sense of humor too. I love that you are assigned a specific table. It was so comfortable and felt like a dinner show. The vessel was clean and in perfect shape. The tour itself offered a beautiful view of the town, new and old homes, a beach and Lake Michigan. We even saw an eagle's nest with cute little babies. I didn't want it to end.

We did the sunset cruise. It was very enjoyable. We liked that we had assigned seating. Everything…read morewas explained really well, like when they would blow the loud horn. We enjoyed beautiful scenery. To rough for them to go out to Lake Michigan, but we got pretty close. It was really fun very clean. You can buy snacks and drinks on board cash only. There is souvenir shop and bathroom before you board.

My family stayed here June 25-28 for a family reunion, so we had about 10 of the suites booked…read more First, the area is very nice, love Saugatuck! My husband and I stayed in a 1 bedroom suite. It was fine, but I would suggest a couple of things: the bathtub had nothing on its floor and no texture so it was very slippery! Also, the furnishings are very dated and need to be replaced. The one bedroom had a king bed and a full bed in it so there was very little floor space. A sofabed would work much better. My daughter and her family stayed in the suite next door and the exterior door frame had alot of peeling paint (not great for little kids!) The pool was great and it had a hot tub which was nice to have in the cool evenings. The entrance to the place needs a light. At night you can't see it! All in all, I would give it a 3.5-4.

We were pleasantly surprised with the Secret of Saugatuck Suites. We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite…read moreand the rooms are better in person than in the online photos. It was clean, quiet, and a little off the Saugatuck beaten path, but only a 5 min. drive to downtown. We would definitely stay here again.

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!

We stayed at this lovely condo, but there was so much early morning noise that it became…read moreunbearable. Honking, bells ringing, cement mixers spinning, pounding, sawing, drilling, etc. began at 6:00 AM. This was not the owners' fault but the area is extremely loud and local businesses do not consider vacationers staying nearby. It's all about the money.

Planning to spend a sunny weekend on the Lakeshore? Try Saugatuck Landings Luxury Suites and Marina…read more(726 Water Street). The property is located on the quiet side of town on the Kalamazoo River, far from the glitz and fudgery of Butler Street. The former fishery is part of a historic district, so the modest yet sturdy building was given a new life by owners Jim and Sharon Dewey who had not planned to become hoteliers. They created two upscale suites that will be sure to please the most discriminating. Sleek and STYLISH, like the saucy Miss Carolita, the suites will guarantee your family's comfort while taking care of all their needs. The property is managed on a daily basis by daughter Kerry, who ensures that the suites have fully stocked kitchens, flat screen TV's, a premium satellite package and a washer/dryer. You can also moor your yacht, my petal flowers. From the outdoor decks, you can enjoy your morning coffee or evening wine and cheese while watching the boats float by.

Our family rented the Douglas Boathouse for Thanksgiving this year and had a wonderful time. We…read morerented both the boathouse and the keeper's house and had plenty of room for our big celebration. We played games, took advantage of the fire pit and outdoor space, had tons of room for the whole family to eat, sleep and shower! Joanie was fantastic. She was very prompt in her responses to my questions leading up to the stay and was very helpful throughout the process. The house was clean, well decorated, very charming and accommodated all of our needs, including a lot of cooking. I would absolutely recommend Joanie and the boathouse to anyone considering a rental in this area.

Great experience from start to finish. The owners were very easy to work with and very responsive…read moreto questions that I had. Overall, the house has been updated, is impeccably maintained and has all of the amenities you would expect to accommodate a big group for the weekend. The outdoor area is also amazing and offers a fire pit and plenty of seating to chill and enjoy the night. The house is also located in a great spot on the West Side of Michigan that is close to restaurants, shops and the lake. There is a reason this was our second time staying at this place and won't be the last. If you are looking for a getaway that is convenient to get to from Chicago, Detroit and etc., this spot is the perfect location for you.