Grand Mere State Park

About a 20 minute casual walk each way from the parking lot to the lake. Don't get discouraged by the first big dune you have to climb along the trail, it's by far the steepest. Worth the effort to get about 10 minutes further to the lake. Be prepared to fight flies along the path, although I did see a guy wearing a Tilley hat with a big net surrounding his head ... I never thought I would be jealous of that attire ... And I don't think you can share that like an umbrella.

Fantastic little beach by the dunes, it’s a more solitary and quiet experience than the Warren Dunes (which are not too far away). The dunes are a little more wooded and you have to hike a mile to get to the beach.

It’s a great spot for a day trip to the beach and there are some neat hiking trails to explore. Accessibility to the beach is not easy so anyone with a disability or injury would not be recommended to go.

Beautiful experience, it is a perfect place to go as a couple, you have to walk about 10 minutes passing between the paths of the trees and then cross the sand dunes until you reach the beautiful view of the beach, remember to take the path on the right.

Grand Mere is beautiful. A few years ago, you could walk down the beach to get access but with the rising lake levels and lots of erosion, you now have to hike through the dunes to get to lake. The sand gets hot on sunny days and you have to be careful of rip tides and big waves on some days. But most days are beautiful. You can find fossils and beach glass along the shore, skip rocks, see a beautiful sunset, or just set up and play with kids for the day. We love coming here.

Great state park! Dog friendly with nice beach areas. It is a bit tough to get to the beach, with having to climb the dunes, but that just means its not too busy!

I remember finding this place on social media and I thought I’d give it a try. We went on a Saturday earlier this year in august and I really liked the park. The tropical trails leading up to the dune areas looked beautiful and the dunes looked really nice and were worth walking and climbing through. One of my favorite parks of grand mere state park is the beach area at the end which looked really nice. We didn’t go swimming but we did walked around the water for a little while. Overall, I really like this park and I do recommend this park to someone looking for a great place to hike and possibly swim

I found this place on accident when I was with my two daughters and my son and go somewhere new and explore together. I looked on the maps and I found this part close to where we were at. It's a small walk. Maybe a half mile to the lake tops. We really enjoyed that the sand dunes went up into the woods so that we could walk barefoot and not burn our feet. As we follow the trail it brought us up to the dune cliffs around lake Michigan. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we came back a few more times since then. Although this spot is not handicap accessible, (meaning it's a Sandy walk all the way to the beach) it is worth a quick lunch break or even a full day with a cooler to head out and look at all the beautiful scenery

Our group went 5.3 miles into the prairie area with a lake. Very few people. I realized there is so much to see. The orb spider webs astounded me. I love this park. Dunes, great small rocks to collect, beautiful lake for swimming and relaxing, backwoods and prairie region.

Wow. What an amazing slow sloping entrance into the water. The hike in was about 20 minutes. Moderate work to get up and down but all was fine in flip flops.
If you've never been, walk past the first sand path up to the right (just around marker 8 maybe?) And keep going to the next big path of sand up to the right.

I loved my visit to Grand Mere State Park! The main paved trail was a little flooded in parts but there are plenty of other trails to take to the beach. I loved hiking the dunes and walking in the woods. The paths were maintained very well. The beach was amazing and the water was perfect. My only complaint would be the bathrooms were very poor and the trash cans were overflowing. Make sure to bring bug spray. Overall I think Grand Mere State Park is perfect for family and friends!

Great Lake Michigan shore access. Strenuous climbing up and down sand dunes but well worth the view. The playing on the beach for children and dogs is a bonus.

Love this beach, be prepared for a hike to get to it that involves climbing sand dunes. The paths themselves are beautiful. No facilities near the beach.

This park is not for those who need comfort. There were two portapotties near the parking. Aside from that there are trails. LOTS of trails that wind up and over and around the dunes. No signage so go with someone familiar with the trails or do like we did and use the heatmaps on Strava to see which trails others had used. Sadly, we didn't make it to the beach but we had a great time. As visitors to the area (and the state) I never knew there were dunes like this here.

Great trail to walk to the beach. I'd say it's a 10 minutes or less trek. The beach is more of a walking beach not lounging around building sand castles. My boys are 11&8 and loved trying to climb the dunes. My 4 year old loves anything sand and water. Free to get in also.

One of my most favorite hikes to the beach is at Grand Mere state Park. Warning! Be careful when the weather is hot, the hike in the sand will be NO JOKE. You could burn your feet or if you bring your dog you may need to carry them. Otherwise, extremely beautiful and never crowded beach with nice sand hardly any rocks and beautiful views.

This place is no Warren Dunes where you just drive up and boom you're there at the water. I parked in the lot down the dirt road off Thornton Drive (not sure if that's the only entrance) and had to hike through some woods and over some hills before getting to the water. Really, really beautiful scenery and lots of trails that have some memorable and gorgeous views. And it was so quiet (in July no less). Really love this place.

Beautiful park! And we saved a lost dog.

Yes the paved trail is flooded. There is an alternative trail just to the right that is up higher, sandy, more scenic, and just more pleasurable anyhow. Based on these other reviews you would think the “dune” is some monstrosity… compared to sleeping bear or warren dunes it’s a hill really. Yes the sand is hot when the sun is out. The bugs weren’t all that bad and it had just rained earlier. Even some older folks warned us of the long upcoming trail. Hardly the case. Brought my pup and she got to test the water for the first time. It was a beautiful day, a little bit of a crowd but still plenty of room for privacy. Really enjoyed the day ❤

Unlike most parks along the lake, this one you have to walk quite a ways to even see the water. Once you walk a while on the path you eventually reach the dunes which you first have to climb and cross just to get to the beach. For this reason I would not recommend this park for people who just want a nice easy day at the beach because its not that simple to get there. If that doesn't turn you off then this place is great. There are lots of dunes and some great trails. Compared to other state parks this one is more secluded and hidden with only a small parking lot and no place to buy a parking pass for the day (when I went we got the pass at waren dunes then drove here since it works for both parks). The beach itself (as of early august 2019) is extremely close to the dunes due to the lakes high water level. Also be warned that the only bathroom is at the parking lot which is very far from the water if you really have to go.

Just off the highway. Really nice scenic views that get better the closer you get to the beach. Very long beach walks available. There are some sandy dunes to hike across to reach it, but it is well worth the effort.