Grand Haven, Muskegon, and Holland Named Top Three Beach Towns In Michigan

As a former Grand Haven resident, I'm a little biased, but yeah, it's the best damn beach town in Michigan, from the high end art galleries on Washington to the dive bars like the Tip-A-Few, Grand Haven has something for everyone.

And now, it's official, at least according to the ever listing Thrillist web site.

This Thrillist list of the 19 best beach towns in Michigan has a distinct left coast bias, not that we think there's anything wrong with that. In fact, only one east coast beach town made the list (Cheboygan), with the only other three non-west beach towns making the cut being in the Upper Peninsula.

The best four are all within an hour's drive of Grand Rapids (Saugatuck, Holland, Muskegon, Grand Haven).

Here's what Thrillist had to say about my old home town, Grand Haven,

Grand Haven, you are indeed pretty grand. You have a big, beautiful, soft, sugary-sandy beach at Grand Haven State Park with a lighthouse pier where people may or may not take a Thermos full of cocktails out to the farthest end to see if they get knocked off by the massive waves (and sometimes do). Your state park is among Michigan's best, and your beach was named AAA's favorite in the state. We love breakfast at Morning Star Café. We love a good Euro-style lunch at Elegance of the Seasons. We love a good cocktail on the rooftop deck at Snug Harbor. We love Fricano's Pizza. We love beer, and we love the beer at Odd Side Ales. We could suck down oysters at The Grand all day. We could suck down Rum Bombers at the Tiki bar in Jack's Waterfront Bistro + Bar all night.

There is plenty to do and see and eat and drink in your Downtown, but none of it takes away from what is ultimately the primary focus and your raison d'être: that big, beautiful beach... and those aforementioned cocktails. And yes, there's even a dog beach. This is a Michigan beach town at its very finest: beachy, breezy, and boozy.

 

The whole list, counting up from 19:

19. Copper Harbor -- A mountain biker's dream, this often overlooked resort town also has the best kayaking in the state and access to Isle Rotale

18. St. Ignace -- One of the nicest beach front drives in the state.

17. Cheboygan -- Yeah, whatever.

16. Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island -- Why they grouped these two together is beyond me, because they are dramatically different. The island is quiet and serene, while the city is loud and boisterous.

15. Petoskey -- Somebody to have them on the list.

14. Ludington -- A town that needs a summer coming of age movie filmed in it.

13. Charlevoix -- See Petoskey

12. Suttons Bay -- If you like wine, it's okay

11. Empire/Glen Arbor -- Probably should have been higher. Best time to go is September.

10. Pentwater -- Underrated. Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone.

9. Sawyer -- The 'other' dunes. Too many Chicago people.

8. South Haven -- Sunset capital of Michigan.

7. Manistee -- Not big enough or north enough for me.

6. Benton Harbor/St. Joe -- overrated

5. Traverse City -- getting a little too big for its britches.

4. Saugatuck/Douglas -- Douglas may be the overlooked part of this duo.

3. Holland -- The downtown keeps getting better and the State Park is one of the best.

2. Muskegon -- The quaintness of the area around Pere Marquette Park is lovely, and there's a bonus inland lake behind the dunes.

1. Grand Haven -- enough said