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.

I added this location on here, because it is listed on Village of Elk Rapids. It started from the…read moreHydro Power Plant off Ames Street, the Dam Beach is a favorite location for residents and families to spend time. There are lake houses in between public access, but since there are not a lot of traffic, so there are not a lot of concern about personal space or noise. Beach area is clean, sand are soft, and please keep it that way.

Very nice beach. The public access parking lot was small with a picnic table to sit at. The beach…read morewas very clean and the view was lovely. It seems that most of the beach is private but that doesn't take away from the charm of the public portion.

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.

If you love collecting Michigan rocks, come to this lovely state park. You can take the short trail…read moredown to the water, where you will find rocks om the sand. The park is secluded, and we only saw about 5 others there during the duration of our stay. It appears that because this location is not so heabily populated, you can find some Charlevoix and Petoskey rocks in the water as wel as on the rock bed. You just have to know what to look for. I suggest finding a walking stick for the water. It helps guide you, and it helps you move some rocks. The next time I come here I definitely want to bring a sifter because I saw so many cute tiny ones with the rock pile. My twchnique was to pull the ones near the water down, and I found quite a bit this way. James used the stick to look in the water, where you will find medium to large rocks. Overall the secluded atmosphere is soothing and relaxing.

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.

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.

The best secluded beach out there! This was such a refreshing place to go after walking around…read moredowntown Traverse City and seeing SO many people. Great place to go to relax during these times. There is lots of free parking here and a short walk to a beautiful beach. Amazing views, lots of room to spread out, and super soft sand for your feet. Bring some snacks because you will want to stay awhile!

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.