Beaches of Lake Michigan

Jon is totally amazed by the beaches. I tried to tell my family that the shoreline of Lake Michigan looks more like an ocean than a lake, but I think it’s impossible to really understand until you’re here.

For some reason, I love Michigan. It’s a newfound appreciation. I can’t explain the joy I felt checking into our campground at Warren Dunes State Park on Friday night. The guy at the campground registration was gruff and a little rude. Didn’t bother me. It was freezing cold and our original site put the pop up two feet from the fire pit if we wanted to hook up to electric. Still no problem. Despite an almost full campground, we were able to switch to the site next door for our three nights, which was spacious and perfect for our needs.

This may sound weird, but I love the fact that the camp store and registration are open till 10:00 at night, and that this campground is full on a cold weekend in October. I just feel as though these are my kind of people!

I am tempted to make a new three-night minimum rule, because it is so nice to feel as though we can settle into a place a bit longer. With two full days on Lake Michigan, we got to explore a bit. Our site in the state park is in a wooded area a couple miles from the actual beach. Saturday, we enjoyed a bike ride on a paved road to the beach. When we finally got to the shore, the lake emerged unexpectedly and majestically from the tree line! It was so beautiful.

We spent some time at the beach, but it was very cold and windy, so we rode back to camp where the girls and I did some work in the heated pop up while Jon drove to a nearby town to get the truck serviced and buy some groceries. The wind died down by evening, so we had a nice dinner by the campfire, and our electric blankets kept us cozy all night.

Today, we spent a relaxing morning in camp and then headed out for some hiking and biking. We drove up to Grand Mere State Park, where we hiked through the woods and over some impressive sand dunes to the shore. After spending some time at a beautiful, natural spot, we hiked back to the truck and drove to another section of the park to try to find some good bike trails.

We found a wooded spot to pull off and unload the bikes. We rode around on some gravel roads and some narrow dirt pathways with logs of all sizes strewn across the path. Ultimately, despite Daisys assurances that “I’ve got this,” we decided to call it an evening.

After a good day of exploration, what more would we need but ice cream- the best ice cream in Michigan, according to their sign on the side of the road. Even in the cold, with a light drizzle starting, the ice cream was pretty darn good, I must say.

We’ve spent the evening enjoying showers and another campfire dinner. Now, we’re ready to get tucked into our beds, listen to a chapter of The Secret Garden, and enjoy our last night in Michigan before heading to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls in the morning.