Best Beaches in Grand Haven: Fees, Dogs, Parking

Last Updated: July 2026

The best beaches in Grand Haven, Michigan are not all the same beach — and the thing that catches people out is the parking. There are two separate permit systems here that do not work at each other, and the county tickets aggressively for it. One beach is free. One lets your dog run off-leash year-round. One takes 1,000 stairs to reach.

Here is every beach in the Grand Haven area — what each one costs, who it’s for, and whether you can bring the dog.

I have spent a lot of time on these beaches, and the famous state park is only the beginning. Drive a few miles in either direction and you’ll find a serious off-leash dog beach, a dune trail to a shoreline that feels like nobody has been there, and one of the finest state parks in Michigan that most Grand Haven day-trippers never bother with. Of the lakeshore I’ve covered for WDIV Detroit, this stretch has the most variety packed into the fewest miles.

Read This Before You Park

Grand Haven’s beaches sit under two different agencies, and their passes are not interchangeable. This is the single most expensive mistake visitors make here, and it is entirely avoidable.

State parks — Grand Haven State Park and P.J. Hoffmaster — require a Michigan Recreation Passport: $15 per year on Michigan plates at license plate renewal, or $42 per year / $12 per day for out-of-state vehicles.

Ottawa County parks — Kirk Park, North Beach Park, Olive Shores, and Rosy Mound — require a separate county motor vehicle permit from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day: $8 per day, $25 per year (non-resident), $15 (Ottawa County resident). Permits are now digital and tied to your license plate — no more stickers or hangtags. Buy online or at a pay station on site.

💡 PRO TIP: Two things almost nobody knows. First, Michigan Bridge Card holders can get a free Ottawa County annual permit — apply online. Second, if you have an EBT/Bridge Card or you’re an Ottawa County senior (60+) or a veteran, discounts are only available online, never at the pay station, because residency can’t be verified on site. Buy before you drive.

Grand Haven City Beach is the exception: free, with its own lot, no permit of any kind.

Grand Haven State Park Beach

Grand Haven State Park is the marquee beach of the area and one of the most recognizable in Michigan — 48 acres of pure sand at the mouth of the Grand River, with a half-mile of Lake Michigan shoreline and direct access to the South Pier and its two red lighthouses. I have walked that pier more times than I can count and the view still lands, especially at golden hour.

Amenities are extensive: volleyball nets, a beach house with modern restrooms, a concession stand, an accessible playground, and a 2.5-mile boardwalk running along the Grand River into downtown. The 174-site campground is one of the most coveted in Michigan — you are camping directly on the sand. The park is dry; no alcohol.

💡 PRO TIP: Arrive before 10am on a summer weekend or the lot will be full. The free Beach Express park-and-ride runs Saturdays and Sundays noon–6pm and drops you at City Beach — leave the car at an outlying lot and skip the circling entirely.

Grand Haven City Beach

Grand Haven City Beach sits directly south of the state park, sharing the same wide shoreline and the same pier and lighthouse view. The differences that matter: it is free, and you can bring a leashed dog during summer at the right hours. It has its own lot, and that lot is often less backed up than the state park entrance on a busy Saturday.

It’s a simpler beach than the state park — no volleyball, no concessions — but the sand and the view are identical. In the off-season it is genuinely peaceful, and your leashed dog can walk the whole length with no time restrictions at all.

Kirk Park and the Off-Leash Dog Beach

Kirk Park has the best dog beach in the Grand Haven area, and one of the best on the entire west Michigan shore. The south beach is a fully off-leash zone during all park hours, year-round, where dogs swim and run and dig to their hearts’ content. The park covers 68 acres with over a third of a mile of shoreline, wooded dunes, bluffs, trails, a playground, and picnic areas. It’s one of my favorite stops on this coast, dog or no dog.

The off-leash beach was fully restored to all-day access in May 2024, after several years of restricted hours caused by dune stair damage from high water. The stairs have been rebuilt. Get the leash rule right: it is required from the parking lot through the trail, and only comes off once you’re in the zone.

💡 PRO TIP: Kirk Park is about six miles south of downtown on Lakeshore Drive, and the wooded dune trails lead to Lake Michigan overlooks that are worth the trip on their own. Bring everyone, not just the dog.

North Beach Park

North Beach Park is the most underrated beach in the area and the best one for families. It’s a seven-acre park in Ferrysburg, just north of downtown, with 745 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline and reliably fewer people than the state park on a summer weekend. The family beach credentials are real: a big updated playground, a barrier-free beach walkway, a free beach wheelchair, and free loaner life jackets at the water.

The other reason to come is the dune stairway, which climbs to an overlook deck with one of the best Lake Michigan views on this stretch of coast. Ambitious hikers can connect from here through the North Ottawa Dunes trail system all the way to P.J. Hoffmaster — roughly five miles one way.

💡 PRO TIP: If the lot is full — rare, but it happens on holiday weekends — park free at Coast Guard Park on North Shore Drive and hike 0.6 miles through the woods to the beach. It’s hilly, and it saves you the permit. If you’re doing the full Hoffmaster hike, stage a second car at the other end.

Olive Shores

Olive Shores is the quiet one — a small Ottawa County park south of Grand Haven with about 20 acres of hardwood forest, elevated decks over the water, and a beach you reach by climbing the stairs up and over Mount Olive. That climb is exactly why it stays empty. The combination of forest, elevation, and secluded shoreline doesn’t exist anywhere else nearby.

Bring a picnic. There are tables, restrooms, and those overlook decks — but no dogs, no lifeguards, and no concessions. Olive Shores rewards people who want stillness over amenities.

💡 PRO TIP: The elevated decks face due west. Come in late afternoon and stay — the sunsets from up there are exceptional, and you will likely have them to yourself.

Rosy Mound Natural Area

Rosy Mound is the most spectacular beach in the Grand Haven area, and you have to earn it. The trail runs 0.7 miles one way through boardwalk, shaded beech-maple forest, and roughly 1,000 feet of dune stairway before dropping you onto a wide, quiet Lake Michigan shore that feels a world away from the state park scene a few miles north. It is completely worth it. It is also not a casual stroll — do not attempt it in flip-flops carrying a cooler.

The beach itself is undeveloped: no concessions, no volleyball, no lifeguards, just dunes and water. Picnic tables, grills, and a pit toilet sit at the trailhead. Give yourself at least two hours round trip with time at the water — and remember the county permit, because a Recreation Passport will not save you here.

💡 PRO TIP: The dune stairs occasionally close for repairs. Check current conditions before you build a day around it. More routes in our guide to hiking in Michigan.

P.J. Hoffmaster State Park

P.J. Hoffmaster State Park is technically in Muskegon County, about 15 miles north — but it belongs in any serious guide to this coast, because it is one of the finest state parks in Michigan. Hoffmaster covers forested dunes along 3 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, with 10 miles of trails, a 297-site wooded campground, and the Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center, the best dune education facility in the Midwest.

Here is the thing most guides get wrong: Hoffmaster is the dog-friendliest beach on this list after Kirk Park. Leashed dogs are welcome along the full three miles of shoreline — just not in the roped swim area. If Kirk Park is packed, this is your move.

The beach is wide, clean, and far less crowded than Grand Haven State Park simply because the park is enormous and people spread out. The Dune Overlook Trail is a half-mile round trip with about 220 steps to a panoramic view that earns every one of them.

💡 PRO TIP: Hoffmaster is a dry park — no alcohol, and rangers enforce it. If you’re camping, bring a wagon: the campers’ beach is a real walk from the loops, and hauling chairs and a cooler through sand gets old fast.

Dog-Friendly Beaches in Grand Haven

Dog rules here are stricter than visitors expect and the fines are real. Kirk Park is the answer if you want your dog off-leash. Hoffmaster is the answer if you want miles of leashed shoreline. Everywhere else, read carefully before you load the car.

Beach	Dog policy
Kirk Park	✅ Off-leash on the south beach, year-round, all park hours. 10-ft leash from lot to sand. No dogs on north beach May 1–Sep 30
P.J. Hoffmaster	✅ 6-ft leash along the entire shoreline except the swim area; leashed on trails
Grand Haven City Beach	✅ Leashed, before 11am and after 5pm Memorial Day–Labor Day; all hours Oct–Apr
North Beach Park	⚠️ No dogs May 1–Sep 30. 10-ft leash Oct 1–Apr 30
Grand Haven State Park	🚫 No dogs on the beach. Leashed in campground and day-use areas
Olive Shores	🚫 No dogs, ever
Rosy Mound	🚫 No dogs, ever — enforced with fines

Accessible Beaches in Grand Haven

This is where Grand Haven quietly outperforms almost every beach town in Michigan, and almost nobody writes about it. Grand Haven State Park and P.J. Hoffmaster both lend beach wheelchairs and a track chair free of charge — a track chair goes where a standard beach wheelchair cannot, including soft sand. Ask at the campground office or contact station.

Beach	Accessibility
Grand Haven State Park	Accessible walkway to the water, free beach wheelchairs, free track chair, rubberized accessible playground
P.J. Hoffmaster	Sandy McBeath Trail accessible to the dune stairway base, two free beach wheelchairs, free track chair, ADA campsites
North Beach Park	Barrier-free beach walkway, free beach wheelchair, accessible playground with accessible swing, barrier-free shelter and restrooms
Kirk Park	Barrier-free shelter, restrooms, some tables; paved trail to the overlook deck
Grand Haven City Beach	Paved path to the shore
Rosy Mound	Acorn Trail (0.5 mi) is wheelchair accessible; stairs built to ADA standards, but the dune route to the water is not accessible
Olive Shores	Barrier-free restrooms and facilities; the beach requires a stair climb

Beach wheelchair and track chair availability can vary — call ahead to reserve one for the day you’re going.

Which Grand Haven Beach Should You Choose?

If it’s your first visit, go to Grand Haven State Park — the pier, the lighthouse, and the sand are the reason people fall for this town. If the lot is full or you want to save the fee, walk south to City Beach. Traveling with a dog, it’s Kirk Park. With kids, North Beach Park. And if you want the beach you’ll still be thinking about in December, climb the stairs at Rosy Mound.

Ready for the rest of the trip? See our full Grand Haven Michigan travel guide and our roundup of things to do in Grand Haven — including the free nightly Grand Haven Musical Fountain. Still deciding where to go? Our guide to the best Michigan beach towns covers the whole coast.

Grand Haven Beaches FAQ

What is the best beach in Grand Haven Michigan?

Grand Haven State Park is the most popular — half a mile of sandy beach with pier access, volleyball, and beachfront camping. For a quieter experience, Rosy Mound Natural Area has a secluded shore reached by a 0.7-mile dune trail with about 1,000 feet of stairs. For dogs, Kirk Park’s off-leash south beach is the best in the area.

Does the Michigan Recreation Passport work at Grand Haven beaches?

Only at the state parks. Grand Haven State Park and P.J. Hoffmaster take the Recreation Passport. Kirk Park, North Beach Park, Olive Shores, and Rosy Mound are Ottawa County parks and require a separate county motor vehicle permit — $8 per day or $25 per year for non-residents. Vehicles without one are ticketed.

Are there dog-friendly beaches in Grand Haven?

Yes. Kirk Park has a dedicated off-leash dog beach at the south end, open year-round during all park hours. P.J. Hoffmaster allows leashed dogs along its entire shoreline except the swim area. Grand Haven City Beach allows leashed dogs before 11am and after 5pm in summer, and all hours off-season. Dogs are not allowed at Grand Haven State Park beach, Rosy Mound, or Olive Shores, and are barred from North Beach Park May 1 through September 30.

Is Grand Haven State Park beach free?

The beach has no admission fee, but every vehicle needs a Michigan Recreation Passport. It costs $15 per year for Michigan-registered vehicles at license plate renewal. Out-of-state vehicles pay $42 per year or $12 per day. Grand Haven City Beach, just south, is entirely free with its own lot.

What is the Ottawa County parks fee?

Ottawa County parks charge $8 per day per vehicle from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Annual permits are $25 for non-residents and $15 for Ottawa County residents. Permits are digital and tied to your license plate. Michigan Bridge Card holders can get a free annual permit, and resident senior and veteran discounts are available online only.

Which Grand Haven beach is most accessible?

Grand Haven State Park. It has an accessible walkway to the water’s edge, an accessible playground, and free beach wheelchairs plus a track chair available from the campground office. P.J. Hoffmaster also lends two beach wheelchairs and a track chair at no cost, and North Beach Park has a barrier-free beach walkway and a free beach wheelchair.

What is Rosy Mound Natural Area like?

Rosy Mound is an Ottawa County natural area with a 0.7-mile trail through boardwalk, hardwood forest, and roughly 1,000 feet of dune stairway leading to a quiet, undeveloped Lake Michigan beach. No dogs, no lifeguards, no concessions. The $8 county permit applies in summer. Allow at least two hours round trip.

Is P.J. Hoffmaster State Park near Grand Haven?

P.J. Hoffmaster is about 15 miles north of Grand Haven in Norton Shores, Muskegon County. It has 3 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, 10 miles of trails, the Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center, and a 297-site wooded campground. A Michigan Recreation Passport is required, and leashed dogs are welcome on the shoreline outside the swim area.

Is Grand Haven City Beach free?

Yes. Grand Haven City Beach has free parking and no admission fee, on Harbor Drive just south of the state park, with the same view of the pier and lighthouses. There is no overnight parking — vehicles must be out by 10pm.