Secluded Beaches

Four shores locals go to sun and swim — and escape summer crowds

By Lynda Wheatley | Aug. 22, 2020

Sundling Beach, Manistee
Open sunrise to sunset and incredible every minute in between, Sundling Beach’s narrow 60-foot-ish strip of sand has, like all Lake Michigan beaches, lost a few feet this summer. But its off-the-beaten path location — about three miles south of the city of Manistee (and its far more touristed First and Fifth Street beaches at the west end of downtown — make for an unusually quiet, clean, and uncrowded beach creatures of all kinds adore: Kids, for the fort- and teepee-potential of its washed-up driftwood; rock hunters for its post-glacial plenty; and dogs, simply because they’re allowed (on leash). Sunset at Sundling gets a lot of attention — all of it deserved — but if you’ve got the gumption, a sunrise walk along the 400 feet of wooded trail between beach and parking lot is an experience unto itself; start as the birds begin singing, and you’ll crest the grassy dunes with plenty of time left to sit next to the quiet waves and watch the shadows lift from the sand.
Shhh … Find the Sundling Beach parking area at 2925 Red Apple Rd. Picnic tables and small pavilion also available on the north end of the beach.

Maple Bay Natural Area, Elk Rapids
The low-slung dune swale that cascades from Maple Bay’s lush birch and maple forest to a pristine half-mile of East Grand Travese Bay frontage is exactly the kind of sandy shore space-seeking sunbathers adore. Here, the sun shows its face by mid-morning and seems to stay extra late, thanks to the long, flat stretch of water that doesn’t quit till it meets Old Mission Peninsula, about 5 miles to the west. Though the swale’s sandy fingers used to stretch much farther out into the bay, making for oodles of warm shallows atop long sandbars (and drawing lots of families with squealing, splashing tykes), much of the swale’s scrub- and grass-dotted hillocks remain intact, creating many a quiet nook and a “my own private beach” vibe in a smaller space, no matter who’s hiked down for a swim.
Shhh … Find the gravel driveway that leads to the Maple Bay Bay Natural Area parking lot on the west side of US-31, about two miles south of Elk Rapids, next to the Maple Bay farmhouse and across from a giant field of sunflowers). The natural area, protected by The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, comprises 452 acres and two miles of trail. The trail to the beach is less than a half-mile down the bluff from the lot. www.gtrlc.org 

Schneider’s Bay, Lake Leelanau
Officially … not a beach. Unofficially, however, Schneider’s Bay on North Lake Leelanau is an ideal place to spend a quiet morning doing all the beach things: snoozing in the sun, dipping in the drink, and burying your nose in a book — without worrying about sand getting scattered into your sandwich. There used to be a petite beach here, but like neighboring Lake Michigan, this inland lake’s unusually high water swallowed it whole. Sand, however, might be the only thing this grassy getaway lacks. Charcoal grills, a boat launch, a firepit, and a long dock with steps —a major perk for seniors and cannon-ballers alike — are available to one and all. If you’re planning on plopping her all day, however, be warned: The trees that encircle most of this small park, itself at the end of a quiet dirt road, make this place feel extra serene but come mid-afternoon they cast some long shadows. Arrive early or pack a sweatshirt.
Shhh … Find Schneider’s Beach at the end of Popp Road, off M-204, about a mile west of the village of Lake Leelanau.

Second Beach, Village of Mackinaw City (pictured)
We’d planned to tell you here all about Cecil Bay and the secret slip of public-access shoreline at the mouth of the Carp River that everybody but in-the-know locals zip past on their way to Wilderness Park. But our plans were dashed by — you guessed it — high water. Despite the best efforts of several cobbled-together “bridges” of stray branches, scrap wood, and rocks, the ¼-mile trail to the beach was, even in July, a mucky, soupy, tangled-root marsh. So we moved on — backed up, actually, and landed on another we had passed: Second Beach. As lowkey as its name, this No. 2 of the Village of Mackinaw City’s two public beaches is No. 1 in our books. Less crowded than its already not-very-crowded sister beach to the north, Second Beach drew only 13 people the afternoon we visited: three locals, we four, and a group of six that showed but didn’t stay — they just jumped in their giant raft to float south along the coast to their cabin. It’s a good place to do that — the water is shallow even 50 yards out — but it’s also a good place to stay all day; clean pit toilets are on-site, Straits sunsets are utterly amazing, and you’re just a few miles south of the Headlands International Dark Sky Park (its observatory is visible from the Second Beach shore, in fact), which welcomes folks to stargaze (though not camp) all night long.

Shhh … Find Second Beach on E. Wilderness Park Drive, about a mile south of First Beach, which sits at the intersection of E. Wilderness Park Drive and Wilderness Park Drive (C-81), west of Mackinaw City.