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Best Beach Vacation in Michigan
Michigan is surrounded by four of the Great Lakes and has many islands and peninsulas. It has thousands of miles of beautiful beaches.
If you’d like to go to a Michigan beach and are wondering where to stay, you might want to consider the following hotels. They were the Michigan Beach Award Winners in the 2021 Best Loved Hotels by Hotels.com. These beach hotels have numerous great reviews and received the highest guest ratings. And you can use Hotels.com to find the best price for your stay.
Boyne Falls
Deer Lake is a great place to go for a day on the water. Enjoy stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, sailing, swimming and play lawn games on the beach. It has high catch rates of walleye and northern pike.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Boyne Mountain Resort
Drummond Island
Called the “Gem of the Huron,” Drummond Island is the third largest island in Lake Huron. It has sandy beaches with beautiful panoramic views of the lake. Anglers come here in pursuit of walleye, perch and smallmouth bass.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Boyne Mountain Resort
East Tawas
Enjoy swimming and sunbathing on the sandy beach. Fish from the shore or dock for walleye, whitefish, brown trout and more. See spectacular sunsets over Tawas Bay.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Tawas Bay Beach Resort
Houghton Lake
At 22,000 acres Houghton Lake is Michigan’s largest inland lake. There are some great sandy beaches that are perfect for family fun. Anglers come here to fish for smallmouth and largemouth bass, lake trout, crappie and more. Ice fishing is popular in the winter.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Beachfront Hotel
Ludington
Called a vacation paradise, Ludington is located on Lake Michigan. There are miles of soft sand beaches along Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake. Watersports enjoyed here include stand up paddle boarding, swimming, boating, tubing, kayaking and more. Anglers from all over the Midwest come here because Ludington is the #1 salmon port on Lake Michigan. In the winter, they come to ice fish for walleye and panfish.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Snyder’s Shoreline Inn
Manistee
Surrounded by water on 3 sides, the Victorian port city of Manistee is on Michigan’s northwestern coastline. The Lake Michigan beaches have pristine sugar-fine sand and every water sport can be enjoyed here. There is a not to be missed unique grove of California giant sequoias and redwoods at Lake Bluff Center.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- The Dempsey Manor Bed & Breakfast Inn
Mears
The Silver Lake Sand Dunes is Mears’ greatest attraction with over a million visitors every year. These mountains of sand are located between Silver Lake and Lake Michigan. Take on the challenge of walking through all that sand or just enjoy a lazy day at the beach.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Dunes Waterfront Resort
Munising
In the Upper Peninsula, Munising is the gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Take a kayak tour to get close up views of these incredibly beautiful sculpted cliffs.
Sand Point Beach on Lake Superior was named as one of the “Top 5 Summer Beaches In America” by the Weather Channel.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Sunset Motel on The Bay
Petoskey
A coastal resort city, Petoskey is located at the northern end of the lower Peninsula. Nestled along the shores of Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan, it is steeped in natural beauty, history, Victorian architecture and breathtaking views. Enjoy beautiful beaches, spectacular waterfront settings and a relaxed pace.
Best Loved Beach Hotels
- Inn at Bay Harbor, Autograph Collection
- Terrace Inn & 1911 Restaurant
- Stafford’s Bay View Inn
Presque Isle
Presque Isle is located along the shore of Lake Huron which has numerous dive sites, both shoreline and off shore shipwrecks. The most popular local beach is sandy Presque Isle Harbor Beach. Grand Lake is a beautiful 5,600 acre lake with 19 islands. See the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse, built in 1840, and the new Presque Isle Lighthouse, built in 1870.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Grand Lake Resort
Traverse City
Located on Lake Michigan, Traverse City has miles of sugar sand coastline and beautiful beaches. It is near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shoreline with its mountains of sand. Sleeping Bear and the beaches make Traverse a top tourist destination. Sailing, swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, golf and fishing are favorite warm weather activities.
Best Loved Beach Hotels
- Grand Beach Resort Hotel
- Sugar Beach Resort Hotel
- Bayshore Resort
- The Baywatch Resort
- Cherry Tree Inn & Suites
- Pinestead Reef Resort
- Park Shore Resort
- West Bay Beach – A Delamar Resort
- The Beach Haus Resort
- Pointes North Beachfront Hotel
- Elk Rapids Lakeshore Inn
Trout Lake
Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Trout Lake attracts sports enthusiasts and tourists. They come to go swimming, sailing, canoeing, power boating, paddle boarding, tubing, hunting, waterskiing and more. Anglers come hoping to catch northern pike, blue gills, walleye, perch and, of course, trout. Nearby is the old Seul Choix Lighthouse, said to be haunted.
Best Loved Beach Hotel
- Historic Birch Lodge & Motel
