We stumbled upon Pigeon Lake driving on Lakeshore Drive for miles looking for public access to the…read moreLake. The drive up is absolutely gorgeous and lined with dense trees and forests including paved trails for running or biking. There are mostly private homes here with gated access so this is your best bet if you want to get some beach time or hiking in...Or maybe you plan on camping here for a few days... There is a park daily entrance fee of $5.00 for residents, $8.00 non for vehicles. Camper's are also allowed for an additional fee. Dogs are welcome and can be unleashed through a separate beach entrance. The park itself is densely populated with trees and just incredible. Watch out for ticks here.. This is a little paradise. Take the 57 steps up the Outlook for amazing views. Walk up the hilly sand dunes and explore...this is a fresh water sand dune park and worth the destination. Amazing landscapes here.. Park itself is very well kept and clean. Showers and restrooms are located at entrance with vending machine. A few small grills and picnic tables are on site... I can't say enough good things about our experience here... Amazing park. Stay for the sunset!

Hidden in the upscale lake shore neighborhood this public park is one you want to get to early…read more Today we did not need to pay but there is a pay to park station there. This is a gated lot so be respectful of the hours. No pets, no smoking and no alcohol allowed. Lots of rules posted. Loved the ADA walkway to the top. Every 30' was a flat spot on the ramp to the overlook. Perfect for wheel chairs. Unfortunately it's stairs to the beach but still a great view if you can't touch the water. The place is definitely snuggled among personal homes so be respectful.

From the owner: "Starting in 2023, Kouw Park will be managed by Ottawa County Parks. This will no longer be a free…read morepark. You can purchase a parking pass on the Ottawa County Parks web page - purchase your parks pass. Dogs are only allowed in the off season."

We've been on the hunt for some dog-friendly activities in West Michigan, and our time at Kirk Park…read morewas everything we hoped for! The dog beach is about a 5-minute walk from the parking lot, and the trail is very well marked. The weather was great, so there were lots of dogs there enjoying the water. There are changing facilities and restrooms available near the parking lot, but not on the beach, so keep that in mind. We're looking forward to enjoying the water with our golden retriever again soon!

Dog-friendly section of beach? Check Sand dune trails? Check…read moreWell-maintained bathroom facilities? Check Beautiful views of Lake Michigan both high and low? Check This is *the* beach spot for you and your canine.

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)

Absolute MUST stop if you have pups and are in the area. This was arguably the highlight of our…read moretrip. Brought our two teens, our 5mo puppy and our 7yo senior dog. Our senior one is not very energetic and was never much of a retriever. WELL, he LOVED retrieving the ball & competing with the pup. BEST PART: they both learned how to swim here!!! Oh how I wish we had something like this near our home!

Wow what a hidden Gem. Hidden away between Muskegon and Whitehall. You pull into a nice ordinary…read morepark. Then there is a nice boardwalk path that leads to a beach area along side a Duck Lake. A very nice view in itself. Then the boardwalk travels on, then goes under a bridge and next to a sand dune, then Bam! The lake and path funnel into Lake Michigan and the path onto an amazing beach. I had no idea this beautiful public beach was here. The views are outstanding and the sand is pristine. We took the dog, yes on a leash, for a walk of the beach and had a great time. Overall an easy 5 star review. Would I return? Absolutely! A must stop.

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.

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.

Best place to catch the Michigan sand dunes for the first time. This seems to be an uncommon vista…read moreto get some sand and sun--not too many other people were here. Good for a quick peak at Lake Michigan's sunset or to spend the day on the beach. Be prepared to hike some sandy stairs! I ended up slipping off my shoes and just walked up them barefoot.

Very small beach. The day we went many people made the trek and didn't get in the water because…read morethey thought it was to cold. Family after family came down and just sat there getting eaten by flies....did I mention the flies? Good lord if you weren't in the water be prepared to leave with welts. Good thing for me I like cold water and it felt great! If you are not in good physical shape probably don't come here. These pictures don't show the actual situation. It is very steep! The stairs are covered with sand and there are A LOT of them. What goes down, in this situation must go back up!

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

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 Park - easy to get to, good amount of parking, nice pavilion, the sand was nice, fountains to…read morewash your feet, good amount of space on the sand. First time here - The bugs today were outrageous. These little flies were unbearable and therefore didn't stay long.

This beach is operated by Ottawa County. During the summer months, you are required to pay to…read morepark. They probably have room for 100 cars. You can get an annual tag from the county. A Michigan state park tag will not work. Weekends the lot can fill up. In that case you can park for free less than a mile down the road at Coast Guard Park, or even Fire Barn Park for that matter. If you're going to do that, drop off your family and friends along with your beach supplies at the entrance. That way only one of you have to walk back and forth. They have a nice wide asphalt path. Good excersise plus you saved about $8. Park no longer allows dogs, no alcohol either. They have a nice pavillion that sometimes get reserved in the summer. There are grills and picnic tables too, but not many. There are outdoor showers and feet washing stations and a convenient bathroom. But last time I was here, the beach has been extended way out. So if you are on the water with you blanket and umbrella, it is quite a hike to the johns. This is a good family beach too with the playground. Downside to some may be there are no touristy shops that you can walk to like Grand Haven SP. But to me, that is blessing. Not a whole lot of teenagers come here and never been any fights break out like they have at GH. I hope this beach stays how it is and the county doesn't try to commercialize it.